Disciplines and Themes

Philology and Literary Studies

The term ‘philology’ well describes one of the core disciplines in the field of classical studies: the comprehensive study of a culture’s language and literature.  A foundational element in virtually all advanced work in classics is the detailed knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages; including their grammar, syntax, semantics, meter and rhythm, as well as the nuances and significance of style.  In acquiring this knowledge, students also hone their abilities to analyze language more generally and use it more effectively.  The study of Greek and Latin literature, however, involves far more than the mastery of Greek and Latin grammar.  It also involves, and indeed requires, a wide range of critical approaches: literary, historical, and cultural.  Those who study texts closely learn that almost any given text can open up a vast array of questions and insights.  Some of these are specific to the cultural context in which the text was originally produced, allowing students to explore the complexities of cultural variation, while others (and indeed sometimes the same ones) are issues that have concerned all people at all times.  In addition, it is hard to overestimate the impact that Greek and Latin literature had on later European literature.  In this respect Classics has an integral connection to the study of other European languages and literatures, including those that at Carolina are found in the departments of English and Comparative Literature, Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures, and Romance Studies.

All GREK and LATN courses are centrally concerned with language and literature.  The introductory sequence 101-102 focuses primarily on the study of grammar and vocabulary; 203 introduce more attention to literary and cultural issues, and these become the central focus in courses numbered 221 and higher.

In addition, the following courses also involve significant attention to language and literature:

Archaeology

The modern discipline of archaeology developed in large part from the study of ancient Greek and Roman art and artifacts, and it has in turn had a profound impact on the study of the ancient Mediterranean world.  Most dramatically, it opened up whole civilizations that had previously been known very partially (such as that of Egypt) or hardly at all (such as those of the Ancient Near East and the Bronze Age Aegean).  Just as importantly, the constantly increasing theoretical and technological sophistication of archaeological research has allowed scholars to pose and answer sets of questions about the Graeco-Roman world that are entirely distince from those generated by the study of ancient texts.  The Department offers a full range of courses in ancient Mediterranean archaeology.  These include, at the 200-level, surveys of all the major periods and cultures from the 3rd millennium BCE to late antiquity and, at the 400-level, more detailed examinations of particular periods and issues.  These courses complement those on the archaeology of the Americas and on archaeological theory and methodology offered by the department of Anthropology and are an integral part of the course offerings of the Curriculum in Archaeology.

Art History

Greek and Roman art and architecture had a profound influence on the development of later European art and architecture, especially from the Renaissance onwards.  At Carolina, most courses that focus on Greek and Roman art and architecture are cross-listed between Classics and Art History (ARTH) and are integral to the ancient concentration of the BA program in Art History.  These include, at the 200-level, general surveys of the major periods of classical art and, at the 400-level, advanced surveys of the major genres of Greek and Roman art and architecture.  But a number of courses in Mediterranean archaeology also deal extensively with art and architecture, especially CLAR 247, ‘Roman Archaeology’, which is as much a survey of art and architecture as it is of archaeology.

History

The Department of Classics offers a range of courses that complement and supplement the Department of History’s offerings in Greek and Roman history.  CLAS 121 and CLAS 122 provide broad, interdisciplinary surveys of Greek and Roman civilization, and the various ‘Age of’ courses (CLAS 253-259) do the same for more specific periods of time.  Other courses focus on specific historical topics such as women and sexuality (CLAS 240-242), athletics (CLAS 263), and law (CLAS 415).  Still others focus on the ancient literary works, including those of the major Greek and Roman historians, that constitute our fundamental source of information for the history of the classical world; these include courses in which the texts are read in translation, such as CLAS 061, 371, and 409, as well as courses in which they are read in the original Latin or Greek, such as LATN 331 and 354.  Lastly, our course offerings in archaeology provide a crucial complement to text-based courses: surviving material remains are both our primary source of information for main past periods of history for which written records are scanty or non-existent, and provide fundamentally different data for periods for which we do have written records.

Religion

The department of Religious Studies offers a range of courses in Ancient Mediterranean Religions, to which Classics contributes a few cross-listed courses.  Yet the study of ancient religion is an element of many of our other course offerings as well, since a concern with the divine world pervaded all aspects of ancient culture.  Ancient religion is a central topic in ‘Classical Mythology’ (CLAS 131), and also an important element in surveys of ancient Greek and Roman civilization (CLAS 121, 122) and of ancient Mediterranean archaeology (CLAR 200-level).  Relations between gods and mortals likewise feature prominently in the work of many ancient writers, notably Homer (GREK 221), the tragedians (CLAS 362), and Vergil (LATN 221), just to name a few.