Classics Major, B.A.–Greek, Latin, and Combined Greek and Latin
Classics Major, B.A.–Greek
The goal of the concentration in Greek is the development of a basic command of the language and a solid knowledge of the literature, history, and culture of the Greeks. Students interested in an undergraduate major in Greek or in a combined major in Greek and Latin should consult the department by the second semester of the sophomore year. For Greek as satisfying the language requirement for the B.A. degree, see the General Education section in this catalog.
Classics Major, B.A.–Latin
The goal of the concentration in Latin is the development of a basic command of the language and a solid knowledge of the literature, history, and culture of the Romans. Students interested in an undergraduate major in Latin or a combined major in Latin and Greek should consult the department by the second semester of the sophomore year. For Latin as satisfying the language requirement for the B.A. degree, see the General Education section in this catalog.
Classics Major, B.A.–Combined Greek and Latin
This is not a double major, but a concentration designed to develop facility in both ancient languages and in the literatures of both Greece and Rome. This program is recommended for students who have a strong interest in continuing classical languages at the graduate level. In this major students emphasize one language yet acquire facility in the other.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the Greek, Latin, and combined programs, students should be able to:
- Translate into idiomatic English passages in prose and poetry in the target languages
- Analyze and evaluate the works of Greek and Latin authors, both in writing and orally. If appropriate given the nature of the material, they will be able to place the passages within their historical or literary contexts, and they will demonstrate an ability to employ earlier scholarship as well as current methodological and theoretical approaches.
- Conduct independent research projects. Their work will demonstrate an ability to employ scholarly conventions and current methodologies.
Requirements
In addition to the program requirements, students must
- earn a minimum final cumulative GPA of 2.000
- complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC–Chapel Hill courses
- take at least half of their major core requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC–Chapel Hill
- earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the major core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for major or specific courses.
For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.
Classics Major, B.A.–Greek
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| CLAS 391 |  Junior Seminar | 3 |
| GREK 204 | Intermediate Greek II | 3 |
| or GREK 205 | Introductory Greek New Testament | |
| Five additional courses in Greek above GREK 203 1 | 15 | |
| Two additional courses in CLAS or CLAR with full or partial emphasis on ancient Greek culture (see list below) | 6 | |
| Additional Requirements | ||
| Elementary Classical Greek I 2 | ||
| Elementary Classical Greek II 2 | ||
| Intermediate Greek I 2 | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
- 1
CLAS 691H or CLAS 692H may on petition to the department count towards this requirement
- 2
The first three levels of GREK can count toward the General Education Foundations requirement and have not been included as additional hours for the major.
Greek (GREK) course descriptions.
Classics Major, B.A.–Latin
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CLAS 391 | Junior Seminar | 3 |
| LATN 204 | Intermediate Latin II | 3 |
| or LATN 205 | Medieval Latin | |
| Five additional courses in Latin above LATN 203 1 | 15 | |
| Two additional courses in CLAS or CLAR with full or partial emphasis on Roman culture (see list below) | 6 | |
| Additional Requirements | ||
| Elementary Latin I 2 | ||
| Elementary Latin II 2 | ||
| Intermediate Latin I 2 | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
- 1
CLAS 691H or CLAS 692H may on petition to the department count towards this requirement
- 2
The first three levels of LATN can count toward the General Education Foundations requirement and have not been included as additional hours for the major.
Latin (LATN) course descriptions.
Classics Major, B.A.–Combined Greek and Latin
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| Choose one emphasis 1 | 18 | |
| Greek Emphasis | ||
| Junior Seminar | ||
Five Greek courses above GREK 203 | ||
Two Latin courses above LATN 203 | ||
One additional course in CLAS or CLAR with full or partial emphasis on ancient Greek culture (see course list below) | ||
| Latin Emphasis | ||
| Junior Seminar | ||
Five Latin courses above LATN 203 | ||
Two Greek courses above GREK 203 | ||
One additional course in CLAS or CLAR with full or partial emphasis on Roman culture (see course list below) | ||
| Additional Requirements 2 | 17 | |
| Elementary Classical Greek I | ||
| Elementary Classical Greek II | ||
| Intermediate Greek I | ||
| Elementary Latin I | ||
| Elementary Latin II | ||
| Intermediate Latin I | ||
| Total Hours | 35 | |
- 1
CLAS 691H or 692H may on petition to the department substitute for one course above 205 in either the Greek emphasis or the Latin emphasis.
- 2
The first three levels of GREK or LATN can count toward the General Education Foundations requirement and have not been included as additional hours for the major. The 14 hours of the second language are included in the additional hours for the major.
Greek (GREK) course descriptions.
Latin (LATN) course descriptions.
Greek Culture and Roman Culture Course Lists
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Courses with Full or Partial Emphasis on Greek Culture | ||
| ARTH 461 | Greek Sculpture | 3 |
| CLAR 50 | First-Year Seminar: Art in the Ancient City H | 3 |
| CLAR 110 | The Archaeology of Palestine in the New Testament Period | 3 |
| CLAR 120 | Ancient Mediterranean, Egyptian, and Near Eastern Archaeology H | 3 |
| CLAR 243 | Minoans and Mycenaeans: The Archaeology of Bronze Age Greece | 3 |
| CLAR 244 | Greek Art and Archaeology | 3 |
| CLAR 250 | Who Owns the Past?: Archaeology, Ethics, and Politics H | 3 |
| CLAR 268 | Hellenistic Art and Archaeology (350-31 BCE) | 3 |
| CLAR 270 | Quantifying the Past: Big Data and Big Questions in Classical Archaeology | 3 |
| CLAR 374 | The Archaeology of Death | 3 |
| CLAR 375 | Archaeology of Cult | 3 |
| CLAR 411 | Method and Theory in Classical Archaeology | 3 |
| CLAR 464 | Greek Architecture | 3 |
| CLAR 480 | Egypt after the Pharaohs | 3 |
| CLAR 491 | The Archaeology of Early Greece (1200-500 BCE) | 3 |
| CLAR 492 | Archaeology of Greek Sanctuaries | 3 |
| CLAS 51 | First-Year Seminar: Greek Drama from Page to Stage H | 3 |
| CLAS 55 | First-Year Seminar: Three Greek and Roman Epics H | 3 |
| CLAS 57 | First-Year Seminar: Dead and Deadly Women: Greek Tragic Heroines from Aeschylus to Eliot H | 3 |
| CLAS 59 | First-Year Seminar: Ancient Magic and Religion | 3 |
| CLAS 61 | First-Year Seminar: Writing the Past H | 3 |
| CLAS 62 | First-Year Seminar: Bandits, Barbarians, and Rebels in the Ancient Mediterranean | 3 |
| CLAS 121 | The Greeks H | 3 |
| CLAS 123 | Summer Study Abroad in Greece | 3 |
| CLAS 133H | Epic and Tragedy | 3 |
| CLAS 231 | The Theater in the Greek and Roman World H | 3 |
| CLAS 240 | Women in Greek Art and Literature H | 3 |
| CLAS 242 | Sex and Gender in Antiquity | 3 |
| CLAS 243 | Race and Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean | 3 |
| CLAS 253 | Pericles and Athens H | 3 |
| CLAS 254 | Alexander and the Hellenistic World | 3 |
| CLAS 260 | Ancient Medicine H | 3 |
| CLAS 263 | Athletics in the Greek and Roman Worlds H | 3 |
| CLAS 271 | Classical Rhetoric and American Democracy | 3 |
| CLAS 300 | Classical Rhetoric: The Science of Persuasive Speech in Classical Antiquity and Beyond | 3 |
| CLAS 361 | Homer and the Heroic Age of Greece | 3 |
| CLAS 362 | Greek Tragedy H | 3 |
| CLAS 363 | Latin and Greek Lyric Poetry in Translation H | 3 |
| CLAS 364 | The Classical Background of English Poetry H | 3 |
| CLAS 365 | The Lives of Others from Herodotus to Tacitus | 3 |
| CLAS 380 | Emperors, Tyrants, Kings, and Rulers in Ancient Greece and Rome | 3 |
| CLAS 409 | Greek and Roman Historians H | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Courses with Full or Partial Emphasis on Roman Culture | ||
| CLAR 110 | The Archaeology of Palestine in the New Testament Period | 3 |
| CLAR 115 | Life in the Roman Army | 3 |
| CLAR 200 | Art and Fashion from Rome to Timbuktu | 3 |
| CLAR 247 | Roman Art and Archaeology | 3 |
| CLAR 248 | Italy Before the Romans | 3 |
| CLAR 250 | Who Owns the Past?: Archaeology, Ethics, and Politics H | 3 |
| CLAR 270 | Quantifying the Past: Big Data and Big Questions in Classical Archaeology | 3 |
| CLAR 374 | The Archaeology of Death | 3 |
| CLAR 380 | Life and Art in Ancient Pompeii | 3 |
| CLAR 411 | Method and Theory in Classical Archaeology | 3 |
| CLAR 465 | Roman Architecture | 3 |
| CLAR 474 | Roman Sculpture | 3 |
| CLAR 476 | Roman Painting | 3 |
| CLAR 480 | Egypt after the Pharaohs | 3 |
| CLAS 55 | First-Year Seminar: Three Greek and Roman Epics H | 3 |
| CLAS 59 | First-Year Seminar: Ancient Magic and Religion | 3 |
| CLAS 62 | First-Year Seminar: Bandits, Barbarians, and Rebels in the Ancient Mediterranean | 3 |
| CLAS 65 | First-Year Seminar: The City of Rome | 3 |
| CLAS 122 | The Romans H | 3 |
| CLAS 231 | The Theater in the Greek and Roman World H | 3 |
| CLAS 241 | Women in Ancient Rome H | 3 |
| CLAS 242 | Sex and Gender in Antiquity | 3 |
| CLAS 243 | Race and Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean | 3 |
| CLAS 257 | Augustus and Rome H | 3 |
| CLAS 258 | The Early Roman Empire | 3 |
| CLAS 259 | Pagans and Christians | 3 |
| CLAS 260 | Ancient Medicine H | 3 |
| CLAS 263 | Athletics in the Greek and Roman Worlds H | 3 |
| CLAS 271 | Classical Rhetoric and American Democracy | 3 |
| CLAS 300 | Classical Rhetoric: The Science of Persuasive Speech in Classical Antiquity and Beyond | 3 |
| CLAS 363 | Latin and Greek Lyric Poetry in Translation H | 3 |
| CLAS 364 | The Classical Background of English Poetry H | 3 |
| CLAS 365 | The Lives of Others from Herodotus to Tacitus | 3 |
| CLAS 371 | Cicero, Caesar, and the End of the Roman Republic | 3 |
| CLAS 380 | Emperors, Tyrants, Kings, and Rulers in Ancient Greece and Rome | 3 |
| CLAS 409 | Greek and Roman Historians H | 3 |
| CLAS 415 | Roman Law H | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
Special Opportunities in Classics
Honors in Classics
Classics majors wishing to take part in the departmental honors program during their senior year must have a grade point average of at least 3.3 at the beginning of their senior year and maintain an average no lower than this through their final semester in order to be eligible for honors consideration.
The program consists of two courses, CLAS 691H and CLAS 692H, taken sequentially in the fall and spring semesters. CLAS 691H involves a directed reading in Greek, Latin, or archaeology in a general area of the student’s interest and is conducted under the supervision of a faculty member chosen by the student to serve as the honors advisor. Requirements of the course include the preparation of a thesis prospectus with accompanying bibliography and a preliminary oral examination by the student’s thesis committee. A grade for CLAS 691H is assigned on the basis of the total semester’s work. CLAS 692H entails the writing of the thesis under the direction of the honors advisor and a final oral defense before the candidate’s committee. This body, in turn, reports its judgment to the department. If a degree with honors is to be awarded, a recommendation for either honors or, for particular merit, highest honors is made.
Additional Opportunities
The Department of Classics supports a number of activities, including informal reading groups; the local chapter of Eta Sigma Phi, the national undergraduate classics honorary society; and annual oral performances and prize competitions in reciting and translating Greek and Latin texts. Several of the prize competitions involve substantial cash awards. Opportunities for undergraduate research include especially the senior honors thesis and participation in archaeological fieldwork as research assistants. The department encourages majors and minors to take part in summer archaeological field projects. Other opportunities for study abroad include the programs of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome and the College Year in Athens, and the exchange with King’s College London. A number of departmental fellowships and other funding opportunities can help support participation in archaeological field projects and other research projects. Lastly, the Duke–UNC Consortium for Classical and Mediterranean Archaeology provides archaeology students access to coursework, seminars, excavations and other research opportunities, academic advising, and avenues for curricular and extracurricular interaction across both institutions. For further information about prizes, fellowships, and opportunities for research and study abroad, see the departmental website.
Department Programs
Majors
- Classics Major, B.A.–Classical Archaeology
- Classics Major, B.A.–Classical Civilization
- Classics Major, B.A.–Greek, Latin, and Combined Greek and Latin
Minors
Graduate Programs
Courses
