Studying Classical Civilizations is not always the most common path students choose at the university level. Classics or classical studies is the stu...
Studying Classical Civilizations is not always the most common path students choose at the university level. Classics or classical studies is the study of antiquity. It encompasses the study of the Greco-Roman world, particularly of its languages and literature (Ancient Greek and Classical Latin) but also of Greco-Roman philosophy, history, and archaeology.
Studying this obscure major can provide you with many of the transferable skills employers love. To name just one, you’ll have learned how to discuss and argue logically about different topics, a skill particularly valuable for careers in industries such as civil service, journalism, and law.
Why study Classical Civilizations?
Ancient Greek and Latin are the two main languages of research and instruction in classics, which is the study of the language, literature, and culture of the peoples who inhabited the region surrounding the Mediterranean from 1500 BCE to 300 CE. Our field focuses on canonical writers like Homer, Sappho, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Caesar, as well as underrepresented groups like women, slaves, laborers, and immigrants.
The topics of truth, beauty, identity, morality, gender, sexuality, race, and religion are all addressed in the classics. It asks how we should handle the inheritances that have been passed down to us, both what the past owes to us and what we owe the past.
Curriculum
A classical civilizations major gives you a window into the world of the Greeks and Romans, who remain so potent a force in the modern imagination. But more than that, it teaches that you yourself need to decide what intellectual tools are best suited to accomplish a given task. It teaches you that real-world problems do not come with an instruction manual or set of steps to fix them, and we must decide for ourselves both how to formulate powerful questions and how to find meaningful answers. You can learn how to analyze texts for meaning, depth, or cogent arguments in some classic courses.
Subjects are offered in a wide variety, including Classical mythology, literature, art, archaeology, law, religion, and gender studies. It is recommended (but not required) that students select courses for their major in Classical Civilization from each of the three disciplinary streams — ancient literature and languages, art and archaeology, and history and culture — to achieve a breadth of experience with and comprehension of the different facets of ancient Greek and Roman civilization.
Pick the best university
According to the rating of the Best universities of QS, one of the best universities hosting programs for the study of hydropower are Leiden University and
Rutgers University-Camden. These universities offer very high-quality education, as well as guaranteed employment. Excellent students are provided with scholarships and other types of funding.
What Can You Do with a Classical Civilization Major?
Students with training in Classics are welcomed by graduate and professional schools in medicine, law, management, and other fields. Likewise, many corporations do business. Business, industry, and technology are well aware of the benefits of classical education. They are aware that students who have a solid foundation in a prestigious and demanding major like Classics are disciplined thinkers who can express themselves in clear, coherent, and cogent language, skills that are valued in future doctors, lawyers, and managers.
There are also specific vocational opportunities open to the graduate in Classics. A major in this field may lead to a career in high school teaching, or (after appropriate further study) in college or university teaching. It is also an excellent preparation for advanced study in other academic disciplines such as archaeology, history, comparative literature, philosophy, and linguistics, as well as for theological studies and for work in a wide range of the humanities and social sciences.