The Department of Classics explores ancient Greece and Rome and reveals how their cultures, history, politics, science, languages and theater have shaped the modern world. Our curriculum encompasses an enormous variety of human endeavor: poetry, myth, history, philosophy, religion, archaeology, art, and more. All these studies share the aim of expanding and enriching our picture of Greco-Roman culture, and thereby deepening our understanding of contemporary society.

Students of Classics quickly recognize that among the intellectual, political, and social currents swirling around us 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 and about theology and doctrine -- all these and many more “modern” questions have their roots in Greek and Roman civilization.

The Department of Classics offers three distinct emphases to undergraduates: Greek and Latin literature, Greek and Roman culture, and Archaeology.

Classics News & Features

Featured
A Contemporary Take on Classics
A Contemporary Take on Classics

Classics departments often struggle against the perception that they are stuck in the past. Focusing on ancient stories has nothing to do with us today, right? Visiting professor Stephen Trzaskoma argues otherwise, and his efforts are among the many ways UCSB Classics is engaging with contemporary life.

Turning Ancient Stories Into Modern Ideas
Turning Ancient Stories Into Modern Ideas

The Classics department may be one of the smallest at UC Santa Barbara, yet it houses one of the most highly sophisticated and intensive fields of study. For graduate student and classics PhD candidate Olga Faccani, a passion for studying friendship ties within Greek tragedies has earned her a spot as a participant in Harvard University’s Institute for World Literature (IWL) this upcoming summer.

UCSB’s Classics Department Wins Equity Award
UCSB’s Classics Department Wins Equity Award

UC Santa Barbara’s Classics department’s work with historically black colleges and universities has been recognized by the Society for Classical Studies with its 2019 Equity Award. Classics professor Brice Erickson discusses the department’s groundbreaking summer project with Howard University students.

Political Postures: Citizenship and the Role of Protest
Political Postures: Citizenship and the Role of Protest

Decades before Colin Kaepernick played for the National Football League, world champion boxer Muhammad Ali publicly opposed the Vietnam War and was stripped of his heavyweight title and banned from boxing for years. Recently, Kaepernick has followed in his footsteps and knelt in silence during the national anthem to protest racial injustice, hoping to garner support and promote change as Ali did in 1971.

To Brown University professor Bonnie Honig, Kaepernick and Ali’s actions that demonstrated their refusal to comply to society’s expectations reflects a “long tradition of American citizenship.”

The Late Republic: Shifting Values in Modern America and Ancient Rome
The Late Republic: Shifting Values in Modern America and Ancient Rome

“The societal changes of the Late Roman Republic’s aristocratic class has implications for how historians compare the past to our current political landscape,” scholar Noah Segal said in a recent talk to faculty and students of the Classics department. A decline in military background among those who serve in office is one trend in ancient Rome that echoes today.

Segal, who specializes in populism in democratic societies, will represent UC Santa Barbara at an international Classics convention in early January.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Inspiration and Takeaways in the Humanities & Fine Arts
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Inspiration and Takeaways in the Humanities & Fine Arts

Sasha Nasir, a student in our new Journalism for Web and Social Media course, has produced a video featuring undergraduates in UC Santa Barbara's division of Humanities and Fine Arts explaining what they love about their majors - Classics, Black Studies, Film and Media Studies, and English.