At Gettysburg College, the study of Classics opens a gateway to the ancient world and equips students with timeless skills for today’s complex global society. The Classics curriculum explores the languages, literature, history, philosophy, and material culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Whether you are delving into Homeric epics, decoding ancient inscriptions, or analyzing Roman political rhetoric, the program offers a rich and multidisciplinary foundation that fosters critical thinking, analytical precision, and cultural awareness.
Students can immerse themselves in Classics through several distinct but interconnected programs. The Classics major provides a broad and integrated approach to the civilizations of Greece and Rome, allowing students to study ancient history, literature (in translation and in the original languages), archaeology, and philosophy. Students in this track develop a deep understanding of classical civilizations while honing analytical and interpretive skills.
For those drawn to the beauty and challenge of ancient languages, Gettysburg offers minors in Greek and Latin, allowing students to focus more intensively on reading classical texts in their original form. These minors pair well with majors in history, philosophy, political science, and many other fields, offering linguistic rigor and cultural depth.
The Classics minor provides a flexible option for students interested in exploring the ancient world without committing to a full major. Through a curated selection of courses across different subfields, students gain meaningful exposure to antiquity while complementing their primary course of study.
Whether majoring or minoring, students benefit from small class sizes, close mentorship with faculty scholars, and opportunities to engage with the ancient world through travel, research, and archaeological fieldwork. The curriculum cultivates not only an appreciation of ancient civilizations, but also the ability to think deeply and write clearly—skills essential for careers in law, education, business, and beyond.
Classical Studies Major
The new Classical Studies Major is open to students starting with those in the graduating class of 2021 (current juniors).
Because Classical Studies is multidisciplinary, the major includes a number of courses cross listed with History, Anthropology, WGS, Art History, and Philosophy in addition to Latin and Greek language courses and Latin and Greek Literature and culture courses.
The major allows students to complete the Classical Studies major with or without Latin or Greek study. Students who learn Latin or ancient Greek can include in the major Latin 102 and Greek 102 and any Latin (LAT) or Greek (GRK) literature courses focused on reading Classical authors in their original languages, or add a Latin or Greek minor to their program (with approval from the department). Students who choose language study other than Latin or Greek can also major in Classical Studies.
Requirements:
9 CLA, Latin, or Greek courses:
Any CLA 100-level courses and ANTH 106: students may count up to 2
Latin 102 and Greek 102: students may count both (not required)
CLA, Latin, or Greek courses at the 200 or 300 level and above: at least 1 must be at the 300-level
1 Extra-disciplinary Approach Course:
ANTH 221, 227, 300
ENG 299, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 221, 223, 310, 312, 315, 316, 317 ES 230
HIST 208, 300 POL 102
REL 204, 205
THA 203
or other course approved by the Department.
Capstone Seminar or approved CLA 464 or other approved 400-level course.
Classical Studies Minor
Six courses are required: Any Classical Studies course beyond the 100-level, or any Greek or Latin course at any level. May include two from the following: CLA 103, 104, 130, CLA/HIST 102, ANTH 106.
Greek Minor
A minor in Greek (GRK) shall consist of any six courses at any level OR any five courses in Greek (GRK) at any level, plus one course in Classics (CLA) at any level. (See course offerings under “Greek.”)
Latin Minor
Any six courses in Latin (LAT) at any level OR any five courses in Latin (LAT) at any level, plus one course in Classics (CLA) at any level. (See course offerings under “Latin.”)
Exploration of great works of ancient Greek and Latin literature, including epic, lyric poetry, drama, philosophical dialogue, and literary criticism. Through analysis of these texts in discussion and writing, we consider what it means to be human, the shape of justice and morality, the power of rhetoric, social and political dynamics of gender, race, and class, and strategies of representation. Authors read may include Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, Lucretius, Seneca, and others.
Survey of history, literature, art, architecture, etc. of Rome from its founding to the Council of Nicaea, with emphasis on the material culture of an empire encompassing the whole Mediterranean world. Normally offered every year.
Survey of classical mythology, with attention to the process of myth-making, the development of religion and various critical approaches to mythology.
Introductory survey of the art and architecture of Ancient Greece and Rome, beginning with the Bronze Age in the Aegean to the reign of emperor Constantine. The course covers the history, culture and social context of major works produced by these civilizations and analyzes developments in style, taste and use of materials. Recommended ARTH 125. Offered once a year. ARTH 201 and CLA 201 are cross-listed.
Study of philosophers and philosophies of ancient Greece and Rome. Emphasis is on the Pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Stoicism, and Skepticism. PHIL 205 and CLA 205 are cross-listed.
Investigation of the impact that the Roman Empire had on the indigenous Celts and other peoples of Western Europe. The course takes a critical look at the idea that the spread of Roman "civilization" was ultimately beneficial to the supposed "barbarians" brought under imperial rule. The course also compares Roman colonialism with modern empires and imperial projects, and analyzes how examples of modern colonialism used the Roman Empire as a model and ideological justification for European colonial expansion and domination. ANTH 210 and CLA 210 are cross-listed.
Survey of the ancient peoples of Europe during the first millennium B.C. and their relation to the seven modern Celtic nations of the Atlantic fringe. Through an examination of archaeology, ancient history, mythology, and anthropology, this course investigates the relation between ancient and modern Celtic cultures, and the ways in which the archaeology of the ancient Celts has been used to construct modern Celtic identities. ANTH 214 and CLA 214 are cross-listed.
What determines our sex and gender? What sorts of romantic and sexual relationships are acceptable, and why? Who and what define the binaries of male and female, gay and straight, and can individuals move fluidly between them? How do people’s gender and/or sexuality relate to their social and economic positions? This course investigates ancient Greece as a case-study for the way that gender and sexuality works, providing new perspective on our own world. WGS 240 and CLA 240 are cross-listed.
Survey of Hellenic civilization from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period. CLA 251 and HIST 251 are cross-listed. Offered every other year.
Survey of various sites and material cultures of the Mediterranean world, from c. 1500 BCE through 500 CE, including some discussion of the goals, methods, and cultural/ legal issues involved in archaeological research. Normally offered every other year. ANTH 255 and CLA 255 are cross-listed.
In this course, we will study a selection of Ancient Greek tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and Roman tragedies by Seneca. We will consider the following questions: what defines tragedy as a genre, how and in what context were ancient tragedies performed, what do tragedies tell us about Greek and Roman values and beliefs, what were the social and political functions of tragedy in the ancient world, and what meanings and uses can re-performance of these tragedies have in diverse contexts in the modern world? Course activities may include performance and/or adaptation of ancient tragedy, and attending a live production of a tragedy.
This course investigates constructions of “race” in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds and the ways in which constructions of “race” and “otherness” were implicated in power relations in the broader ancient Mediterranean, including systems of conquest, enslavement, and social differentiation. In addition, this course uses a critical understanding of these notions of “race” in the ancient world to contextualize modern ideas about race and systems of racism. This will include identifying similarities and differences between ancient and modern ideas about “race” and their implications for power relations, as well as considering the ways in which modern racist ideologies have drawn upon Greco-Roman antiquity as a justification for enslavement and racial hierarchies. Course units include: racial theories in the modern world and in the ancient Mediterranean, Greco-Roman perceptions of Blackness, ancient and modern Orientalism, the formation of Greek and Roman identity in opposition to the “other,” imperialism and notions of the “barbarian”, links between Greco-Roman antiquity and modern White Supremacy, and connections between slavery and race in the ancient Mediterranean and their legacy for American slavery.
Survey of the ancient peoples of Europe during the first millennium B.C. and their relation to the seven modern Celtic nations of the Atlantic fringe. Through an examination of archaeology, ancient history, mythology, and anthropology, this course investigates the relation between ancient and modern Celtic cultures, and the ways in which the archaeology of the ancient Celts has been used to construct modern Celtic identities. Prerequisite: ANTH 103 or ANTH 106
What determines our sex and gender? What sorts of romantic and sexual relationships are acceptable, and why? Who and what define the binaries of male and female, gay and straight, and can individuals move fluidly between them? How do people’s gender and/or sexuality relate to their social and economic positions? This course investigates ancient Greece as a case-study for the way that gender and sexuality works, providing new perspective on our own world.
Study from both a theoretical and methodological level of the various forms of social inequality that emerged in the ancient world, as well as the forms of egalitarianism that have persisted throughout the world to the present day. The course emphasizes in particular a critical understanding of the ways in which ancient forms of inequality compare and contrast to what we see today in the modern world. ANTH 345 and CLA 345 are cross-listed.
The Senior Seminar is offered periodically and meets the Capstone requirement for the major. Using appropriate analytical frameworks, students explore a topic selected by the instructor in a collaborative seminar format.
Study of plans and monuments of Greek and Roman cities as well as writings of classical authors about cities and urban life. A combined archaeological, historical, and literary approach is used, with an emphasis on how the growth of cities depended on the development of technology for the construction of fortifications, large buildings, aqueducts, and other urban necessities. The course begins with the Mycenaean period in Greece and concludes with Roman cities of the 6th century AD. Prerequisite: One 100 or 200 level Classics course or permission of the instructor.
Individualized tutorial counting toward the minimum requirements in a major or minor, graded A-F
Individualized research counting toward the minimum requirements in a major or minor, graded A-F
Individualized research for half credit (0.50 units), graded A-F