Departmental Mission Statement

Department Page | CANES

The Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies expects of its faculty excellent teaching sustained and enhanced by ongoing scholarship and significant research.

CANES, as part of the College of Arts and Sciences, expects of its students a breadth of learning in the liberal arts and sciences tradition. Through the liberal arts in particular, students develop the skills to think critically about the issues, events, ideas, and values which abound in the human experience.

CANES devotes itself to the core subjects of the liberal arts. The department espouses as its mission the development of students' critical thinking skills through the study of Classical and ancient Near Eastern languages, literatures, philosophies, religions, history and material culture as students meet and respond to the works and expressions of ancient peoples. These studies broaden a student's awareness of diversity, both in the United States and throughout the world, and develop perspective as students learn about the present in relation to the past, and their own language and culture in relation to the languages and cultures of others. CANES demands that students respond orally and in writing to the literature and artifacts they study, and these assignments build creative and technical skills in presenting ideas to a wider audience.

For students in the greater College, our mission means that the department teaches a variety of languages at many levels and offers courses in literatures and cultures both in the original languages and in English.

For our language majors, our mission requires students' appropriation of the chosen language through advanced study of the language, its literature, and the culture(s) which used it, as well as an introduction to the basic tools for further work in the field.

For classical civilization majors, our mission requires a broader assimilation of Greek and Roman literature and culture, including history, philosophy, mythology, and material culture.

The Mission of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies is in complete harmony with (and mandated by) the Jesuit Constitutions of 1548:

§447: Moreover, since both the learning of theology and the use of it require (especially in these times) knowledge of humane letters [footnote: Under the heading of humane letters is understood, in addition to grammar, what pertains to rhetoric, poetry, and history.] and of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, there should be capable professors of these languages, and in sufficient number.

Goals and Objectives

Classical Civilization Majors

      1. They demonstrate the ability to identify and discuss the basic authors, genres, and works of Greece and Rome.
      2. Majors demonstrate that they have mastered the basic skills of literary criticism. In sample works or passages they demonstrate the ability to identify literary techniques, themes, and tropes; to assess the contribution of parts to a literary whole; and to articulate a structure of the literary work.
      3. They demonstrate a basic understanding of the cultural context of the literature.

    2. Majors have a broad knowledge of the history of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.

      1. They demonstrate awareness of the principal people and events of Greek and Roman history.
      2. They demonstrate basic geographical knowledge about the Mediterranean basin (especially cities, territorial boundaries, and natural resources).

    3. Majors are acquainted with the art and archeology of at least one of the major periods or regions of classical Mediterranean civilization (e.g. Helladic, archaic Greek, Hellenistic, Roman imperial).

      1. They demonstrate understanding of artistic progression within one period or region and the major artistic achievements of the period or region.
      2. They can identify and describe 1) the technique of the principal art forms produced in one period or region and 2) the principal artistic styles associated with that period or region.

    4. Majors have a fundamental understanding of the major currents of the intellectual and spiritual history of the ancient Greek and Roman civilization.

      1. They demonstrate basic knowledge of Greek and Roman philosophy.
      2. They demonstrate basic knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology.

    5. Majors have a beginning experience of classical research.

      1. Majors demonstrate the ability to use basic Classics bibliographical tools, standard reference works, and major secondary sources.
      2. Majors demonstrate the ability to use research skills in a sustained critical argument.
      3. Majors write effective English prose.

    6. Majors have a healthy affective stance toward the discipline of Classics.

      1. Majors have identified and can articulate, in discussion or writing, a relation between this discipline, their intellectual developments, and their life goals.

Greek Majors

      1. Majors demonstrate knowledge of Greek grammar and syntax; their knowledge would place them at the completion of second-semester intermediate language study.
      2. Majors demonstrate knowledge of the basic vocabulary of Greek as well as the specific vocabulary frequently used by at least four major authors.
      3. Majors demonstrate ability to read literature for comprehension, not just to translate individual words. They can enter discussion and answer questions about the meaning of a work they have read.
      4. Majors are able to translate into idiomatic English a standard author (like Homer, Euripides, Plato, or Herodotus) with the help of a dictionary.

    2. Majors know Greek literature and its historical and cultural context.

      1. Majors demonstrate knowledge of the basic facts of this literature's history. That is, they are able to write one or two paragraphs on any of the most important 8-10 literary figures placing the writer in historical context. They also demonstrate understanding of the major literary genres by a short description of the genre's typical characteristics.
      2. They demonstrate a basic understanding of this culture and this literature's place in it. In particular, they can point to fundamental characteristics and tensions of Greek culture in the literature they criticize.
      3. Because it is crucial to understanding literature, majors demonstrate that they have the ability to use the basic skills of literary criticism. That is, in sample works or passages they demonstrate ability to identify literary techniques, themes, and tropes; to assess the contributions of parts to a literary whole; and to articulate a structure of the literary work.

    3. Majors have a beginning experience of classical research.

      1. Majors demonstrate the ability to use basic Classics bibliographical tools, standard reference works, and major secondary sources.
      2. Majors demonstrate the ability to use research skills in a sustained critical argument.
      3. Majors write effective English prose.

    4. Majors have a healthy affective stance toward the discipline of Classics.

      1. Majors have identified and can articulate, in discussion or writing, a relation between this discipline, their intellectual developments, and their life goals.

Latin Majors

      1. Majors demonstrate knowledge of Latin grammar and syntax; their knowledge would place them at the completion of second-semester intermediate language study.
      2. Majors demonstrate knowledge of the basic vocabulary of Latin as well as the specific vocabulary frequently used by at least four major authors.
      3. Majors demonstrate ability to read literature for comprehension, not just to translate individual words. They can enter discussion and answer questions about the meaning of a work they read.
      4. Majors are able to translate into idiomatic English a standard author (like Cicero, Vergil, Livy, Ovid, Caesar, or Catullus in his shorter poems) with the help of a dictionary.

2. Majors know Latin literature and its historical and cultural context.

      1. Majors demonstrate knowledge of the basic facts of this literature's history. That is, they are able to write one or two paragraphs on any of the most important 8-10 literary figures placing the writer in historical context. They also demonstrate understanding of the major literary genres by a short description of the genre's typical characteristics.
      2. They demonstrate a basic understanding of this culture and this literature's place in it. In particular, they can point to fundamental characteristics and tensions of Roman culture in the literature they criticize.
      3. Because it is crucial to understanding literature, majors demonstrate that they have the ability to use the basic skills of literary criticism. That is, in sample works or passages they demonstrate ability to identify literary techniques, themes, and tropes; to assess the contributions of parts to a literary whole; and to articulate a structure of the literary work.

    3. Majors have a beginning experience of classical research.

      1. Majors demonstrate the ability to use basic Classics bibliographical tools, standard reference works, and major secondary sources.
      2. Majors demonstrate the ability to use research skills in a sustained critical argument.
      3. Majors write effective English prose.

    4. Majors have a healthy affective stance toward the discipline of Classics.

      1. Majors have identified and can articulate, in discussion or writing, a relation between this discipline, their intellectual developments, and their life goals