Designated Emphasis in Classics and the Classical Tradition

Why enroll in the Designated Emphasis in Classics and the Classical Tradition?

Classics, defined as the study of the civilizations of the ancient Greeks and Romans, lies at the core of the humanities and of many social sciences. The Greeks and Romans made fundamental contributions to art, drama, philosophy, history and historiography, science and medicine, and to most branches of literature, and their achievements have exercised a formative influence on western civilization. As it is defined today, Classics is an inherently interdisciplinary subject, for it embraces all aspects of ancient Greek and Roman societies. As a result, the study of Classics is of value to graduate students in a large number of academic fields. Students whose interests lie in areas where knowledge of Greek and Roman literature, history, and culture has direct impact on their research program will benefit from systematic training in both the theory and methodology of research in Classics.

In addition to the study of the languages, literatures, and culture of Mediterranean antiquity, another important aspect of the Designated Emphasis is the study of the Classical Tradition. While the languages and culture of the ancient Greeks and Romans ceased during the fifth century of the Christian era, the significance of their accomplishments continued to be recognized. The Classical Tradition focuses on the influence exerted by the achievements of the Greeks and Romans on later centuries. As the various vernacular literatures of Europe (and later the Americas) developed, from the Middle Ages onwards, writers constantly turned for inspiration to the models provided by the Greeks and Romans in lyric, epic, tragedy, comedy, historiography, and philosophy. In addition to the survival of Greek and Roman cultural achievements, the revival of Classical intellectual thought has had an enormous impact on modern scientific thought, political theory and practice, an impact that extends to non-Western cultures.

The Designated Emphasis in Classics and the Classical Tradition is intended to address both of these areas of inquiry by offering a program of structured training at the graduate level in an important field of field of academic study, the civilizations of Greek and Roman antiquity, which is not currently available in existing graduate programs at UCD. The Designated Emphasis has two goals:

1) It will provide graduate students with an overview of the history, theory, and methods of Classical scholarship, which will familiarize them with the primary and secondary sources needed to evaluate those aspects of Greek and Roman antiquity connected with their own research.

2) It will equip students with the tools, including advanced study in Greek and Latin language, needed to conduct research on the impact of Greek and Roman civilization on their own field.

To date, the following Ph.D. programs are affiliated with the Designated Emphasis in Classics: English, Comparative Literature, French, German, Spanish, and History.

Faculty participating in the Designated Emphasis in Classics and the Classical Tradition

The Classics Program at Davis has four full-time active scholars, Emily Albu, Rex Stem, John Rundin, and David Traill. All the Classics faculty take a broad, interdisciplinary view of the field, and include in their areas of expertise literature, history and historiography, art and archaeology, philosophy, history of science, and religious studies. The program also has an unusually strong orientation towards the Classical tradition and medieval Latin in its faculty.

In addition, there are numerous faculty members in other departments whose research and teaching involve them deeply in various aspects of Classics and the Classical tradition in their respective disciplines. The roster of other faculty participating in the Designated Emphasis in Classics is as follows:

English
Don Abbott
Winfried Schleiner
Seeta Chaganti
Frances Dolan
Claire Waters

German
Winder McConnell
Karl Menges

Spanish
Samuel Armistead
Robert Blake
Adrienne Martin

French and Italian
Marc Blanchard
Noah Guynn
Margherita Heyer-Caput
Maria Manoliu

Comparative Literature
Marc Blanchard
Seth Schein

History
David Biale
Joan Cadden
Sally McKee
Stylianos Spyridakis

Philosophy
Jan Szaif

The Academic Program

Requirements for Admission to the Designated Emphasis
Any student admitted to the doctoral program of a participating department is eligible for admission provided that: a) The candidate has completed two advanced undergraduate courses in either Latin or Greek or has equivalent competence; and b) The candidate intends to complete a dissertation that incorporates some aspect on scholarship on Classics and/or the Classical Tradition.

On completion of the above, the candidate may apply to the Executive Committee of the Graduate Group in Classics and the Classical Tradition for admission to the DE.

Curriculum

A) Required Courses in the Designated Emphasis Students are required to complete four courses relevant to the Designated Emphasis. These will include: a) Classics 200A and 200B. This is a two-quarter sequence on the history and methods of Classical scholarship. It will introduce the students to the major outlines of disciplinary studies, research theory, and methodology in Classics, with special emphasis on the ancient literature, history and historiography, and cultural contributions of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations and their reception in later times. The students will become familiar with the major issues and tools of scholarly research in Classics, and will also develop an independent research project. CLA 200B will be a directed study on the subject of the student's research project, resulting in a major paper. b) One further graduate course in Classics, involving graduate study of a major author or genre in Greek or Latin c) A fourth course to be selected in consultation with the student's DE adviser. The fourth course may be another course in Classics or a course in the student's home department which emphasizes the connection of Classics and the Classical Tradition with the student's field of study.

The choice of further courses in subjects related to the Designated Emphasis will be left to the student and the student's adviser. It is also expected that the student's qualifying examination will include material related to the subject of the Designated Emphasis, and that the student's dissertation shall contain original research on material connected with the Designated Emphasis and its relation to the student's research in the home department.

Appointment of faculty to the Qualifying Examination and Dissertation Committees
The student's home department will appoint at least one member of the student's qualifying examination committee and dissertation committee from among the members of the DE Group, subject to approval by the DE Group.

Degree Conferral Process
The degree awarded to a candidate who successfully completes both the departmental requirements and the requirements for the Designated Emphasis in Classics and the Classical Tradition will be a Ph.D. in the departmental discipline "with a Designated Emphasis in Classics and the Classical Tradition".

Advising
The DE group in Classics and the Classical Tradition will appoint a faculty adviser for each student admitted. This adviser may be different from the adviser appointed by the student's department, and if so will serve the candidate only in matters relating to the DE.

For further information about the Designated Emphasis in Classics and the Classical Tradition, contact the program chair, Prof. Emily Albu, emalbu@ucdavis.edu; tel. 530-752-2739.