The CANES Classical Languages Curriculum

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In May 2007 our old separate Majors in Greek and Latin were eliminated and superseded by a new Classical Languages curriculum designed to give students a superior intellectual experience. A student begins it by declaring a track language (Greek or Latin; we'll call it "language 1" from this point forward) when he or she declares the Major. The track language will be the central focus of study in the curriculum. There is also study of the other classical language (Latin or Greek; we'll call it "language 2" from this point forward).

The curriculum is intuitively navigable, having a simple structure. Here we describe the curriculum in plain terms for the purposes of planning and advising without employing the specialized argot of assessment and outcomes. Such a specialized description of the organization and assessment strategies can be found here.

1) CNE/GRK/LAT 300 (Introduction to the Ancient Mediterranean World).

•This course, offered every fall, is taken under the rubric of the major's track. A Classical Languages major following the Greek track will take GRK 300, for example.
•The course is designed to give students a good grounding in the basic, 'need-to-know' facts of classical and near eastern cultures: histories, literatures, religions and philosophies, and material cultures. We introduced it in order to counter a problem we had with the old curricula, in which students studied many particular authors or specialized topics, but complained of the lack of an overarching course to help them see both the forest and the trees.
•The course's writing requirement introduces majors to research, critical thinking, argument, and writing in our field, all of which are emphasized throughout the curriculum.

2) Language 1 prose composition (GRK or LAT 303).

•This course introduces students to their track language in a way they cannot experience it in reading classes. It takes the largely passive knowledge of the track language won in the introductory and intermediate classes and transforms it into active knowledge through the composition of sentences and connected prose.

3) Language 2 introductory sequence (GRK or LAT 101-102-201 or 115-201).

•The new curriculum ensures that every major pursues both classical languages through at least the intermediate reading level and therefore gains a much richer understanding of each. This gives every major the intellectual tools for comparative study of two foreign literatures and gives them the incomparable advantage of seeing how two closely related languages function. This gives them not only a sense of how languages work in general, but will also, we hope, prompt them to curiosity about linguistics and further language study.
•A student who declares the Major in Language 1 but comes in with training in Language 2 can and must begin taking three Language 2 courses at a higher level.

4) Language 1 advanced study (GRK or LAT 301, or 400-level courses).

•These courses introduce majors to advanced reading in Language 1 authors or topics and hone a major's ability to read Language 1 with ease and subtlety. These courses also serve the important purpose of bringing the student to a more specialized understanding of classical culture (an understanding which she or he can contextualize thanks to what she or he's learned in CNE/GRK/LAT 300) through reading of ancient literature as literature.
•The courses offer the instructor wide leeway in choosing an author or topic (see the list of courses here).
•The purpose of such instructor discretion lies in a desire to allow her or him to offer students courses in his or her varied areas of specialty and research, thus bringing the student a richer experience than simple offerings from a short-list of 'standard authors'. Majors are actively encouraged (at least a semester ahead) to request authors or topics they might like to see taught.
•These courses, which all have general titles, are supplemented with specific subtitles indicating the special thrust of that course. This is to let those inspecting student transcripts know in greater detail what the courses the student has taken were about.
•All of these courses include a writing component to continue the training in research, critical thinking, argument, and writing begun in CNE/GRK/LAT 300.

5) CNE/GRK/LAT 498 (senior capstone seminar).

•In this course, offered every Spring for graduating seniors, majors pursue a substantial piece of research on a selected topic in this course, which is designed to acquaint him or her thoroughly with the tools and methods of research in classics.
• Important goals of this course are:
     - to have the major draw upon knowledge gained throughout the curriculum and combine these parts in new ways;
     - to train the major to write an extended scholarly paper;
     - to train majors to articulate their findings both in written discourse (through the senior thesis) and oral discourse (through a public defense).
•The senior thesis project is the most important assessment point for student success in appropriating the intellectual skills required in research, critical thinking, argument, and writing, as well as oral presentation of his or her ideas.
•Honors students will normally be able to have their senior thesis be their honors thesis, though formal approval from the Honors Program is required.

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Notes.

Students interested in the Latin teaching credential can achieve it with the Classical Languages Curriculum, but further study beyond the minimum represented by the curriculum will be required, as it was for the old Latin Curriculum.

Students interested in graduate study in Classics are advised that, while the new curriculum will make them more competitive than our old Greek and Latin curricula, admission to top schools will require more courses on top of the minimum represented by the new curriculum. Those wishing to go on in Classics should look here.

Classical Language Curriculum Majors are ineligible to take the Ancient Greek and Latin Minors.

Classical Languages majors will find the Ancient History, and Classical and Near Eastern Minors excellent complements to their Major plan of study. Those desiring to go on to graduate study, either for a teaching credential or for the PhD in a classical field are advised to take one of those two Minors.

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Schedule of Classical Curriculum Courses.

This pattern will repeat as long as the Classical Languages Curriculum is in effect.

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Specimen Plan of Study.

The following was created envisioning a student who came as late to the Classical Languages Major as would still permit graduation "on time". That is, in fact, a first-semester Junior already in possession of 101-102 (or 115) in Language 1. This chart is worked out from the schedule immediately above.

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