Ancient Studies
Program Office: 617 Hamilton; 212-854-3902; classics@columbia.edu
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/classics/
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Prof. Marcus Folch, 617C Hamilton Hall; (212) 854-5684; mf2664@columbia.edu
Director of Academic Administration and Finance: Juliana Driever, 617 Hamilton; 212-854-2726; jd2185@columbia.edu
The purpose of this program is to enable the student to explore the cultural context of the ancient Mediterranean as a whole while concentrating on one specific Mediterranean or Mesopotamian culture. Central to the concept of the program is its interdisciplinary approach, in which the student brings the perspectives and methodologies of at least three different disciplines to bear on his or her area of specialization.
Faculty participating in the program are scholars specializing in all aspects of ancient culture and civilization from the Departments of Anthropology; Art History and Archaeology; Classics; History; Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies; Philosophy; and Religion, ensuring that a wide variety of approaches are available.
Course offerings vary year to year. Students are required to discuss their program prior to or during registration. The culmination of the ancient studies major comes in the senior year, when students with different areas of specialization come together to share their ideas in the senior seminar and then to write a substantial piece of original research. Students should think about topics for their senior paper during the junior year and find a faculty adviser at the beginning of the fall term of their senior year, after consulting with the director of undergraduate studies.
In the senior year, students register for ANCS UN3996 during the fall, and ANCS UN3998 DIRCTD RSRCH-ANCIENT STUDIES I is usually taken during the spring. Sections should be arranged directly with the academic departmental administrator after finding a faculty adviser.
Guidelines for all Ancient Studies Majors
Grading
Advanced placement credits and courses passed with a grade of D may not be counted toward the major.
Courses
In an interdisciplinary program, courses that are available may on occasion have a substantial overlap in content. Since credit cannot be given twice for the same work, no courses may be counted toward the major that overlap significantly with courses already taken or in progress.
It is the student’s responsibility to discuss his or her program with the director of undergraduate studies well in advance and to provide him or her with all the necessary information on the courses concerned, since failure to do so may result in a course not being counted after it has already been taken.
Any course in the Department of Classics may be credited toward the major.
Major in Ancient Studies
The major in ancient studies requires 12 courses (a minimum of 36 points), two of which must be:
Code | Title | Points |
---|---|---|
Major Seminar | ||
ANCS UN3996 | THE MAJOR SEMINAR | |
Senior Thesis | ||
ANCS UN3998 | DIRCTD RSRCH-ANCIENT STUDIES I |
The selected program of study for the major must collectively satisfy the following criteria:
Code | Title | Points |
---|---|---|
Language Study * | ||
Select two courses of an ancient language at or above the intermediate level, i.e., 1200-level or above. | ||
Fundamental Breadth ** | ||
Select two introductory courses on some aspect of the ancient Mediterranean. Some examples include: | ||
HIST UN1010 | ANCIENT GREEK HIST, 800-146 BC | |
AHIS UN3248 | Greek Art and Architecture | |
AHIS UN3250 | Roman Art and Architecture | |
PHIL UN2101 | HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY I | |
CLLT UN3132 | Classical Myth | |
Advanced Study | ||
Select two advanced courses on the ancient Mediterranean, typically at the 3000- or 4000-level. | ||
Cultural Concentration | ||
Select four courses on the culture of the language chosen, including one history course. |
- *
The minimum language requirement must be completed by the end of the first semester of the student’s senior year, so that the student is equipped to use sources in the original language in their thesis. Students are strongly urged to begin study of an ancient language as soon as possible and to complete more than the minimum requirements, since the best way to gain an understanding of a culture is through the actual words of its people. Those considering graduate work on the ancient world should also be aware that most graduate schools require more than two years of undergraduate language training for admission.
The language offered in fulfillment of this requirement should generally match the student’s area of cultural concentration; special arrangements are available with other universities for students whose cultural concentration require languages not normally taught at Columbia.
Students entering with expertise in their chosen languages are placed in advanced courses as appropriate but are still required to complete at least two semesters of language courses at Columbia; exceptions to this policy may be made in the case of languages not normally taught at Columbia. Language courses at the 1100-level may not be counted toward the major. Language courses, including those at the 1100-level, must be taken for a letter grade.
- **
Relevant introductory courses are offered by the Department of Classics or from offerings in the Programs or Departments of Ancient Studies, Art History and Archaeology, History, Philosophy, or Religion. Students should confirm a course's relevance with the director of undergraduate studies as soon as possible.
Of Related Interest
Code | Title | Points |
---|---|---|
Art History and Archaeology | ||
AHIS UN3248 | Greek Art and Architecture | |
Classics | ||
GREK UN1101 | ELEMENTARY GREEK I | |
LATN UN1101 | ELEMENTARY LATIN I | |
GREK UN1102 | ELEMENTARY GREEK II | |
LATN UN1102 | ELEMENTARY LATIN II | |
LATN V1120 | Preparation for Intermediate Latin | |
GREK UN1121 | INTENSIVE ELEMENTARY GREEK | |
LATN UN1121 | INTENSIVE ELEMENTARY LATIN | |
GREK UN2101 | INTERMEDIATE GREEK: PROSE | |
LATN UN2101 | INTERMEDIATE LATIN I | |
LATN UN2102 | INTERMEDIATE LATIN II | |
CLLT UN3132 | Classical Myth | |
CLCV GU4110 | Gender and Sexuality In Ancient Greece | |
History | ||
HIST W4024 | The Golden Age of Athens | |
Philosophy | ||
PHIL UN2101 | HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY I | |
Religion | ||
RELI V3120 | Introduction to the New Testament | |
RELI V3140 | Early Christianity | |
Women's and Gender Studies | ||
WMST GU4300 | Queer Theory/ Visual Culture |