Classical Studies offers the opportunity to immerse yourself in the ancient cultures of Greece and Rome. Whether your interests lie in the people, their art, literature, or history, if you want to learn more about the great classical forerunners of western culture, our department has much to offer.
Here you will find some of the most interesting, unusual, and significant course material for an understanding of the ancient Mediterranean world as a parent of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the modern western world.
Whether you want to major, minor, take some electives, or are pursuing a master's degree in Classical Studies, we welcome you and will endeavour to make the classical past alive and significant for you.
News
Epic Threads: The Odyssey Review
For our launch of Epic Threads in fall 2025, we were driven by the vision that engagement with the ancient world should not be confined to the genre of the academic essay but should also include storytelling and other forms of artistic expression – which might themselves inspire conversation, creative thinking, and community.
Epic Threads: Odyssey review contest
Write a Review for a chance to win up to 5 prizes of $100 in Amazon gift cards.
Epic Threads Prizes for Creative Engagement with Ancient History and Literature
For the second annual issue of Epic Threads, the journal’s editors Madelynne Parish and Mary Harper vowed several prizes (worth $1,000 in total), thanks to the generosity of the Classical Studies Department and the UW Shalom Trust. They thus attracted international attention to our student-run journal for creative writing – or should we better say ‘creative engagement’, as two of the winning contributions combine textual with visual art?
Events
Camelot Conference hosted in the DRAGEN Lab at St. Jerome's University
2026 Conference details have been released
Ancient Greece and Rome in German Scholarship and Culture, 18th to the 20th Centuries
This symposium traces important stages in the intellectual and cultural exchange between ancient Greeks and Romans and early modern German culture, while highlighting the deep and lasting influence that the ancient world has had—and continues to have—within German society. Through twelve presentations delivered by leading scholars from Europe and North America, the symposium will examine the many ways in which Greek and Roman antiquity shaped German scholarship, literature, philosophy, art, politics, and cultural identity.