Classics

Department of Classics University of Notre Dame 304 O'Shaughnessy Hall 574-631-7195 For more information see the Classics Department Website

Ostia Antica 2007.  Image courtesy of Flickr User  Eva_Ben.

About the Department

Classics is an interdisciplinary subject comprising study of the ancient Greek and Latin languages, of Greek and Latin literature, and of the history, archaeology, art, religion and philosophy of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Notre Dame Classics Department offers courses in all these areas, and, uniquely in our approach to the ancient Mediterranean world, we include also instruction in Arabic and other Semitic languages, with related courses in Arabic and Islamic literature and history.

Classics is a subject of great breadth and diversity, and has natural connections to all other fields in the humanities, as well as to the sciences and the social sciences. It is one of the most traditional of academic subjects, but because classicists are pioneers in new ways of understanding the past, it is also one of the most intellectually innovative. Classics has been at the forefront of contemporary debates about gender, ethnicity, and the literary canon, and has led the way in the use of technology for teaching and research.