• This interdisciplinary major in the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome, Judaism, early Christianity, and early Islam, as well as their antecedents, explores these traditions both for their intrinsic interest and for the contributions each has made to contemporary Western society.
  • The combined focus on ancient cultural history in its broadest sense and on perspectives offered by cultural criticism enables students to examine the beginnings of the civilization in which they now participate.
  • Courses for this major address common questions about the transmission and transformation of cultures in the ancient Mediterranean world.
  • Students examine sources, such as texts and artifacts that illuminate the process. They study how shifting cultural centers and frontiers in this world are delineated, and they explore the general integration and disintegration of specific ancient cultures. This major also offers opportunities for archaeological fieldwork and study abroad.