Want to Major in Classics in College? Here's How to Start in High School

By Amy E. Barr of The Lukeion Project

Becoming a Classics major is exciting stuff. Several instructors at The Lukeion Project studied a variety of Classics-linked fields including Latin, Greek, ancient history, archaeology, art, architecture, plus anthropology, field excavation, osteology, museum studies, artifact illustration, artifact conservation, and more. Our broad experiences prompted our enthusiasm for our interdisciplinary approach. Add the perks of travel abroad plus the benefits of several foreign languages! If you are like us, a Classics degree is perfect for anyone who has more interests than they can count. How does one get started?

Going down the Classics rabbit hole means you may have to run around a bit until you find your preferred path. Most will choose either a Classics major (often a second major in Classics makes sense) or a minor in college. Even after finishing a degree in Classics, many find themselves in fields that seem distant to Classics but are actually closely linked: law, medicine, science, business, writing, teaching. A Classics degree need not limit one to a Classics career.

When shopping for college Classics programs, look at the various interdisciplinary opportunities available in various departments. In addition to Latin and or Greek, you can find ways to follow personal interests like museum internships, excavation volunteer posts, College Year in Athens, language immersion in Rome, etc. Interview various faculty after you shop programs to find a department that feels right. Now your first job is to be a good candidate when you find the program of your choice.  

What’s a good high school path for a future Classics major/minor?

Start with Classical languages and plan to do as much Greek and Latin as possible. Pick Greek or Latin as your primary (it doesn’t really matter except to your personal tastes) but plan on doing both languages sooner rather than later. Want to make your future college professors swoon? When it comes to Latin and Greek, complete at least four years of one and at least two years of the other before graduating from high school. Classics majors tend to add French, Italian, or German at college or graduate school so fear not, you'll add modern languages eventually.

Many students prefer to do four (or more years) in Latin with The Lukeion Project since a nice fat score on the AP Latin Exam (year four) can pave the path to scholarship money or, at certainly multiple college credits. Other students prefer Greek but will complete the SAT Special Latin Exam (an easier exam compared to the AP Latin exam) after the second or third year of Latin.

My second bit of advice is to travel. Any student who is interested in Classics will be taken more seriously if he or she has traveled to destinations that not only represent the literary aspects of Classics, but also the culture, history, art, and archaeology. A "study" trip to Greece and Italy will make you a strong college applicant. Adding Spain, France, Turkey (etc.) will make you a shining star in a sea of applicants all the way through graduate school. Plan to major in Classics? Plan to travel. This is not optional.

In addition to language studies and travel, I make several complementary recommendations below. Many of these courses require you to read, think, and write broadly. These courses will support your mastery of Classics which is, by definition, an interdisciplinary field. First, let me tackle a couple more issues:

Should Classics majors expect to go to graduate school?

With few exceptions (like teaching high school Latin at a public school) the answer is a firm yes, graduate school is normal for those who want a career in Classics. Your undergraduate program should give you a broad introduction to all things Classical while your graduate program(s) will help you refine your particular focus: language (philology), history, archaeology, anthropology, etc., may all be on the table depending on the graduate program you pursue. You must complete some graduate work (at least an M.A. but normally a Ph.D.) to teach at the college level, work as an archaeologist, or work at a museum (just for example).

Get started during your high school years

Conventional programs will offer few chances to broaden Classical studies before college starts but the more you tackle now, the more interesting you will be to the admissions committee at the college programs of your choice. Love Classics but plan to major in something different? If you have time and interest you can complete the equivalent of a Classics "degree" while still in high school at the Lukeion Project. Here's how a person could get the most of our program:

7^th/8^th/9^th grade

• Witty Wordsmith
• Barbarian Diagrammarian
• Lester’s Logic Lounge

8^th/9^th grade

• Latin 1 or Greek 1·
• Muse on the Loose (Survey of Greek Literature in Translation) and
• Muse Reloosed (Survey of Latin Literature in Translation)

9^th/10^th grade

• Latin II or Greek II plus start the second language (Latin or Greek)
• Mythology Alpha (includes Iliad, Odyssey) and
• Mythology Beta (including Aeneid, Metamorphoses)

10^th/11^th grade

• Latin III or Greek III
• Latin II or Greek II
• Classical History: will cover Greeks and then Romans

11^th/12^th grade

• AP Latin or Greek IV (we offer Latin VII and Greek VII)
• Optional 3rd year of the second language
• Rhetoric
• College Composition and College Research Writing (perfect English credit for students in final year(s) of high school)

12^th grade

• The Classical Bard: Shakespeare
• Classical Philosophy
• AP English Lit.

How to Be Successful in the Online Classroom

By Regan Barr of The Lukeion Project

Ms. Wilson was the most feared teacher in my elementary school. Gray hair, face contorted into a permanent scowl, a ruler usually within reach. I once personally observed her chasing a student across the playground in heels while she brandished a yardstick. I did well in Ms. Wilson’s class, but I’m not sure if it’s because I was a conscientious student, because she was a great teacher, or because I feared what might happen if I failed. Ms. Wilson was a rare breed, and I don’t think she’d fare well in the online environment. Today online classes are becoming the norm rather than the exception, and any successful student must master a different set of skills to thrive in the internet classroom. Here are the top four habits:

1. Maintain focus during sessions

It was much harder to conceal your inattention when you were trapped in the same physical room as your teacher. Many of us remember the student who hid a comic book inside his propped-up math book or developed a secret sign language to communicate with a friend across the room when the teacher turned her back. But at least they pretended to be engaged. Those days are gone. Instructors can no longer scan the room for distracted minds, dozing pupils, or inattentive troublemakers. They used to bark out a sharp “Thomas, stop that!” to regain their students’ attention, but today’s students can log in without tuning in. Some students simply walk away or turn down the volume on their headset while they spend their time in other pursuits. These same students will later complain that the class is too hard, or that they’re not getting anything out of it.

Online students have far more power over their own educational experience than we did in Ms. Wilson’s classroom. In a world full of electronic distractions, the student who has learned to focus is the student who will succeed. The instructor has taken the time to share his expertise, and the savvy student will use that time to full advantage. The big lie that many students tell themselves is that “I can catch up later, but I don’t really feel like doing this now.” Later never comes, or if it does, it will be twice as hard and take twice as long to master the material without your expert guide.

It takes an act of will to make the most of an online class. Eliminate distractions while you’re in class or watching your recording. Turn off your phone. Don’t have other apps open on your device. And most importantly perhaps, take notes … by hand … with a pen and paper. This simple act will do more for your retention than you can imagine. 

2. Take responsibility for your own schedule

There was no doubt about who was in charge when you were in Ms. Wilson’s classroom. When she told you to work on exercise 4 at your desks, you knew she’d be patrolling the room like a warden, ready to swoop down on the doodler or daydreamer and put them back on track. Time spent in her classroom was not your own.

The online student doesn’t have a Ms. Wilson to force them to make the most of their time. They must schedule their time carefully and keep to that schedule. Each class requires study and homework time. How long will each take, and when should it be done? Major projects may require time spread across days or weeks or the whole semester. How can that be accomplished with minimal stress and optimal productivity? Without a schedule, a student will spend time only on those subjects that they enjoy, or worse yet, will waste the time they should be working, until the last minute. The result will be anguish, anger, frustration, late-night cram sessions, and inferior work.

During middle school and high school years parents should teach their children to make their own schedule and stick to it. This is a valuable life-lesson, and future professors and bosses will praise those who learn it. It is the difference between the self-directed worker who is recognized for their competence and the shoddy loafer who is shunned by co-workers and fellow-students. During these critical, formative years, parents must move away from telling their children when to work on which assignment, and move into the role of holding their children accountable for their schedule.

3. Plan your discussion board contributions

Discussion boards are already a common feature in many online classrooms, and their popularity with teachers will continue to grow. Ms. Wilson could spend her classroom time on a discussion that engaged students, but the online session is often shorter than time spent together in the traditional classroom. The result is that more online time is spent in lectures while instructors look to discussion boards to replace traditional classroom discussion time.

How does a teacher persuade students to continue the discussion outside the brief online session? By making participation a part of the student’s final grade. This brings new challenges to both the student and the teacher, but one of the advantages is that students can put more thought into their contributions than they can in a fast-paced live discussion. Students should always be mindful that they are displaying both their effort and their attitude every time they post.

We live in an age of carefully crafted online personas and virtually anonymous rages on social media. A discussion board post is a very different beast. It should be thoughtful, professional, and respectful. The divisive rants and haughty emotional preaching of social media have no place on a student discussion board. Contributions should be thoughtful and rational, and disagreements should be handled with grace and respect.

4. Interact with your instructor appropriately

No one would think of treating Ms. Wilson with anything but respect. Her steady glare could wither the most defiant of spirits. This is the nature of face-to-face communication. Attitudes can be gauged, emotions can be read, reactions can be seen. Online communication is different, but an email sent to your instructor must be handled with all the caution required when approaching Ms. Wilson in person.

First, always address your instructor with an appropriate title of respect. There is a reason why she is teaching, and you are being taught. This is not a tweet or a text message. Don’t begin with “Hey…,” their first name, or an emoji. Set the correct tone.

Second, always identify yourself (your first and last name) and give the class that you’re asking about. There may come a time when you are known by your first name alone, like Cher or Kanye, and when you are immediately recognized on the street as “that stellar student in English 101,” but this is not that time.

Finally, write in full English sentences using correct spelling and punctuation. Save the text message abbreviations for your friends, not your instructors.

The student who masters these four habits will be set to succeed in the online classroom

The Reign in Spain

By Amy Barr of The Lukeion Project

Segovia, Spain

The ancient city Tyre in Lebanon has been continuously occupied for longer than most cities in the world. Phoenician Tyre used to be an island until Alexander the Great used his signature problem-solving skills to build a handy bridge to her sea walls, thus ending his stubborn--and successful--seven-month blockade of the (until then) perfectly fortified city. Before proud Tyre ran up against the likes of Alexander, she was building her wealth through trade networks throughout the known world. Carthage, founded about 60 years before Romulus named Rome would be one of her best ideas.

Carthage straddled the midpoint of the Mediterranean and, as the world’s first big-box-store, she became staggeringly wealthy and self-important. The rather earthy Romans took offense at her hubris, her bedazzled purple fashions, and her insistence on taking over all the islands closest to Rome’s expansion zones. Stubborn to a fault, the Romans taught themselves how to build and sail the battleships she needed to combat Carthaginian claims on Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia. As was often the case for young Rome, she won the first Punic (Phoenician) War mainly because she refused to quit and, secondarily, because she figured out how to use land battle techniques against a bunch of sailors.

Carthage took her toys and went home, at least for a little while. Undaunted, she soldiered through post-war financial setbacks by sleuthing out juicy new trade opportunities. Spain, it turned out, was jam-packed with gold, silver, and timber. The Phoenicians knew a good deal when they saw it and moved in.

While the two old enemies continued to glower at each other for quite a while, cheeky Hannibal fanned the flames when he terrorized Saguntum, one of Rome’s protectorates in Spain. Hannibal surprisingly saddled up an assortment of confused elephants and doubled down: Nobody expected elephants nor sun-loving Carthaginians to stream into Italy from the north. Things went badly for a long time (Hannibal was tricksy).

While Hannibal Barca, the apparent brains of the operation, was busy bamboozling Romans in Italy, Scipio, a sort of Roman Chuck Norris, winningly attacked Hannibal’s less capable relatives in Spain in 206 BC.  No more Spanish groceries for Hannibal meant Rome would astonishingly mark another win, mainly because she refused to quit.

In less than a decade, the Romans had her new prize, Spain, split in two. Creatively, she named the two provinces Spain-Over-Here (Hispania Citerior) and Spain-Over-There (Hispania Ulterior).

Eventually, Rome took Spain over everywhere as she put down rebellion after spicy rebellion. 
In 61 BC, Julius Caesar as a praetor (governor) in Hispania Citerior used ersatz Spanish-rebellion-squashing as an excellent way to pay off his massive political debts.

Augustus formalized Rome’s new ownership of the peninsula by adding a third regional distinction, Hispania Tarraconensis (modern Tarragona). As Rome settled in, she established her signature infrastructure.

What did the Romans ever do for Spain? Soon everyone enjoyed excellent roads (900-mile superhighway), fresh water (massive aqueducts dotted the land), and top-notch entertainment in nice new theaters. Veterans, promised a plot of land upon retirement, started choosing sunny Spain as Romans founded Augusta Emerita (Merida), Asturica Augusta (Astorga), Colonia Caesar Augusta or Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza), and Lucus Augusti (Lugo). Two of Rome’s best emperors, Trajan and Hadrian, came from Spain. Let's not forget Rome's contribution to Spain's languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Galician, Mirandese, Asturian, Leonese, Aragonese, Ladino, Catalan/Valencian, Occitan, and Gascon -- all maintain a link to the Latin language.

You Must Visit

Founders of The Lukeion Project have been leading annual tours to Italy, Greece, and Turkey since 2008. While it is impossible to grow bored with these destinations, as Classical Archaeologists we are more aware than most that the Greeks and Romans left their deep and lasting imprint throughout the Mediterranean, not just a few popular regions. Contrary to Wikipedia, Spain’s rich history begins long before the Middle Ages. We invite you to join us in our first tour of Spain. Expect a very busy two weeks, May 18-31, 2020. Here and here are the details. The bus (our own private bus, mind you) is already half full. Register now.

Here are the highlights:

• Barcelona
• Las Ramblas
• Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia visit
• Barcelona City History Museum
• Tarragona
• Pont de les Ferreres Aqueduct
• Archaeological Museum Visit
• Roman Ruins & Theater
• Castle visit
• Sagunt (Saguntum – the city that prompted the second Punic War)
• Valencia
• Cartagena
• Nova Cartago, founded by Phoenicians
• Muses del Teatro Romono
• Muralla Byzantina
• Granada
• Royal Chapel
• Alhambra
• Ronda
• Puente Nuevo
• Seville -- the birthplace of emperors Trajan and Hadrian
• Bullring visit (not a bullfight)
• Amphitheater
• Mosaics (Casa de los Pajaros and others)
• Italica
• Merida
• Roman Ruins
• Museo Nacional de Arte Romano
• Toledo
• Madrid
• Royal Palace
• Prado
• National Archaeological Museum
• Segovia
• Historic Castle
• Roman Aqueduct