About the Classics Department
Like the discipline itself, which lies at the foundation of the humanities, Brown’s Department of Classics has a long and distinguished history, stretching from the founding of the University down to the current initiatives for academic enrichment. Ranked among the top graduate programs in the country, the department offers advanced work in ancient through medieval Greek and Roman languages, literatures, linguistics, history, and philosophy, as well as in Sanskrit language and literature, leading to the degrees of M.A. and Ph.D. in Classics, or in Classics and Sanskrit.
The special research interests of the department’s faculty testify to the many and varied areas of inquiry that comprise the study of Classics, including archaeology, philology, literary history and criticism, history and historiography, epigraphy, papyrology, linguistics, religion, drama, philosophy, and law. In addition to the study of ancient Greek and Roman languages and cultures, Brown’s Department of Classics counts among its members two specialists in Sanskrit language, literature, and thought, and one in Modern Greek language.
The department’s current faculty are recognized internationally for their professional achievements, which are variously detailed in their individual faculty profiles off the Department homepage. They are no less dedicated to teaching and take pride in the large number of Brown undergraduates who are attracted to their rigorous concentration programs in Classics, Latin, Greek, Greek and Latin, and Classics and Sanskrit. Some students go on to graduate study in Classics after graduation; many others enter other fields, including medicine, law, non-profit organizations, business, and education.
The Brown Classics Department has an exceptional record of service to the profession locally, nationally, and internationally. It counts among its members three presidents of the American Philological Association, the leading Classics association in North America, several APA vice-presidents and board members, and also the director of the U.S. Epigraphy Project, which gathers and shares information about ancient Greek and Latin inscriptions preserved in the United States. Three Brown Classics faculty have served as directors of the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C.; others have held positions as trustees or members of the managing committee of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and of the American Academy in Rome.
The Classics Department welcomes each year a number of international scholars (coming in recent years from Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Australia) who have won fellowships or short-term awards to work with Brown faculty on a formal or informal basis. Every second year, the Gerda Henkel Foundation awards a full-year sabbatical at Brown to a senior classicist from a German-speaking country. Along with these guests, many other scholars visit the department each year as invited lecturers or conference participants. Classics graduate students run a colloquium series as well, contributing to the department’s lively program of intellectual exchange. The Department Undergraduate Group, for its part, plans outings, talks, and social events with a classical theme.
Each year in early December, the department hosts a festive Latin Carol Celebration, featuring seasonal songs and readings presented in Latin. This event, held annually for over half a century, attracts about a thousand attendees, including Brown students, faculty, and staff; high school Latin students; and members of the Providence community.