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About the Major

Concentrators pursue two of the following three areas in depth: Ancient Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies. Courses go beyond the traditional study of the languages and cultures of ancient Greece and Rome to provide a broader view of the ancient world and its relation to our own time. The skills students acquire are transferable to a wide variety of contexts.

Students Will Learn To:

  • Analyze sources, whether textual or material, in their social and historical contexts
  • Demonstrate comprehension of texts written in the target language (Ancient Greek or Latin)

  • Compose original scholarly arguments using appropriate research methods and types of evidence
  • Critically engage with the discipline's history
  • Productively juxtapose the classical past with modernity

A Sampling of Courses

Pompeii

Pompeii

Provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the field of classical studies, focused through the Roman site of Pompeii and the eruption of Vesuvius in 70 CE. Through Pompeii, its destruction, and its remarkable level of preservation, we will study the art, architecture, archaeology, literature, philosophy, religion, history, daily life, sexuality, food, and social structures of Rome, as well as the place of Rome in the modern imagination. Students will gain a comprehensive overview of the many approaches and sub-disciplines represented within classical studies.

Explore these select courses:

An introduction to the language and culture of ancient Rome. Thorough grounding in Latin grammar, syntax and vocabulary. Reading and discussion of elementary passages that cast light on the society and culture of ancient Rome and its empire. No knowledge of Latin required.

A study of the philosophical classics from early Greek times to the Renaissance. Emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.

The word "martyrdom" is a site of live debate about ethics, from religious extremist martyrs to the label "martyr complex." Who is willing to suffer, and for what? Is that willingness justifiable, pathological, or terrorism? Must one die, or is it enough to suffer?. Christians in antiquity also asked these questions in response to persecution under the Roman Empire, as well as in the centuries after. Others in antiquity too considered the difference between suicide and noble, voluntary death. We will analyze the phenomenon of martyrdom in antiquity through a variety of textual attestation.

Reading from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey in the original Greek. Consideration of the Greek concept of heroism and the role of epic poetry, with attention to the society and culture of the Homeric world.

Meet Our Faculty

Anne Feltovich

Chair and Associate Professor of Classics

afeltovi@hamilton.edu

Greek and Roman comedy; Greek and Roman gender and sexuality; Greek archaeology

Miriam Kamil

Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics

mkamil@hamilton.edu

Latin poetry, emotion studies, textual transmission, Ovid, Sappho, classical reception

Amy Koenig

Assistant Professor of Classics

akoenig@hamilton.edu

Roman imperial literature, the Greek and Roman novel, ancient medicine, and Greek papyrology

Jesse Weiner

Associate Professor of Classics

jweiner@hamilton.edu

Latin epic poetry, didactic poetry, drama, and reception studies

Alexander Perkins

Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics and Religious Studies

adperkin@hamilton.edu

Explore Hamilton Stories

Parilia Classics Conference 2022

Gold Contributes to New Volume in Routledge Series

“Transgender Saints: Perpetua’s Legacy,” by Barbara Gold, the Edward North Professor Classics and Greek Literature Emerita, appears as a chapter in a new addition to The Routledge Companion series.

 Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz

Rabinowitz Develops Teaching Resources for LGBTQ+ Subjects

Professor of Comparative Literature and Creative Writing Emerita Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz is the primary investigator on a new publication titled Queering the Past(s), available on the Classical Association website.

Jacob Hane ’22

Passion for Latin, Classics Lead Hane ’22 to Yale Divinity School

When Jacob Hane ’22 began studying Latin in middle school, he never imagined it would lead him to pursue graduate studies at a divinity school. But through that love for Latin came a love for the classics, and through that, an interest in the New Testament and its cultural significance.

Careers After Hamilton

Hamilton graduates who concentrated in classics are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:

  • Latin Teacher, Wellesley Middle School
  • Assistant Professor of Classics, University of Southern Maine
  • Attorney
  • Principal Dancer, Kansas City Ballet
  • President, Breckinridge Capital Advisors
  • Manager, Books & Manuscript Dept., Sotheby’s
  • Marketing Director, Hewlett Packard Co.
  • Veterinarian

Contact

Department Name

Classics Department

Contact Name

Anne Feltovich, Chair

Office Location
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, NY 13323

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