Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology

Classics at Trinity has a long and distinguished history, numbering Oscar Wilde among its famous past students. The Department is unique in Ireland in having separate Chairs in Greek and in Latin, and in offering a specialized program in Ancient History and Archaeology. Staff expertise spans fields as diverse as Bronze Age archaeology, Greek philosophy and the reception of ancient thought, Hellenistic poetry and history, Early Latin, classical Latin poetry, Roman construction, and late Roman history and culture.

The Department of Classics at Columbia University is one of the most dynamic centers for the study of Classical Antiquity in the United States. It offers an unparalleled range of undergraduate and graduate courses in Greek and Roman literature, languages, art, history, material culture, and philosophy. Faculty are committed to innovative scholarly projects, which reflect the shifting contours of Classical study in the twenty-first century. Situated in the heart of New York City, the Department of Classics at Columbia University is at the crossroads of the cultural and classical life of North America.

In years one and two at Trinity, students immerse themselves in the study of Greek and Latin. Classes for non-beginners are designed for those who have already studied ancient Greek and Latin in school, and who wish to continue to read classical literature in the original languages. Beginners Greek and/or Latin are available to those who have not previously studied the language(s). The dual degree in Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology is an integrated, multidisciplinary degree program that involves study of the history, literature, art, archaeology, culture and thought of the ancient world in conjunction with one or both of the ancient languages.

In the Junior Freshman year, students are introduced to the study of Greek and Roman literature, history, art and architecture through broad-based survey and skills modules, as well as undertaking modules in Greek and/or Latin at the appropriate level. In the Senior Freshman year, they choose from a range of more specialized historical, archaeological and literary/cultural modules, in accordance with their choice of Columbia major.

Years three and four are spent in Columbia, where students choose one of four majors:

• Ancient Studies
• Archaeology
• Classics
• Classical Studies

Students complete their Columbia major alongside the Core Curriculum and continue with their language studies. Students who choose Ancient Studies as their Columbia major will explore the cultural context of the ancient Mediterranean as a whole while concentrating on one specific Mediterranean or Mesopotamian culture. Students who choose Archaeology as their Columbia major will have the opportunity to study the material conditions inhabited and acted upon by people in the past and present, focusing on the physical remains of the past and on the interpretive acts that enliven these remains and are challenged by them. Students who choose to study Classics or Classical Studies at Columbia will focus on the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome (c. 900 BCE to 500 CE): their languages, literatures, history, philosophy, art, and ways of life. While Classics concentrates heavily on the ancient languages and literature, the major in Classical Studies can be completed with only one of the ancient languages and includes more courses on other aspects of the ancient world.

As part of their Trinity Degree, students also complete an additional 30 ECTS credits in their third and fourth years at Columbia. Students will undertake a 20 ECTS credit Capstone dissertation project conducted as a research project in year four, as well as a multidisciplinary 10 ECTS TCD module to be taken in the third year.