About Us

The Department of Classical Studies explores the languages (ancient Greek and Latin) and literatures, archaeology, art history, and histories of Greco-Roman antiquity, from 3000 BCE to 900 CE, from the Nile to the North Sea, from Britain to Bactria. Our students have the opportunity to work with renowned scholars, discussing big ideas in small classes. Our many resources include papyri and manuscripts in the Rubenstein Library, as well as the rich antiquities collection of the Nasher Museum. The Department enjoys close ties with AAHVS, History, Medieval/Renaissance Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Religious Studies, and Women’s Studies, as well as with UNC Chapel Hill, especially through the Consortium for Classical and Mediterranean Archaeology.

Mission

The Department of Classical Studies at Duke studies the languages, literatures, material culture, and histories of the Greek, Roman, and late antique pasts. Students develop broad knowledge of these classical pasts while cultivating cross-cultural fluency and the intellectual skills and methodological strategies of critical inquiry central to this inherently inter-disciplinary field. Classical Studies encourages serious engagement with the complexity of the past and evaluation of its place in the present.

The requirements of the two majors convey the disciplinary coherence of the field, yet are flexible enough to allow students to develop their own interests as they progress through their course of study.

Our Ph.D. program is dedicated to training students in the broad and integrated field of Classical Studies, which includes Greek and Latin languages and literatures, and the history, art, and archaeology of the ancient Greek and Roman world.