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Acropolis of Lindos on the island of Rhodes

Classical Languages & Literatures

Classics is the study of ancient Greek and Roman civilization, which laid the foundation of the western tradition in literature, philosophy, history, art, science and mathematics. Classics is thus not confined to one field or method, but has always been inherently interdisciplinary. Classics students spend most of their time reading Greek and Latin texts in the original languages, but they can also take courses in English translation in a variety of disciplines in order to get a broader, interdisciplinary perspective. Classics makes a dynamic and rewarding stand alone major, but it can be (and often is) paired with a second major.
Above: Photo of Lindos, Rhodes.

Department Update

Welcome students!

The Department of Classical Languages and Literatures sends a warm welcome to Smith students, both returning and new. Best wishes for a great spring semester! 

Requirements & Courses

Goals for Majors in Classical Studies

The Department of Classical Languages and Literatures regards its principal mission as instruction of students in the languages and literatures of ancient Greece and Rome. We believe that the study of Greek and Latin provides students with a rigorous intellectual training that is transferable to other areas of learning and life. We practice the deep study of language on texts—literary, historical and philosophical—that we admire for the directness and vigor with which they confront central issues of the human condition: love and death, freedom and tyranny, justice and injustice. A sustained confrontation with classical texts not only heightens a student’s sensitivity to literature and involves her in a valuable cultural odyssey, but also prepares her for a life of thoughtful and engaged citizenship in the world of the 21st century.

Students majoring in classics or classical studies should be able to:

  • Translate with accuracy and understanding Latin and/or Greek texts from a variety of historical periods and genres.
  • Appreciate literary texts (epic, tragedy, elegy, oratory, history or philosophy) in relation to their historical frameworks, both diachronic (texts in dialogue with one another across a literary tradition) and synchronic (texts responding to specific historical conditions).
  • Have a working knowledge of the basic tools and resources, both print and electronic, for conducting research about ancient Greek and Roman culture.
  • Write clear, cogent interpretive arguments that demonstrate an ability to evaluate and engage critically with both primary sources and secondary literature.
  • Communicate ideas clearly and effectively in oral argument.
  • Develop an historical awareness of the enduring influence of the classics in the arts and culture of subsequent periods up to the present day.

Classical Studies Major

Requirements

Nine courses

  1. Four courses in the Greek or Latin languages
    1. Two courses at any level
    2. Two courses at or above the intermediate level
  2. At least two courses chosen from classics in translation in classics or First-Year Seminars
  3. At least two courses chosen from archaeology, art history, world literatures, government, ancient history, philosophy or religion, in accordance with the interests of the student and in consultation with the adviser. With the approval of the adviser, courses in other departments and programs may count toward the major.

Classics Major

Requirements

Nine language courses

  1. At least two courses in the Greek language at any level
  2. At least two courses in the Latin language at any level
  3. Six courses in Greek or Latin at or above the intermediate level
  • One classics in translation course in classics or First-Year Seminars may be substituted for one language course at the discretion of the student and with the approval of the adviser.

Greek Major

Requirements

Nine language courses

  1. Three courses in the Greek language at any level
  2. Six courses in the Greek language at or above the intermediate level
  • One classics in translation course in classics or First-Year Seminars may be substituted for one language course at the discretion of the student and with the approval of the adviser.

Latin Major

Requirements

Nine language courses

  1. Three courses in the Latin language at any level
  2. Six courses in the Latin Language at or above the intermediate level
  • One classics in translation course in classics or First-Year Seminars may be substituted for one language course at the discretion of the student and with the approval of the adviser.

Honors

Please consult the director of honors or the departmental website for specific requirements and application procedures.

Classics Minor

Requirements

Six courses (24 credits)

  1. Two courses in the Greek language at any level
  2. Two courses in the Latin language at any level
  3. Two courses in the Greek or Latin languages at or above the intermediate level

Greek Minor

Requirements

Six courses (24 credits)

  1. Two courses courses in the Greek language at any level
  2. At least two courses in the Greek language at or above the intermediate level
  3. At least one course from Greek history, art, ancient philosophy, ancient political theory, ancient religion or classics in translation

Latin Minor

Requirements

Six courses (24 credits)

  1. Two courses courses in the Latin language at any level
  2. At least two courses in the Latin language at or above the intermediate level
  3. At least one course from Roman history, art, ancient philosophy, ancient political theory, ancient religion or classics in translation

Classics Courses

Students planning to major in classics are advised to take relevant courses in other departments, such as art, English, history, philosophy and modern foreign languages.

Credit is not granted for the first semester of an introductory language course unless the second semester is completed successfully. Courses for the major may not be taken S/U.

CLS 217/ ARH 217 Greek Art and Archaeology (4 Credits)

Offered as CLS 217 and ARH 217. This course is a contextual examination of the art and architecture of Ancient Greece, from the end of the Bronze Age through the domination of Greece by Rome (ca. 1100-168 BCE) and handles an array of settlements, cemeteries and ritual sites. It tracks the development of the Greek city-state and the increasing power of the Greeks in the Mediterranean, culminating in the major diaspora of Greek culture accompanying the campaigns of Alexander the Great and his followers. The course takes a broadly chronological approach, and the question of a unified Greek culture is stressed. Continuing archaeological work is considered. {A}{H}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

CLS 218 Hellenistic Art and Archaeology (4 Credits)

This course examines the art, architecture and material culture of the Hellenistic period, spanning the years from 323 to 31 BCE and representing one of the most exciting and dynamic eras of Greek history. Beginning with the expansionist campaign of Alexander the Great and ending with the conquests of the future emperor Augustus, it is a time of fast-paced change, experimentation and diversity. In addition to examining the archaeology of this period, the course explores ideas about the accessibility of archaeological material and how this may be facilitated through digital collections and virtual reconstructions. {A}{H}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

CLS 227 Classical Mythology (4 Credits)

The principal myths as they appear in Greek and Roman literature, seen against the background of ancient culture and religion. Focus on creation myths, the structure and function of the Olympian pantheon, the Troy cycle and artistic paradigms of the hero. Some attention to modern retellings and artistic representations of ancient myths. {A}{L}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

CLS 228 Archaeology of Greek Mythologies (Global Flex) (2 Credits)

This course considers how the Greek past is conceptualized and narrativized at various stages in history, from the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600-1100 BCE) to the modern period. It is carried out over the course of a 12-day trip to Greece through the Global FLEX program, and students must apply through this program. Course goals include the critical assessment of Greece’s long-term symbolic position as the “West” in opposition to an ill-defined “East.” Students acquire a working knowledge of Greek history, culture, mythology, and archaeology. Enrollment limited to 20. Instructor permission required. (E) {A}{H}{S}

Spring, Variable

CLS 233 Gender and Sexuality in Greco-Roman Culture (4 Credits)

The construction of gender, sexuality, and erotic experience is one of the major sites of difference between Greco-Roman culture and our own. What constituted a proper man and a proper woman in these ancient societies? Which sexual practices and objects of desire were socially sanctioned and which considered deviant? What ancient modes of thinking about these issues have persisted into the modern world? Attention to the status of women; the role of social class; the ways in which genre and convention shaped representation; the relationship between representation and reality. {H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

CLS 237 Artifacts of Daily Life in the Ancient Mediterranean (4 Credits)

This course uses the artifacts of the Van Buren Antiquities Collection as a starting point for investigating the daily life of the Greek and Roman worlds. In particular, students select and research an object or objects for which to develop an "object biography," through which the people who produced, used, and re-used these objects might be accessed. Additional attention is given to the place of objects in archaeological practice and narratives. Enrollment limited to 10. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

CLS 238 The Age of Heroes: Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age (4 Credits)

The Mediterranean Bronze Age is often associated with mythological events like the Trojan War. But how did the people of the Bronze Age actually live? This course surveys the archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age, including Egypt and the Aegean, among others, from 3000 to 1100 BCE. The course explores not only the pyramids and palaces of the period, but also the evidence for day-to-day living, from crafts production to religion. The class also examines how these cultures interacted and the Mediterranean networks that both allowed them to flourish and led to their collapse. Enrollment limited to 40. {A}{H}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

CLS 400 Special Studies (1-4 Credits)

For majors, minors and advanced students. Prerequisites: Three classics or other courses on the ancient world and two intermediate courses in Greek or Latin. Instructor permission required.

Fall, Spring

CLS 430D Honors Project (4 Credits)

Department permission required.

Fall, Spring

Greek Courses

GRK 100Y Elementary Greek (5 Credits)

A year-long course in the fundamentals of Attic Greek, the dialect of Greek spoken in antiquity in the region of Attica and its capital, Athens, and used by canonical writers such as the tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, the historian Thucydides and the philosopher Plato. This course prepares students to read the works of these authors and a wide range of others through a combination of grammatical study, composition and graded reading practice, while learning about the history and culture of classical Greece. It also prepares them to make the transition to both the early Greek of Homeric epic and the later Greek (koine) of the New Testament. This course cannot be divided at midyear with credit for the first semester.

Fall, Spring, Annually

GRK 215 Greek Prose and Poetry of the Classical Age (4 Credits)

An introduction to different genres of prose and poetry in the Classical period with attention to linguistic differences over time and region. Readings are from works such as Herodotus' History of the Persian War, the poetry of Solon the wise Athenian lawmaker, the philosophical dialogues of Plato, the Athenian courtroom speeches of Lysias, the tragedies of Euripides. Prerequisite: GRK 100Y or equivalent. {F}{L}

Fall

GRK 216 Greek Poetry of the Archaic Age (4 Credits)

(Formerly GRK 214.) An exploration of the poetic masterpieces of the Archaic period. Students study some of the songs bards performed to the accompaniment of the lyre, stories of war, exile and homecoming, monsters and divinities, love and lust. Readings are chosen from works such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days, the Homeric Hymns. Prerequisite: GRK 215 or equivalent. {F}{L}

Spring

GRK 400 Special Studies (1-4 Credits)

For majors and honors students. Prerequisites: Four advanced courses in Greek. Instructor permission required.

Fall, Spring

GRK 430D Honors Project (4 Credits)

Department permission required.

Fall, Spring

Latin Courses

LAT 100Y Elementary Latin (5 Credits)

The Latin language has had an extraordinarily long life, from ancient Rome through the Middle Ages to nineteenth-century Europe, where it remained the language of scholarship and science. Even today it survives in the Romance languages that grew out of it and in the countless English words derived from Latin roots. This course prepares students to read Latin texts in any period or area of interest through a study of the fundamentals of classical Latin grammar and through practice in reading from a range of Latin authors. Some attention is also given to Roman culture and Latin literary history. This is a full-year course and cannot be divided at midyear with credit for the first semester. Enrollment limited to 30.

Fall, Spring, Annually

LAT 212 Introduction to Latin Prose and Poetry (4 Credits)

Practice and improvement of reading skills through the study of a selection of texts in prose and verse. Systematic review of fundamentals of grammar. Prerequisite: LAT 100Y or equivalent. {F}{L}

Fall

LAT 214 Introduction to Latin Literature in the Augustan Age (4 Credits)

An introduction to the "Golden Age" of Latin literature which flourished under Rome's first emperor. Reading and discussion of authors exemplifying a range of genres and perspectives such as Virgil, Ovid and Horace, with attention to the political and cultural context of their work and to the relationship between literary production and the Augustan regime and its program. Practice in research skills and in reading, evaluating and producing critical essays. Prerequisite: LAT 212 or equivalent. {F}{L}

Spring

LAT 330ve Topics: Advanced Readings in Latin Literature-Vergil, Eclogues and Georgics (4 Credits)

Before he produced ancient Rome’s greatest work of literature, the Aeneid, the young poet Vergil began his career with two very different works: the Eclogues, a collection of ten short pastoral poems, and the Georgics, a learned instructional poem ostensibly about agriculture. Through close readings of the Latin, translations and modern scholarship, the course explores major stylistic and thematic elements of each work, such as: how they depict the natural world, how they interact with Greek and Latin poetic models, and how they speak to the shifting cultural and political landscape of Rome as it transitions into the Augustan Age. Prerequisites: One intermediate Latin course. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

LAT 400 Special Studies (1-4 Credits)

For majors and honors students. Prerequisites: Four advanced courses in Latin. Instructor permission required.

Fall, Spring

LAT 430D Honors Project (4 Credits)

Department permission required.

Fall, Spring

Crosslisted Courses

ENG 202/ WLT 202 Western Classics in Translation I: Homer to Dante (4 Credits)

Offered as ENG 202 and WLT 202. Considers works of literature, mostly from the ancient world, that have had a significant influence over time. May include: epics by Homer and Virgil; tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides; Plato’s Symposium; Dante’s Divine Comedy." Enrollment limited to 20. WI {L}

Fall

FYS 147 Power Lunch: The Archaeology of Feasting (4 Credits)

Throughout history, food and dining have formed some of the most fundamental expressions of cultural identity--in a very real sense, people are what they eat, and how they eat. This cross-cultural examination of the topic begins by exploring the various roles that feasting played in the world of the ancient Mediterranean, particularly the cultures of Greece and Rome. The class examines comparative material from contemporary societies. How does food define and create culture? In what ways does dining express or reinforce inequalities? These and other questions are tackled through the use of primary literature, anthropological studies and archaeological material, along with hands-on approaches. Restrictions: First years only; students are limited to one first-year seminar. Enrollment limited to 16. WI {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

Additional Programmatic Information

Honors Director: Nancy Shumate

Requirements: A 3.7 average for courses within the major through the junior year. Honors candidates will complete a yearlong, 8-credit thesis and will take an examination in the general area of the thesis.

Evaluation: In determining the final honors evaluation the department weights the thesis at 60%, grades at 30%, and the examination at 10%.

The Classics Department does not have a designated placement exam for Latin. We urge you to chat with members of the Department during Orientation, who will help you determine what course would be most suitable for you.

Faculty

Joshua C. Birk

History

Associate Professor of History; Chair, Classical Languages & Literatures

Joshua Birk

Barbara Kellum

Art

Co-Chair of the Art Department, Chair of Art History and Architecture, Professor of Art

Susan B. Levin

Philosophy

Roe/Straut Professor in the Humanities; Professor of Philosophy; and Chair, Department of Philosophy

Susan Levin

Emeriti

Scott A. Bradbury
Professor Emeritus of Classical Languages and Literatures

J. Patrick Coby
Esther Booth Wiley 1934 Professor Emeritus of Government

Justina Winston Gregory
Sophia Smith Professor Emerita of Classical Languages and Literatures

Thalia Alexandra Pandiri
Professor Emerita of Classical Languages & Literatures and of World Literatures

Why Study Classics?

Resources

Display case at the Van Buren Antiquities room, Smith College

The Van Buren Antiquities Collection

This archeological collection of artifacts from Ancient Greece and Italy was originally the personal study collection of Albert William Van Buren (1878–1968), whose career as professor of archaeology and curator of the Archaeological Study Collection at the American Academy in Rome spanned more than five decades. He introduced generations of American students to the monuments of Rome, Latium and Etruria. The collection was sold to the Smith College Latin department in 1925.

VIEW THE ANTIQUITIES COLLECTION ONLINE

Adviser: Thalia Pandiri

Programs in Greece

College Year in Athens
Smith's approved program for students who want to study classics in Greece.

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Summer Session
This site contains a list of fellowships and school programs/sessions; look through it to find a program that will work for you.

Programs in Italy

The American Academy in Rome, Classical Summer School
The description states that high school teachers and graduate students may apply, but advanced undergraduates are also eligible.

The Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome (ICCS)
Smith's approved program for students who want to study classics in Italy.

Smith students also study abroad in Florence, Paris and the United Kingdom.

John Everett Brady Prize

The John Everett Brady Prize is open to all classes and is awarded for excellence in the translation of Latin at sight; a second prize is awarded for the best performance in the beginning Latin course.

Julia Harwood Caverno Prize

The Julia Harwood Caverno Prize is awarded for the best performance in the beginning Greek course.

Alice Hubbard Derby Prize

The Alice Hubbard Derby Prize is awarded to a member of the junior or senior class for excellence in the translation of Greek at sight; a second prize is awarded to a member of the junior or senior class for excellence in the study of Greek literature in the year in which the award is made.

George E. Dimock Memorial Prize

The George E. Dimock Memorial Prize is awarded for the best essay on a classical subject submitted by a Smith College undergraduate.

The Rhorer Fund

The Department of Classical Languages and Literatures has limited funds available from the Catherine Campbell Rhorer Fund, to be awarded:

  1. For travel and enrichment purposes to classics or classical studies majors who have been accepted to study classics abroad during their junior year.
  2. In support of summer course work taken at another college or university, after approval by the classics department, by classics or classical studies majors sufficiently advanced in the field, or by graduating seniors.

Normally, successful applicants will have a record of A- or better in Greek and/or Latin courses taken at Smith. Financial need will be taken into consideration in determining awards. Application may be made at any point during the academic year. To compete for an award from the Rhorer Fund, a student should submit a letter of application to the chair of the department consisting of (a) one or two paragraphs describing her projected plan of study and/or travel and explaining how it would enhance her education in classics and (b) a budget.

Contact Classical Languages & Literatures

Pierce Hall 105
Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063

Phone: 413-585-3302 Email: jroberts@cellphonejoys.com

Administrative Assistant: Jennifer Roberts

Individual appointments can be arranged directly with the faculty.