Welcome in Greek and Roman

Greek and Roman Studies

In the first year of Greek and Roman Studies, students will typically enroll in courses in Greek or Latin. The program encompasses the art, literature, history and culture of the ancient world. No previous knowledge of Greek or Latin is necessary to enter the program. Exciting four-year Combined Honours Degrees are possible with Modern Languages, French, History, Philosophy and many other areas.

Programing profile

The Greek and Roman Studies program of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures / Département de langues, littératures et cultures involves the examination of all aspects of Greco-Roman antiquity: language, literature, history, archaeology, philosophy, myth and religion.  It is, then, inherently interdisciplinary, allowing and demanding the development of a wide variety of skills and types of knowledge and understanding. 

The periods within Greco-Roman antiquity with which Greek and Roman Studies particularly concerns itself are the foundational periods for the ancient Greeks and Romans.  Within these cultures we see explicit and self-conscious concern with self-definition: what is a citizen, a family, a god?  What is art?  What is law? What is freedom?  What is nature?  How can human beings express themselves?  All of these issues are still of profound importance for us in North America today.  Greek and Roman Studies allows us to develop an understanding of how these questions can be answered through the examination of what is not our world, our lives.  Through this understanding we can better live our lives in our world.

Available Greek and Roman Studies Programs

  • Honours Greek and Roman Studies - A four-year program with concentration on Greco-Roman  civilization and culture and ancient Greek and Latin language
  • Combined Honours Greek and Roman Studies - A four-year program with concentration on Greco-Roman  civilization and culture combined with any other Major offered by the university

Minor in Greek and Roman Studies - a set of six courses in Greco-Roman  civilization and culture taken in conjunction with any other university Major program

A General degree in Greek and Roman Studies focuses on Greco-Roman civilization and culture, while an Honours degree requires that students also study ancient Greek or Latin languages.  Learning these languages is necessary for advanced study within the field because the emphasis in Greek and Roman Studies is on the examination of primary source materials (the artifacts of ancient Greece and Rome), not only on scholarly descriptions of the primary sources. 

For students interested in pursuing a combined Major or Minor, Greek and Roman Studies provides a complement to a Major in History, Political Science, Philosophy, English, French and the other Modern Languages, Visual Art or Communication Studies.  Greek and Roman Studies also provides a good balance for students who are pursuing degrees in any of the sciences.

Although the Greek and Roman Studies program is small, it is thorough.  All major aspects of the discipline are addressed by our course offerings, but some focus on particular areas of interest, such as material culture or literature, is also possible.  Senior students, through our senior seminar or through directed studies courses, can pursue detailed study of precise topics under the careful guidance of a faculty member.

Core courses

11-161 and 162. Introduction to Greek and Roman Civilization
11-211 and 212. Greek Prose and Poetry
11-221 and 222. Latin Prose and Poetry
11-265 and 266. Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology
11-280. Rotating topic course on Greek and Roman civilization
12-262 and 263. Greek History
12-271 and 272. Roman History
13-100, 101, 200, and 201. Ancient Greek Language
14-100, 101, 200, and 201. Latin Language

The Greek and Roman Studies program also offers a course that is almost unique in Canada, Course 11-450 Practicum in Classical Archaeology. This course works through a balance of classroom activity, research, and hands-on digging at archaeological sites to provide students with an understanding of archaeology, how it works and how we study and interpret material culture. This course is normally offered in Greece during Summer Session.

Faculty

Greek and Roman Studies is a small program with three full-time faculty members and approximately seventy majors.  As a result, students will get to know their instructors and their fellow Classics students well.  Greek and Roman Studies is proud of the high quality of its teaching faculty. Members of our faculty have won or been nominated for teaching awards at the University and within Ontario as a whole. The faculty in Greek and Roman Studies is active in academic advising and in providing directed research opportunities for our majors.  Students in our programs can expect to participate in some of the best classroom experiences that the University of Windsor has to offer.

Career paths

For students interested in study after the Bachelor’s degree, a number of fields lie open.  Graduate degrees in Greek and Roman Studies generally lead to university teaching and research.  Museum Studies and Information Science, leading to work in curatorship, community education, and a wide variety of positions in government and the private sector, are good choices for Classicists.  Greek and Roman Studies also leads directly to many different careers. Any career that demands intellectual flexibility, self-education, communication skills, critical and analytical skills, research skills, big picture thinking, or small detail thinking is one to which a degree in Greek and Roman Studies can lead.  For example, journalism, marketing, travel and tourism, publishing (sales or editing) and the civil service are common paths.  Greek and Roman Studies is also good preparation for Law school, because of its focus on careful analysis, independent thinking, and research.


Contact information

Greek and Roman Studies
Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures

University of Windsor
Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P8
Telephone: 519-253-3000 ext. 2888/2873
Fax: 519-971-3648
E-mail: llc@uwindsor.ca