Classics

The field of Classics encompasses all aspects of Greek and Roman culture—the fountainhead of the Western experience. It is the original interdisciplinary subject, encompassing exploration of an enormous variety of human experience: poetry, myth, history, philosophy, religion, archaeology, art, and more. While individual teachers and students of Classics will normally focus their attention on some particular segment of the field, all of these studies are ultimately interrelated in a common project of elucidating a larger and richer picture of Greco-Roman culture and from this perspective deepening our understanding of our own. Students of Classics quickly recognize that among the intellectual, political and social currents swirling about them today there is very little that is really new under the sun: democracy, empire, freedom and autonomy, “colonialism,” “multiculturalism,” radical skepticism, debates about gender and racial difference, about theology or “just war” doctrine—all these and many more “modern” questions have their roots in Greek and Roman civilization.

The major

Classics is an excellent all-round Liberal Arts degree that serves as a superb preparation for virtually any field of professional endeavor. Through their exposure to Latin or Greek and many of the greatest works of world literature, Classics majors often come to excel at writing and verbal communication. It’s a tough curriculum, so Medical and Law Schools take notice. It’s also a comfortable, small environment where you are likely to know your teachers: the majors-to-faculty ratio at UCSB is around 5 to 1, so majors are assured of the kind of close attention that enriches the undergraduate experience and often yields persuasive letters of recommendation.

UCSB Classics has 3 Emphases: Language and Literature, emphasizing study in the original Greek and/or Latin (a necessity for graduate study in Classics); Greek and Roman Culture, an in-depth exploration of Classical literature, history, archaeology and art, or religion and philosophy requiring only a year’s study of Greek or Latin; and Classical Archaeology (which emphasizes archaeology/art and the Classical languages more than does the “Civilization” or new “Culture” major emphasis). The department also offers a Minor. See the General Catalog or the Department’s Major Sheets for fuller information.

But what can you do with it?

From the Princeton Review ( c. 2003)

“We can't overestimate the value of a Classics major. Check this out: according to Association of American Medical Colleges, students who major or double-major in Classics have a better success rate getting into medical school than do students who concentrate solely in biology, microbiology, and other branches of science. Crazy, huh? Furthermore, according to Harvard Magazine, Classics majors (and math majors) have the highest success rates of any majors in law school. Believe it or not: political science, economics, and pre-law majors lag fairly far behind. Furthermore, Classics majors consistently have some of the highest scores on GREs of all undergraduates.

”Shocked? Don't be. One reason Classics majors are so successful is that they completely master grammar. Medical terminology, legal terminology, and all those ridiculously worthless vocabulary words on the GRE (and the SAT) have their roots in Greek and Latin. Ultimately, though, Classics majors get on well in life because they develop intellectual rigor, communications skills, analytical skills, the ability to handle complex information, and, above all, a breadth of view which few other disciplines can provide.”

From the website of the University of Puget Sound:

Princeton's Survey of its Classics Graduates

“What can you do with a Classics Major? Many students considering Classics as a major ask that question.  Princeton University decided that best way to answer this question was to find out what their alumni had been doing.  A survey was sent out asking the majors who had graduated since 1970 about their careers.  103 responses were received, and the results are presented below.

Other occupations, including newspaper editor, computer programmers, literary agent, TV producer, speechwriter for Clinton/Gore campaign, cultural affairs advisor to the governor of New Jersey  29
 

56% of all respondents went on to get post graduate degrees:

“These results demonstrate that far from closing professional doors, a major in Classics can lead to success in a variety of professions.  While Classics departments are often proud of majors who go to graduate school in Classics and then on to an academic career, this is by no means the only path available.”

Some notable Classics majors

Quite apart from many great names of the past such as Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche, T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”), and Willa Cather, contemporary Classics majors include:

• J. K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter series
• Lynn Sherr, ABC News Correspondent
• Toni Morrison (well, OK, Classics minor), author of Beloved, Nobel Prize Literature, 1993.
• Charles Geschke, software executive, founder of Adobe Systems
• David Packard, co-founder and first CEO of Hewlett Packard
• Ted Turner, founder, TBS and CNN, former Vice-Chairman Arial Warner
• Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense, President Texas A&M, Director of CIA, 1991-93
• Jerry Brown, former governor of California and Attorney-General.
• James Baker, Secretary of State under Pres. Bush Senior
• William S. Cohen, former Senator and secretary of Defense under Pres. Clinton
• Hunter S. Rawlings, III, President of Cornell University
• Robert Greene, hip-hop guru and author of The 48 Laws of Power
• Nathanial Fick, Afghanistan war veteran and author of One bullet Away
• Dr. Mary Ann Hopkins, Professor of Surgery NYU Medical Center & volunteer for Doctors Without Borders
• Joseph Spellman, master sommelier for Joseph Phelps Vineyards
• And let’s not forget UCSB’s own Kayte Christensen, former Lady Gauchos basketball star, now forward with Phoenix Mercury (WNBA)!

And finally, a testimonial from Misty Care, one of our recent alumni who went on to law school:

"Let me just say how much Classics helped prepare me for law school. Holy cow, it's amazing the things I take for granted when reading cases that my fellow classmates are not quite used to handling. Having to read archaic 1700's English is a walk in the park compared to Homeric Greek and I know what terms like ferae naturae mean without having to look them up...not to mention how it is second nature to pick out an argument and reasoning for that argument while reading court opinions. My friend who was a bus/econ major chuckled when she heard I studied Classics. Now she comes to me for help analyzing Justice opinions. I've made another friend out here who also studied Latin. It is humorous to me when we start parsing legal terms and the rest of the table looks at us like we are insane. We rather enjoy it, it's a game for us.

"Law school is insane, but it is also a lot of fun. I think the closest I came to studying at UCSB in a similar manner to that which I am studying now was translating Book 24 of the Iliad. I average about 6 hours of study a day. Reading each case is like translating a foreign language, and it is very satisfying when I finish translating a case, re-read it, and actually understand what is going on. Law is deceiving. English is no longer English. Just last night I saw the word 'occupy'. I thought to myself, "Hmm, that is just too simple and straightforward...I bet occupy has a separate legal definition." It did. Thank you for the great law school warm up. I feel more at ease with the material than my economics friends, so to all those who feel like Classics is not a "real life" major, I say "think again"!"

Some websites for further exploration:

• “Top Ten Reasons to Study Classics,” National Committee for Latin & Greek
• “Why Study Classics?” Willamette University
• “Love and Death Make Classics Tantalizing”-Straight.com (Vancouver)
• “Why in Heaven’s Name Are You Majoring in Greek?”-Lynn Sherr’s 2003 Rouman Lecture at UNH
• “Reviving Interest in the Classics”-Chronicle of Higher Education, Colloquy
• “Careers for Classics Majors”-Loyola University, Chicago:
• “What can I do with a major in Classics?"-Miami University, Ohio
• “Classics: Occupational Possibilities”-University of Kansas Career Center