Classical Civilization, Bachelor of Arts College of Letters & Science
Classical Civilization is an interdisciplinary major that examines the ancient Mediterranean cultures of Greece, Rome and the Near East, with courses offered on the languages, history, literature, religions, myths, art and archaeology of these societies, their achievements in rhetoric and philosophy, and their political and social institutions. Minor programs in Classical Civilization, Greek, and Latin, and many General Education courses are also offered.
The Program
The major has two tracks: (1) Classical & Mediterranean Civilizations, and (2) Classical Languages & Literatures. The core of both major tracks consists of two years of Latin or Greek, the introductory sequence on the ancient Mediterranean world (CLA 001, CLA 002, CLA 003 or CLA 004), the advanced seminar (CLA 190), and a number of electives. The Classical & Mediterranean Civilization track allows students to choose their electives from a broadly balanced program in history, art and archaeology, literature, philosophy and rhetoric. The Classical Languages & Literatures track focuses more intensively on language and literature, requiring the study of two languages and allowing fewer electives. Students planning to go on to graduate work in Classics should take Track 2 and study as much Latin and Greek as possible. They should make a point of talking to an advisor early in their undergraduate program. They are also advised to acquire a reading knowledge of French or German.
Prerequisite Credit
Credit will not normally be given for a lower division course in Latin or Greek if it is the prerequisite of a course already successfully completed. Exceptions can be made by the Program Director only.
Career Opportunities
A degree in Classical Civilization represents a solid liberal arts education that provides an excellent foundation for a wide variety of careers. In the last twenty-five years, many majors have applied to law or medical schools and nearly all have been accepted. Additional career options include library and museum work, teaching, journalism, and graduate study in Classics, art, archaeology, history, literature, philosophy, and religion.
Major Advisors
Consult the department office.
Honors Program
Candidates for high or highest honors in Classical Civilization must write a senior honors thesis under the direction of a faculty member in Classics. Potential candidates for the honors program must enroll in Classics CLA 194HA and CLA 194HB, normally during the first two quarters of the senior year. Enrollment is limited to upper division students with a minimum of 135 units, and a 3.500 grade point average in courses in the Classical Civilization major. For further information, students should consult with the major advisor or program director. The requirements for the honors program are in addition to the regular requirements for the major in Classical Civilization.
Graduate Study
The Department offers a master’s degree in Classics with emphasis on either Greek or Latin; however, admission into the graduate program has been suspended.
The major requirements below are in addition to meeting University Degree Requirements & College Degree Requirements; unless otherwise noted. Respective of the Track, the minimum number of units required for the Classical Civilization Bachelor of Arts are 66 & 70.
Classical & Mediterranean Civilizations Track
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Preparatory Subject Matter | ||
| Latin or Greek | 15 | |
| Choose a series: | ||
| Elementary Latin and Elementary Latin and Intermediate Latin | ||
| Elementary Greek and Elementary Greek and Intermediate Greek | ||
| Choose two: 1 | 8 | |
| Ancient Near East & Early Greece: 3000-500 B.C.E. | ||
| Ancient Greece & the Near East: 500-146 B.C.E. | ||
| Rome & the Mediterranean: 800 B.C.E.-500 C.E. | ||
| Late Antiquity | ||
| Choose one: 1 | 3-4 | |
| Ancient Mediterranean Art | ||
| Ancient Near East & Early Greece: 3000-500 B.C.E. | ||
| Ancient Greece & the Near East: 500-146 B.C.E. | ||
| Rome & the Mediterranean: 800 B.C.E.-500 C.E. | ||
| Late Antiquity | ||
| Greek, Roman, & Near Eastern Mythology | ||
or CLA 010Y | Greek, Roman, & Near Eastern Mythology–Hybrid | |
| Women & Gender in Classical Antiquity | ||
| Pompeii AD 79 | ||
| The Classical Heritage in America | ||
| Greek & Latin Elements in English Vocabulary | ||
| Greek & Latin Elements in English Vocabulary | ||
| Greek & Latin Elements in Technical Vocabulary | ||
| Life & Economy in the Ancient Mediterranean World | ||
| Ancient Science | ||
| Major Works of the Ancient World | ||
| Philosophical Classics of the Ancient Era | ||
| The Bible & Its Interpreters | ||
| New Testament | ||
| Preparatory Subject Matter Subtotal | 26-27 | |
| Depth Subject Matter | ||
| Upper Division courses in Latin or Greek. | 12 | |
| CLA 190 | Senior Seminar | 4 |
| Six Additional Upper Division Courses Chosen from the Following Groups: | ||
| Of these 24 units at least 12 must be in LAT, GRK, or CLA. | ||
| (a) Upper division courses: 2 | 12 | |
| Topics in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations | ||
| Topics in Greek Civilization | ||
| Topics in Roman Civilization | ||
| Topics in Classical Receptions | ||
| Topics in Ancient Science | ||
| Film & the Classical World | ||
| Love & Beauty in the Ancient World | ||
| Theory & Practice of Greek & Roman Mythology | ||
| Origins of Rhetoric | ||
| Forms of Knowledge in the Ancient World | ||
| Greek & Roman Historiography | ||
| Roman Political Thought | ||
| Homer & Ancient Epic | ||
| Greek & Roman Comedy | ||
| Greek & Roman Novel | ||
| Greek Tragedy | ||
| Socrates & Classical Athens | ||
| Cultural Interactions in the Ancient Mediterranean World | ||
| Mediterranean Bronze Age Archaeology | ||
| Early Greek Art & Architecture | ||
| Later Greek Art & Architecture | ||
| Roman Art & Architecture | ||
| Greek Religion & Society | ||
| Architecture & Urbanism in Mediterranean Antiquity | ||
| Roman Religions | ||
| Readings in Greek Prose | ||
| Plato | ||
| Euripides | ||
| Homer: Iliad | ||
| Homer: Odyssey | ||
| Menander | ||
| Attic Orators | ||
| Greek Hexameter Poetry | ||
| Readings in the Greek Novel | ||
| Sophocles | ||
| Aristophanes | ||
| Thucydides | ||
| Lyric Poetry | ||
| Aeschylus | ||
| Herodotus | ||
| Greek Prose Composition | ||
| Readings in Later Greek | ||
| Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy & Science | ||
| Readings in Latin Prose | ||
| Livy | ||
| Roman Comedy | ||
| Vergil: Aeneid | ||
| Sallust | ||
| Catullus | ||
| Horace: Odes & Epodes | ||
| Horace: Satires & Epistles | ||
| Roman Elegy | ||
| Ovid | ||
| Cicero | ||
| Lucretius | ||
| Vergil: Eclogues & Georgics | ||
| Roman Historians | ||
| Readings in Republican Latin Literature | ||
| Readings in Imperial Latin Literature | ||
| Latin Prose Composition | ||
| Early Christian Writers | ||
| Medieval Latin | ||
| Readings in Late Latin | ||
| Themes in Latin Literature | ||
| (b) Relevant courses in other departments such as: | 12 | |
| Undergraduate Proseminar in History: Ancient | ||
| Ancient History | ||
| Ancient History | ||
| Ancient History | ||
| Christian Origins | ||
| Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocrypha, & Pseudepigrapha | ||
| New Testament Literature: Synoptic Gospels | ||
| New Testament Literature: John | ||
| New Testament Literature: Paul | ||
| Hellenistic Philosophy | ||
| Pre-Socratics | ||
| Plato | ||
| Aristotle | ||
| History of Political Theory: Ancient | ||
| Depth Subject Matter Subtotal | 40 | |
| Total Units | 66-67 | |
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Please note that CLA 001, CLA 002, CLA 003, & CLA 004 can only be used one time (in either Area 1 OR Area 2) for the Classical Civilization major requirements.
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Classical Languages & Literatures Track
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Preparatory Subject Matter | ||
| Latin | ||
| LAT 001 | Elementary Latin | 5 |
| LAT 002 | Elementary Latin | 5 |
| LAT 003 | Intermediate Latin | 5 |
| Greek | ||
| GRK 001 | Elementary Greek | 5 |
| GRK 002 | Elementary Greek | 5 |
| GRK 003 | Intermediate Greek | 5 |
| Classics | ||
| Choose one: | 4 | |
| Ancient Near East & Early Greece: 3000-500 B.C.E. | ||
| Ancient Greece & the Near East: 500-146 B.C.E. | ||
| Rome & the Mediterranean: 800 B.C.E.-500 C.E. | ||
| Late Antiquity | ||
| Preparatory Subject Matter Subtotal | 34 | |
| Depth Subject Matter | ||
| Six upper division courses in the two chosen languages, with at least two courses in each language | 24 | |
| CLA 190 | Senior Seminar | 4 |
| Choose two from either of the following groups: | 8 | |
| (a) Additional upper division courses: 1 | ||
Additional upper division courses in Latin or Greek. | ||
| Topics in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations | ||
| Topics in Greek Civilization | ||
| Topics in Roman Civilization | ||
| Topics in Classical Receptions | ||
| Topics in Ancient Science | ||
| Film & the Classical World | ||
| Love & Beauty in the Ancient World | ||
| Theory & Practice of Greek & Roman Mythology | ||
| Origins of Rhetoric | ||
| Forms of Knowledge in the Ancient World | ||
| Greek & Roman Historiography | ||
| Roman Political Thought | ||
| Homer & Ancient Epic | ||
| Greek & Roman Comedy | ||
| Greek & Roman Novel | ||
| Greek Tragedy | ||
| Socrates & Classical Athens | ||
| Mediterranean Bronze Age Archaeology | ||
| Early Greek Art & Architecture | ||
| Later Greek Art & Architecture | ||
| Roman Art & Architecture | ||
| Greek Religion & Society | ||
| Architecture & Urbanism in Mediterranean Antiquity | ||
| Roman Religions | ||
| Readings in Greek Prose | ||
| Plato | ||
| Euripides | ||
| Homer: Iliad | ||
| Homer: Odyssey | ||
| Menander | ||
| Attic Orators | ||
| Greek Hexameter Poetry | ||
| Readings in the Greek Novel | ||
| Sophocles | ||
| Aristophanes | ||
| Thucydides | ||
| Lyric Poetry | ||
| Aeschylus | ||
| Herodotus | ||
| Greek Prose Composition | ||
| Readings in Later Greek | ||
| Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy & Science | ||
| Readings in Latin Prose | ||
| Livy | ||
| Roman Comedy | ||
| Vergil: Aeneid | ||
| Sallust | ||
| Catullus | ||
| Horace: Odes & Epodes | ||
| Horace: Satires & Epistles | ||
| Roman Elegy | ||
| Ovid | ||
| Cicero | ||
| Lucretius | ||
| Vergil: Eclogues & Georgics | ||
| Roman Historians | ||
| Readings in Republican Latin Literature | ||
| Readings in Imperial Latin Literature | ||
| Latin Prose Composition | ||
| Early Christian Writers | ||
| Medieval Latin | ||
| Readings in Late Latin | ||
| Themes in Latin Literature | ||
| (b) Relevant courses in other departments such as: | ||
| Undergraduate Proseminar in History: Ancient | ||
| Ancient History | ||
| Ancient History | ||
| Ancient History | ||
| Christian Origins | ||
| Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocrypha, & Pseudepigrapha | ||
| New Testament Literature: Synoptic Gospels | ||
| New Testament Literature: John | ||
| New Testament Literature: Paul | ||
| Hellenistic Philosophy | ||
| Pre-Socratics | ||
| Plato | ||
| Aristotle | ||
| History of Political Theory: Ancient | ||
| Depth Subject Matter Subtotal | 36 | |
| Total Units | 70 | |
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