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Classics focuses on exploring the literary works, historical events, artistic achievements, and physical artifacts of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Students can learn Latin and/or Greek at any stage of their studies.
Those advancing to Honours programs will have the chance to spend a minimum of three weeks (typically during the summer break after third year) exploring archaeological sites and museums in Italy and Greece. Single Honours students receive financial assistance for this trip. Alternatively, third-year students may opt to study at institutions in North America, Australia, New Zealand, or Europe. The curriculum covers classical civilization, including the history, literature, and cultural developments of ancient Greece and republican Rome. Students engage with Homer's epics, Herodotus' and Sallust's historical accounts, Plautus' comedies, and Cicero's orations. The program also examines the literary, cultural, historical, and political aspects of democratic Athens and the peak of the Roman Empire. Coursework includes studying tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, comedies by Aristophanes, Plato's philosophical dialogues, historical texts by Thucydides and Tacitus, Virgil's Aeneid, Juvenal's satires, and Petronius' groundbreaking novel. For increased flexibility, students may choose to take any pre-Honours Classical Civilisation courses (1A, 1B, 2A, 2B) online instead of attending traditional in-person classes.
Recent graduates have pursued careers in education, government service, administration, library sciences, archival work, and museum/gallery curation.