Ancient Studies Program

For a Major in Ancient Studies
The purpose of this program is to enable students to explore the cultural context of the ancient Mediterranean as a whole while concentrating on one specific Mediterranean or Mesopotamian culture. Central to the conception of the program is its interdisciplinary approach, in which the student brings the perspectives and methodologies of at least three different disciplines to bear on his or her area of specialization.

Officers of instruction participating in the program are drawn from the departments of Anthropology, Art History and Archaeology, Classics, History, Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, Philosophy, and Religion, assuring that a wide variety of approaches will be available. Also central to the program is the requirement that a student acquire a more detailed knowledge of one ancient culture, learning the language of its surviving literature and studying the writings of its people in their original language while also exploring their history and their art forms.

The culmination of the course comes in the senior year, when students with different areas of specialization come together to share their ideas in the senior seminar and then to write a substantial piece of original research.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A MAJOR IN ANCIENT STUDIES
Courses: 36 points are required, including the following:

At least two but not more than four introductory courses chosen from the following:

History W1002 (Ancient history of Mesopotamia and Anatolia)

History W1004 (Ancient history of Egypt)

History W1005 (Survey of ancient Greek history)

History W1006 (The Romans)

Art history V3248 (Greek art and architecture)

Art History V3250 (Roman art and architecture)

Philosophy V2101 (The history of philosophy: pre-Socratics through Augustine)

Religion V3201 (Introduction to the Hebrew Bible)

Religion V3210 (Judaism in the time of Jesus)

Classical Literature 3132 (Classical Mythology).

Among the introductory courses chosen must be the basic history course in the student's culture of specialization, if available. At least two language courses at the 1200 level or above. The minimum language requirement must be completed by the end of the first semester of the student's senior year, so that the student will be equipped to use sources in the original language in his or her thesis. Students are strongly urged to begin study of an ancient language as soon as possible and to complete more than the minimum requirements, since the best way to gain an understanding of a culture is through the actual words of its people. (Those considering graduate work on the ancient world should also be aware that most graduate schools require more than two years of undergraduate language training for admission.) The language offered in fulfillment of this requirement should match the student's area of specialty; special arrangements are available with other universities for students whose specialties require languages not normally taught at Columbia. Students entering with expertise in their chosen languages will be placed in advanced courses as appropriate but are still required to complete at least two semesters of language courses at Columbia; exceptions to this policy may be made in the case of languages not normally taught at Columbia. Language courses at the 1100 level may not be counted towards the major. At least two advanced courses at the 3000 or 4000 level not appearing on the list of introductory courses. The senior seminar (3995). Senior thesis (3998).

Breadth requirement: The final set of courses offered for the major must contain courses from at least three different departments (to ensure proper interdisciplinary training and experience), and at least three courses on the student's area of specialization (in addition to the required language and history courses). In addtion, majors are reminded that the focus of this major is the ancient Mediterranean world as a whole and are advised not to study only one culture to the exclusion of the others. Those who miss the opportunity to take courses on a diverse set of ancient cultures may find themselves at a disadvantage in the major seminar.

Overlap of course content: One of the potential difficulties of an interdisciplinary major program is that the courses which are available may on occasion have a substantial overlap in content. Since credit cannot be given twice for the same work, no courses may be counted toward the major which overlap significantly with courses already taken or in progress; in cases of doubt, the departmental representative shall decide which courses are affected by this requirement. It is the student's responsibility to discuss his or her choice of courses with the departmental representative well in advance and to provide him or her with all the necessary information on the courses concerned, since failure to do so may result in a course's being discounted after it has already been taken. Advanced placement credits and courses passed with a grade of D may not be counted towards the major. In addition, Ancient Studies majors may not use the pass-fail option in any Columbia ancient language courses, including the 1100-level courses which do not count for the major.

Advanced placement credits and courses passed with a grade of D may not be counted towards the major. In addition, Ancient Studies majors may not use the pass-fail option in any Columbia ancient language courses, including the 1100-level courses which do not count for the major.