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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

Jesse Weiner

Chair, Associate Professor of Classics

jweiner@hamilton.edu

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

Anna Accettola

Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics

aaccetto@hamilton.edu

Greek History, Roman Republican History, Ancient Economics and Long Distance Trade, Inter-state Relationships, Numismatics, Ethnicity and Race, Nabataean History and Archaeology, Power Display in Political Hierarchies

Anne Feltovich

Associate Professor of Classics

afeltovi@hamilton.edu

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

Amy Koenig

Assistant Professor of Classics

akoenig@hamilton.edu

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

Ian Mills

Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics and Religious Studies

imills@hamilton.edu

Early Christianity Late Antiquity New Testament Ancient Judaism

Martin Shedd

Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics

mpshedd@hamilton.edu

Roman historiography and rhetoric, early Christian historiography and doctrinal development, Late Antiquity, Greek and Roman educational methods, Latin lexicography

Serena Witzke

Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics

switzke@hamilton.edu

Ancient comedy, ancient gender and sexuality, classical reception studies, pedagogy

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

Explore Hamilton Stories

Shelley Haley

Haley Collaborates With Netflix on Queen Cleopatra

Professor Emerita of Classics and Africana Studies and Edward North Chair of Greek and Greek Literature, consulted with Netflix on the docuseries “Queen Cleopatra.” Haley’s scholarship on Cleopatra has been cited in op-eds in the Guardian and the New York Times, and the NYT has featured articles on her contributions to the series, which debuted on May 10.

Parilia Classics Conference 2022

Classics Students Present at Annual Conference

Six Hamilton students recently shared their work at Parilia, an undergraduate classics conference in honor of the founding of Rome, traditionally dated to April 21, 753 BCE.

Jesse Weiner

Weiner’s Article Published as Book Chapter

An article by Associate Professor of Classics Jesse Weiner was recently published in The Ancient World in Alternative History and Counterfactual Fictions from Bloomsbury Academic.

Contact

Department Name

Classics Department

Contact Name

Jesse Weiner, Chair

Office Location
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, NY 13323

Help us provide an accessible education, offer innovative resources and programs, and foster intellectual exploration.

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