This ask was originally posted on Tumblr, November 6, 2018, at this URL: https://theancientgeekoroman.tumblr.com/post/179847323830/hi-im-a-high-schooler-who-wants-to-pursue-a
Original Ask: hi! i'm a high-schooler who wants to pursue a career in classics and ancient history and you're a massive inspiration to me, I was wondering if you have any advice for an aspiring classicist
My Answer:
Hey! I’m glad to be an inspiration :3
So, the first thing I would suggest is to read, read, read. I know it’s expensive to get a lot of books, but remember that public libraries (and check your high school library, too!) might have many of the books you might want to read before you head into a Classics program.
If you would prefer to have these things online so you can access a lot of different things, here are my favorite websites to refer to:
Classics courses can be under Anthropology or Archaeology, Art History, English/Literature, Greek/Latin, Library Sciences, Law, Museum Studies, Theatre, etc. If you’re interested in exploring any of these areas of Classics, I would suggest exploring these courses if the university offers them as well. This would also help you hone in on what area of the field you might be most interested in pursuing - a lot of people who go into Classics either end up teaching or working in a museum, from my experience. However, those aren’t your only choices, and we’ll get back to that more towards the end :3
If you’re not sure if you’d like archaeology, if you can afford an archaeological field school, I would say try to participate in one when you’re an undergraduate student, or if you can’t, see if your local state parks have any need for archaeological volunteers. That’s something that I’ve been investigating in Las Vegas (where I live); this isn’t Classics specifically, but much of the work will be similar so you can gauge whether you like digging enough to do it for a living. This past summer I did my first archaeological field school (three years after I completed my B.A. in History/Classics), so if you wait a little longer, that’s okay, too. But, I loved it, and I definitely want to dig again, so I think that it’s important to find a way to pursue those opportunities when you can (I was lucky to get a full-time job a year before I went and was able to save up - I didn’t take any vacation time in the year and a half from when I was hired until after the field school). There are field school scholarships that you can apply to, like the Jane C. Waldbaum Archaeological Field School Scholarship (https://www.archaeological.org/grants/708), that are for students pursuing their first field school, amongst other funding, so make sure you look everywhere and ask your university if they have a database for field school funding. A lot of your anthropology and archaeology professors will be helpful in asking about this. Your university might also have archaeology opportunities on campus as well; my alma mater, the University of Delaware, had an Archaeology Laboratory that I volunteered in for extra credit and continued to do so once my course was over because I enjoyed it so much. See what’s around and how you can help out!
In the same vein, if you’re interested in museum work, look to see if you can volunteer over the summer, or once you’re a university student, see if you can enroll in an internship for credit. Sometimes your university galleries and museums might have a program, so look into that, too! I did a Curatorial Apprenticeship Program at the University of Delaware and was able to conduct an Independent Study for credit through the museum program (now the University of Delaware has a Museum Studies minor). I’ve always known that my end goal was to be a curator, but there’s plenty of other aspects of museums you can explore: education, administration, museum libraries, and a lot of other departments, depending on the size of the institution. If you’re in the U.S., you can check my museum post to see if your state has ancient art (https://theancientgeekoroman.tumblr.com/post/179105816745/master-list-of-museums-with-greek-roman), and if you’re in another country, don’t worry, I’m working on master lists for other countries, too.
Many courses may be taught in translation (especially if you’re taking it as an English Literature or Foreign Language in Translation course), so see if you can find the best or most highly recommended translations by professors. See what the book lists are for the courses at the universities you’re looking at and try to find your favorite translation. I just bought the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey, which I have a feeling will be my favorite translation. This is The Iliad translation I have (http://www.librarything.com/work/3426497/book/161094444), The Aeneid (http://www.librarything.com/work/11862/book/161072440), Metamorphoses (http://www.librarything.com/work/3439/book/161072432), and The Love Songs of Sappho (http://www.librarything.com/work/237534/book/161093187). All of these were assigned textbooks for my Biblical and Classical Literature and Mythology courses at the University of Delaware between 2007-2015 (those links take you to my LibraryThing, which will tell you most of the books that I own or I have on my wishlist, if you want to check them out; I haven’t finished organizing their categories yet, though, so it’s a WIP).
If you haven’t been exposed to Ancient Greek or Latin at the high school level and university will be the first time you encounter these languages (as was true for me), you don’t necessarily have to know anything by the first day of class. However, if you would like a head start, here are some lessons on Ancient Greek in YouTube format (http://www.openculture.com/2016/08/learn-ancient-greek-in-64-free-lessons-from-brandeis-harvard.html) and in text format (https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/grkol). Latin, unsurprisingly, has a lot more resources for free online learning (I even bought a Udemy course to review my Latin): The University of Texas at Austin: https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/latol, http://learn101.org/latin.php, and this list is good to consult: https://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/latinapps.htm. I haven’t used all of these myself, so explore and see which ones would be best for you and works best for how you learn.
If you decide to continue with Classics into the graduate level, keep in mind that you’ll need German AND French or Italian. I took both French and Italian as an undergraduate and I can read French pretty well because I took it for four years in high school and studied abroad in Caen for five weeks as an undergraduate. Italian I can kind of read alright, but I know no German, which I need to work on. So, if you have a language requirement and your Latin or Greek does not count, keep those languages in mind. (Sometimes you have to take a certain amount of Latin or Ancient Greek for it to count, and your program may not require as many ancient language courses for your major as the language requirement for the university, etc. I only needed to take Ancient Greek or Latin, but I decided I wanted to do both.)
Classics is an extremely interdisciplinary field, so you have a lot of options, both as an undergraduate and a graduate student. You don’t necessarily need to go straight into graduate school, either. You can teach at the high school level, you can go into archaeology fieldwork or museum work, or do a variety of other things. It’s up to you. I took a year off, got a different Master of Arts degree before I applied to my M.A. in Classical Studies. It’s different for everyone. I’ll be 30 when I get my M.A. in Classical Studies, so take your time and explore things that call to you. Don’t rush things and have fun!
Of course, I’m sure you want to know “What can I do with a Classics degree?” Luckily, many places have already made lists like this! Here they are:
TLDR & recap:
I hope you found this helpful and I apologize for the length, but feel free to drop me a line whenever you like if you need more advice or would like me to expand on any of my experiences!
All the best,
The Ancient Geeko-Roman
P.S. Folklore Fiancé wanted to make sure I didn’t overwhelm you and wanted to encourage you to make sure you take your time and take breaks when studying. Don’t overwhelm yourself with your research; take your time to explore different areas and don’t tackle too many things at once. *takes off parent hat*
This ask was originally posted on Tumblr, November 8, 2018, at this URL: https://theancientgeekoroman.tumblr.com/post/179914532575/hi-so-im-a-high-school-freshman-rn-lol-but-i-want
Original Ask: Hi so I'm a high school freshman rn lol but I want to study archaeology, and in my country they don't teach that, like it's not a career, there's only anthropology. So I've been researching a lot and I found out that La Sapienza in Rome teaches it. But idk do you think that it would be fine to go and study it abroad? Also, should I learn latin or ancient greek?
My Answer:
Hello!
Anthropology is a good way to start and get to archaeology - the University of Delaware (my alma mater in the U.S.A.) just has Anthropology, but under that department, there are archaeology courses. One of my courses was Prehistoric Archaeology (which was one of my favorite classes!) listed as an Anthropology class. Also, remember that if you study a related program as an undergraduate, getting a graduate degree in Archaeology is possible. My undergraduate degree was in History with a concentration in Classics, so it was relevant for my Classical Studies MA, and then my Ph.D. is going to be specific to ancient art and archaeology (once I get in, that is!) A lot of different subjects are relevant to archaeology, so you don’t necessarily need to study it as an undergraduate. You can major in a relevant but different program, and go to archaeological field schools to gain archaeology experience. One of the most important things to remember about archaeology is that, from what I have been told, is that the most important aspect of archaeology is the experience. The more you dig, the better! Potential employers, at least in the United States, look more at how much you have dug in the past - it’s great to have the education - but finding digs you can participate in (and if you decide to go to Italy, there will be no shortage of digs you might be able to participate in). But there’s nothing wrong with wanting to major in Archaeology specifically before you start digging.
However, if you really want to do a program abroad, do some research on the program. If you’re proficient in Italian, then I don’t think that would be an issue - but remember, studying abroad for a long period of time or for a full program is much different than short-term studying abroad. If your country does not have archaeology as a career, you should assess where you might want to go if that’s your career goal. It does make it easier when you’ve studied in that country to get a position as a professional there once you’ve completed the program. I’ve studied abroad four times, but it was always between two and five weeks, so I can’t speak too much on doing a full program abroad (anyone who is doing their program abroad and wants to add some specific advice to this, please do!)
The other thing you really should consider with studying abroad is funding; make sure you look into the funding available for foreign/EU students (depending on where you live). See what the university offers and search to see if there are any exchange programs between your country and Italy that might provide you with a fellowship/scholarship. Outside scholarships for exchange students are out there as well, so make sure you look everywhere for them! Unfortunately, since I’m U.S.-based, I’m not sure if your country does things quite the same way, but see if you can find scholarship search engines. I use things like FastWeb on a regular basis, but also Unigo, Cappex, and ScholarshipDetective. Smaller scholarships are always good to look for (I was awarded a $600 scholarship from Mensa in my last program, and all I was able to do was buy my books for two semesters, so it wasn’t a lot, but every little bit helps!) Look locally and at the university you’re applying to, and you can always e-mail the person listed on the funding page of the university and ask them questions about your concerns. I did this with the University of Wales Trinity St. David when I considered going there for Ancient Religions (and honestly I might take some of the classes for fun when I have the time and money because I don’t have enough courses about Ancient Religion), but the amount of funding that would be available for a distance student from the U.S.A. wasn’t enough for me to even take one course, so I looked for different options.
I would advise looking into other schools as well! If you’re proficient in Italian, you can look into other schools, too. You don’t necessarily have to stick to just La Sapienza, but I would suggest researching all possible options and perhaps compare them in terms of the specializations of the professors (if you want to study something that’s a research interest of a professor, you can e-mail them and discuss your desire to apply to the program), compare the weather for the university with the weather to what you’re used to and make sure you can handle the change or are at least prepared for it! I’m a beach baby who ended up in the desert, and I was not prepared. If you’re able to, I would visit the university as well, because I think visiting and getting to see the campus facilities (classrooms, dorms, library (libraries, if there’s more than one), dining halls, etc.) is important. This is where you’re going to study for a couple of years, it would be good to visit to get familiar with the campus and gauge if you feel that it’s a right fit for you.
So, in sum, I do think it’s totally fine to go abroad for your degree. I think studying abroad is really beneficial to people who do it, but the main concern for that is usually funding. If you would be comfortable living in a different country, I think you should do it, absolutely. As I said, I’ve only done short-term study abroad courses, so I can’t speak to semester/year/degree-length study abroad experiences, but if I had the chance myself, I would take it. Just do your research, e-mail potential professors, and consider whether you would like to stay at the university for a graduate program or to find archaeology as a career.
As for whether you should take Latin or Ancient Greek, that depends on a couple of things: your potential research interests, where you want to dig, and finally, what you think you will enjoy the most! My program only required me to take either Latin up to the 600 level (6 semesters for a new student), Ancient Greek up to the 600 level (6 semesters for a new student), or a combination of both Latin and Ancient Greek (a total of 8 classes). Since I didn’t know which one I would like better, I took both, so I could only take 4 semesters to complete the requirement because I took Ancient Greek and Latin at the same time. So, if you’re going to school for archaeology in Italy and you want to dig in the same place, Latin would make more sense. If you’re interested in digging in any of the ancient Greek areas (I dug in an ancient Greek and Thracian area of Bulgaria this past summer), then ancient Greek would be good to study. Part of the areas I visited in Bulgaria was inscribed with Latin, too, so it is prominent in a lot of places. Part of the reason I took both was because part of my research interest includes ancient religions and how they evolved, so I needed Ancient Greek and Latin and languages I haven’t even started looking at yet.
If you’re still not sure about whether to take Ancient Greek or Latin, I would read some of the Classical texts that are on reading lists in your native language, decide which texts you liked the best and decide from there whether you want to read those texts in their original language! For reference of what texts you should read in translation to decide, here is the link to the Yale list of reading for Classics: https://classics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/downloads/YaleUndergraduateReadingList.pdf and here is one from Balliol College, University of Oxford: https://www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/classics-reading-lists. These would be a great place to start, and if you’ve already read a lot of or a decent amount of them, think of which ones you liked more.
Finally, if you want to study both and are able to, study both! If you think you’ll like Ancient Greek more, then go for that one. I’m personally better at Latin, but I like Ancient Greek more. This might also depend on your program as well, how much they offer, and how far they expect you to go for your program. This would be another thing to add to your research list when looking into potential programs.
I wish you all the best, and I hope this helps! If you would like me to clarify or expand on anything I’ve said here, don’t hesitate to drop me a line!
-The Ancient Geeko-Roman
This ask was originally posted on Tumblr, November 10, 2018, at this URL: https://theancientgeekoroman.tumblr.com/post/179972282550/hey-sorry-to-bother-you-but-i-recently-went-to-a
Original Ask: Hey sorry to bother you but I recently went to a classics uni taster course and sat there completely overwhelmed because whilst the actual lessons given were tailored to potential students who have never studied classics before (me), nearly everyone else there had and were engaging with the material in a way I simply couldn’t understand. Do you have a recommended reading list I could use over summer so that I don’t completely go in the deep end? :) thanks so much!
My Answer:
You’re not a bother at all, friend!
It is really overwhelming when you’re not used to it - and don’t worry, I have a whole degree in Classics, and I still get overwhelmed! It’s perfectly normal. There’s a lot of information and the Classical world spans so many locations and time periods, it’s a lot to take in. Everyone is going to be at different levels and remember - you can always learn. Your point of view and your voice is important, so if you have trouble engaging in the material how others are presenting it, think of how you engage with the material and how you would present it to others. You might be giving a lot of people another aspect of the material that they themselves had not considered.
Anyway!
So, before I went into my Classics degree, I had only read The Iliad and The Odyssey, and I didn’t even read them all the way through, but that’s where I would begin!
The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid are the “big 3″ that I had to keep reading over and over again, no matter what level of Classics I was in. However, there is a lot more reading!
The recommended reading list for Classics undergraduates from Yale University is found here (https://classics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/downloads/YaleUndergraduateReadingList.pdf) and is as follows (and please remember that this is for the whole of your undergraduate career, not what you should have done before you start):
Ancient Greek:
Ancient Greek Readings (My Recommendations from the List Above):
Latin:
Latin Readings (My Recommendations from the List Above):
Here are the best places to find translations of these works, in case you cannot find them in your local library or don’t have the money to invest in all of them:
All the best,
The Ancient Geeko-Roman
Note:
All of the writing has been copied from the original post and is presented as it first appeared. No editing has been or will be made to these posts and are being copied here in the event that The Ancient Geeko-Roman Tumblr is deleted.
Original Ask: hi! i'm a high-schooler who wants to pursue a career in classics and ancient history and you're a massive inspiration to me, I was wondering if you have any advice for an aspiring classicist
My Answer:
Hey! I’m glad to be an inspiration :3
So, the first thing I would suggest is to read, read, read. I know it’s expensive to get a lot of books, but remember that public libraries (and check your high school library, too!) might have many of the books you might want to read before you head into a Classics program.
If you would prefer to have these things online so you can access a lot of different things, here are my favorite websites to refer to:
- http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/
- https://www.gutenberg.org/
- http://www.sacred-texts.com/search.htm
Classics courses can be under Anthropology or Archaeology, Art History, English/Literature, Greek/Latin, Library Sciences, Law, Museum Studies, Theatre, etc. If you’re interested in exploring any of these areas of Classics, I would suggest exploring these courses if the university offers them as well. This would also help you hone in on what area of the field you might be most interested in pursuing - a lot of people who go into Classics either end up teaching or working in a museum, from my experience. However, those aren’t your only choices, and we’ll get back to that more towards the end :3
If you’re not sure if you’d like archaeology, if you can afford an archaeological field school, I would say try to participate in one when you’re an undergraduate student, or if you can’t, see if your local state parks have any need for archaeological volunteers. That’s something that I’ve been investigating in Las Vegas (where I live); this isn’t Classics specifically, but much of the work will be similar so you can gauge whether you like digging enough to do it for a living. This past summer I did my first archaeological field school (three years after I completed my B.A. in History/Classics), so if you wait a little longer, that’s okay, too. But, I loved it, and I definitely want to dig again, so I think that it’s important to find a way to pursue those opportunities when you can (I was lucky to get a full-time job a year before I went and was able to save up - I didn’t take any vacation time in the year and a half from when I was hired until after the field school). There are field school scholarships that you can apply to, like the Jane C. Waldbaum Archaeological Field School Scholarship (https://www.archaeological.org/grants/708), that are for students pursuing their first field school, amongst other funding, so make sure you look everywhere and ask your university if they have a database for field school funding. A lot of your anthropology and archaeology professors will be helpful in asking about this. Your university might also have archaeology opportunities on campus as well; my alma mater, the University of Delaware, had an Archaeology Laboratory that I volunteered in for extra credit and continued to do so once my course was over because I enjoyed it so much. See what’s around and how you can help out!
In the same vein, if you’re interested in museum work, look to see if you can volunteer over the summer, or once you’re a university student, see if you can enroll in an internship for credit. Sometimes your university galleries and museums might have a program, so look into that, too! I did a Curatorial Apprenticeship Program at the University of Delaware and was able to conduct an Independent Study for credit through the museum program (now the University of Delaware has a Museum Studies minor). I’ve always known that my end goal was to be a curator, but there’s plenty of other aspects of museums you can explore: education, administration, museum libraries, and a lot of other departments, depending on the size of the institution. If you’re in the U.S., you can check my museum post to see if your state has ancient art (https://theancientgeekoroman.tumblr.com/post/179105816745/master-list-of-museums-with-greek-roman), and if you’re in another country, don’t worry, I’m working on master lists for other countries, too.
Many courses may be taught in translation (especially if you’re taking it as an English Literature or Foreign Language in Translation course), so see if you can find the best or most highly recommended translations by professors. See what the book lists are for the courses at the universities you’re looking at and try to find your favorite translation. I just bought the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey, which I have a feeling will be my favorite translation. This is The Iliad translation I have (http://www.librarything.com/work/3426497/book/161094444), The Aeneid (http://www.librarything.com/work/11862/book/161072440), Metamorphoses (http://www.librarything.com/work/3439/book/161072432), and The Love Songs of Sappho (http://www.librarything.com/work/237534/book/161093187). All of these were assigned textbooks for my Biblical and Classical Literature and Mythology courses at the University of Delaware between 2007-2015 (those links take you to my LibraryThing, which will tell you most of the books that I own or I have on my wishlist, if you want to check them out; I haven’t finished organizing their categories yet, though, so it’s a WIP).
If you haven’t been exposed to Ancient Greek or Latin at the high school level and university will be the first time you encounter these languages (as was true for me), you don’t necessarily have to know anything by the first day of class. However, if you would like a head start, here are some lessons on Ancient Greek in YouTube format (http://www.openculture.com/2016/08/learn-ancient-greek-in-64-free-lessons-from-brandeis-harvard.html) and in text format (https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/grkol). Latin, unsurprisingly, has a lot more resources for free online learning (I even bought a Udemy course to review my Latin): The University of Texas at Austin: https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/latol, http://learn101.org/latin.php, and this list is good to consult: https://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/latinapps.htm. I haven’t used all of these myself, so explore and see which ones would be best for you and works best for how you learn.
If you decide to continue with Classics into the graduate level, keep in mind that you’ll need German AND French or Italian. I took both French and Italian as an undergraduate and I can read French pretty well because I took it for four years in high school and studied abroad in Caen for five weeks as an undergraduate. Italian I can kind of read alright, but I know no German, which I need to work on. So, if you have a language requirement and your Latin or Greek does not count, keep those languages in mind. (Sometimes you have to take a certain amount of Latin or Ancient Greek for it to count, and your program may not require as many ancient language courses for your major as the language requirement for the university, etc. I only needed to take Ancient Greek or Latin, but I decided I wanted to do both.)
Classics is an extremely interdisciplinary field, so you have a lot of options, both as an undergraduate and a graduate student. You don’t necessarily need to go straight into graduate school, either. You can teach at the high school level, you can go into archaeology fieldwork or museum work, or do a variety of other things. It’s up to you. I took a year off, got a different Master of Arts degree before I applied to my M.A. in Classical Studies. It’s different for everyone. I’ll be 30 when I get my M.A. in Classical Studies, so take your time and explore things that call to you. Don’t rush things and have fun!
Of course, I’m sure you want to know “What can I do with a Classics degree?” Luckily, many places have already made lists like this! Here they are:
- https://www.angelo.edu/services/career/majors/classics.php
- https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/careers/subjects/classics/
- https://classicalstudies.org/education/careers-for-classicists/an-undergraduate-degree-in-the-classics
- https://www.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/careersandemployability/subjectfactsheets/subjectfacsheets/2016ese030_Classics_st1.pdf
- http://loveofhistory.com/what-jobs-can-you-get-with-an-ancient-history-and-classics-degree/
- https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/classics
TLDR & recap:
- Read, read, read
- Research your potential schools
- Volunteer
- Explore aspects of the field
- Have fun!
I hope you found this helpful and I apologize for the length, but feel free to drop me a line whenever you like if you need more advice or would like me to expand on any of my experiences!
All the best,
The Ancient Geeko-Roman
P.S. Folklore Fiancé wanted to make sure I didn’t overwhelm you and wanted to encourage you to make sure you take your time and take breaks when studying. Don’t overwhelm yourself with your research; take your time to explore different areas and don’t tackle too many things at once. *takes off parent hat*
This ask was originally posted on Tumblr, November 8, 2018, at this URL: https://theancientgeekoroman.tumblr.com/post/179914532575/hi-so-im-a-high-school-freshman-rn-lol-but-i-want
Original Ask: Hi so I'm a high school freshman rn lol but I want to study archaeology, and in my country they don't teach that, like it's not a career, there's only anthropology. So I've been researching a lot and I found out that La Sapienza in Rome teaches it. But idk do you think that it would be fine to go and study it abroad? Also, should I learn latin or ancient greek?
My Answer:
Hello!
Anthropology is a good way to start and get to archaeology - the University of Delaware (my alma mater in the U.S.A.) just has Anthropology, but under that department, there are archaeology courses. One of my courses was Prehistoric Archaeology (which was one of my favorite classes!) listed as an Anthropology class. Also, remember that if you study a related program as an undergraduate, getting a graduate degree in Archaeology is possible. My undergraduate degree was in History with a concentration in Classics, so it was relevant for my Classical Studies MA, and then my Ph.D. is going to be specific to ancient art and archaeology (once I get in, that is!) A lot of different subjects are relevant to archaeology, so you don’t necessarily need to study it as an undergraduate. You can major in a relevant but different program, and go to archaeological field schools to gain archaeology experience. One of the most important things to remember about archaeology is that, from what I have been told, is that the most important aspect of archaeology is the experience. The more you dig, the better! Potential employers, at least in the United States, look more at how much you have dug in the past - it’s great to have the education - but finding digs you can participate in (and if you decide to go to Italy, there will be no shortage of digs you might be able to participate in). But there’s nothing wrong with wanting to major in Archaeology specifically before you start digging.
However, if you really want to do a program abroad, do some research on the program. If you’re proficient in Italian, then I don’t think that would be an issue - but remember, studying abroad for a long period of time or for a full program is much different than short-term studying abroad. If your country does not have archaeology as a career, you should assess where you might want to go if that’s your career goal. It does make it easier when you’ve studied in that country to get a position as a professional there once you’ve completed the program. I’ve studied abroad four times, but it was always between two and five weeks, so I can’t speak too much on doing a full program abroad (anyone who is doing their program abroad and wants to add some specific advice to this, please do!)
The other thing you really should consider with studying abroad is funding; make sure you look into the funding available for foreign/EU students (depending on where you live). See what the university offers and search to see if there are any exchange programs between your country and Italy that might provide you with a fellowship/scholarship. Outside scholarships for exchange students are out there as well, so make sure you look everywhere for them! Unfortunately, since I’m U.S.-based, I’m not sure if your country does things quite the same way, but see if you can find scholarship search engines. I use things like FastWeb on a regular basis, but also Unigo, Cappex, and ScholarshipDetective. Smaller scholarships are always good to look for (I was awarded a $600 scholarship from Mensa in my last program, and all I was able to do was buy my books for two semesters, so it wasn’t a lot, but every little bit helps!) Look locally and at the university you’re applying to, and you can always e-mail the person listed on the funding page of the university and ask them questions about your concerns. I did this with the University of Wales Trinity St. David when I considered going there for Ancient Religions (and honestly I might take some of the classes for fun when I have the time and money because I don’t have enough courses about Ancient Religion), but the amount of funding that would be available for a distance student from the U.S.A. wasn’t enough for me to even take one course, so I looked for different options.
I would advise looking into other schools as well! If you’re proficient in Italian, you can look into other schools, too. You don’t necessarily have to stick to just La Sapienza, but I would suggest researching all possible options and perhaps compare them in terms of the specializations of the professors (if you want to study something that’s a research interest of a professor, you can e-mail them and discuss your desire to apply to the program), compare the weather for the university with the weather to what you’re used to and make sure you can handle the change or are at least prepared for it! I’m a beach baby who ended up in the desert, and I was not prepared. If you’re able to, I would visit the university as well, because I think visiting and getting to see the campus facilities (classrooms, dorms, library (libraries, if there’s more than one), dining halls, etc.) is important. This is where you’re going to study for a couple of years, it would be good to visit to get familiar with the campus and gauge if you feel that it’s a right fit for you.
So, in sum, I do think it’s totally fine to go abroad for your degree. I think studying abroad is really beneficial to people who do it, but the main concern for that is usually funding. If you would be comfortable living in a different country, I think you should do it, absolutely. As I said, I’ve only done short-term study abroad courses, so I can’t speak to semester/year/degree-length study abroad experiences, but if I had the chance myself, I would take it. Just do your research, e-mail potential professors, and consider whether you would like to stay at the university for a graduate program or to find archaeology as a career.
As for whether you should take Latin or Ancient Greek, that depends on a couple of things: your potential research interests, where you want to dig, and finally, what you think you will enjoy the most! My program only required me to take either Latin up to the 600 level (6 semesters for a new student), Ancient Greek up to the 600 level (6 semesters for a new student), or a combination of both Latin and Ancient Greek (a total of 8 classes). Since I didn’t know which one I would like better, I took both, so I could only take 4 semesters to complete the requirement because I took Ancient Greek and Latin at the same time. So, if you’re going to school for archaeology in Italy and you want to dig in the same place, Latin would make more sense. If you’re interested in digging in any of the ancient Greek areas (I dug in an ancient Greek and Thracian area of Bulgaria this past summer), then ancient Greek would be good to study. Part of the areas I visited in Bulgaria was inscribed with Latin, too, so it is prominent in a lot of places. Part of the reason I took both was because part of my research interest includes ancient religions and how they evolved, so I needed Ancient Greek and Latin and languages I haven’t even started looking at yet.
If you’re still not sure about whether to take Ancient Greek or Latin, I would read some of the Classical texts that are on reading lists in your native language, decide which texts you liked the best and decide from there whether you want to read those texts in their original language! For reference of what texts you should read in translation to decide, here is the link to the Yale list of reading for Classics: https://classics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/downloads/YaleUndergraduateReadingList.pdf and here is one from Balliol College, University of Oxford: https://www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/classics-reading-lists. These would be a great place to start, and if you’ve already read a lot of or a decent amount of them, think of which ones you liked more.
Finally, if you want to study both and are able to, study both! If you think you’ll like Ancient Greek more, then go for that one. I’m personally better at Latin, but I like Ancient Greek more. This might also depend on your program as well, how much they offer, and how far they expect you to go for your program. This would be another thing to add to your research list when looking into potential programs.
I wish you all the best, and I hope this helps! If you would like me to clarify or expand on anything I’ve said here, don’t hesitate to drop me a line!
-The Ancient Geeko-Roman
This ask was originally posted on Tumblr, November 10, 2018, at this URL: https://theancientgeekoroman.tumblr.com/post/179972282550/hey-sorry-to-bother-you-but-i-recently-went-to-a
Original Ask: Hey sorry to bother you but I recently went to a classics uni taster course and sat there completely overwhelmed because whilst the actual lessons given were tailored to potential students who have never studied classics before (me), nearly everyone else there had and were engaging with the material in a way I simply couldn’t understand. Do you have a recommended reading list I could use over summer so that I don’t completely go in the deep end? :) thanks so much!
My Answer:
You’re not a bother at all, friend!
It is really overwhelming when you’re not used to it - and don’t worry, I have a whole degree in Classics, and I still get overwhelmed! It’s perfectly normal. There’s a lot of information and the Classical world spans so many locations and time periods, it’s a lot to take in. Everyone is going to be at different levels and remember - you can always learn. Your point of view and your voice is important, so if you have trouble engaging in the material how others are presenting it, think of how you engage with the material and how you would present it to others. You might be giving a lot of people another aspect of the material that they themselves had not considered.
Anyway!
So, before I went into my Classics degree, I had only read The Iliad and The Odyssey, and I didn’t even read them all the way through, but that’s where I would begin!
The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid are the “big 3″ that I had to keep reading over and over again, no matter what level of Classics I was in. However, there is a lot more reading!
The recommended reading list for Classics undergraduates from Yale University is found here (https://classics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/downloads/YaleUndergraduateReadingList.pdf) and is as follows (and please remember that this is for the whole of your undergraduate career, not what you should have done before you start):
Ancient Greek:
- Homer’s The Iliad: 1, 6, 9 (Ancient Greek), all of it in English
- Homer’s The Odyssey: 4, 9 (Ancient Greek), all of it in English
- Homeric Hymns: Demeter in Ancient Greek; Aphrodite, Apollo, and Hermes in English
- Hesiod’s Works and Days 1-247 (Ancient Greek), all of it in English
- Hesiod’s Theogony 1-232 (Ancient Greek), all of it in English
- Archilochus 1, 2, 3, 6, 22, 74 (Ancient Greek), the English recommended is A. Miller’s Greek Lyric (I have never read this author at all, myself)
- Sappho 1, 16, 31, 44 (Ancient Greek), English: A. Miller’s Greek Lyric is listed here again, and I would also recommend The Love Songs of Sappho, which is what I used in my course and enjoyed (https://www.amazon.com/Love-Songs-Sappho-Literary-Classics/dp/157392251X/)
- Solon 1, 24 (Ancient Greek), A. Miller’s Greek Lyric selections in English (I have never read this author, either)
- Simonides 542, 121D, 92D (Ancient Greek), A. Miller’s Greek Lyric selections in English (I have never read this author, either)
- Bacchylides 3, 18 (Ancient Greek), A. Miller’s Greek Lyric selections in English
- Pindar Ol. 1: In English: selections of Odes in A. Miller, Greek Lyric: Olympian 2, 12, 13, 14, Pythian 1, 3, 8, 10, Nemean 5, 10, Isthmian 5, 6, 7
- Aeschylus’s Eumenides (Ancient Greek)
- Aeschylus’s Oresteia (English)
- Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex (Ancient Greek)
- Sophocles in English: Ajax, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonus
- Euripides’s Medea (Ancient Greek) - one of my favorites
- Euripides in English: Hippolytus and Bacchae
- Aristophanes’s Clouds (Ancient Greek)
- Aristophanes in English: Frogs, Birds, and Lysistrata (I performed Lysistrata when I was an undergraduate and played Kinesias. It was amazing and one of my favorite plays.)
- Herodotus 1.192 (Ancient Greek), 6-9 in English
- Thucydides 2.1-65 (Ancient Greek), 1, the rest of 2, 6, and 7 in English
- Plato’s Republic I, Ion, Crito (Ancient Greek), Republic, Apology, and Symposium in English
- Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics 1 (Ancient Greek), all of Poetics in English
- Lysias 1 (Ancient Greek), Lysias 12 in English
- Demosthenes’s First Philippic (Ancient Greek)
- Apollonius’s Argonautica selections in N. Hopkinson, A Hellenistic Anthology: 1.536-58, 1.1153-71, 3.744-824, 4.1629-88 (Ancient Greek); all of the Argonautica in English
- Callimachus: selections in N. Hopkinson, A Hellenistic Anthology: Reply to the Telchines (fr. 1), Acontius and Cydippe (frr. 67+75), The Bath of Pallas (Hymn 5), The Hymn to Zeus (Hymn 1) (Ancient Greek)
- Theocritus 1, 15 (Ancient Greek), 7 and 11 in English
- Plutarch’s Alcibiades (Ancient Greek) and in English: Alexander, Coriolanus & Comparison of Coriolanus and Alcibiades
- Lyric poetry, selections of Alcman, Alcaeus, Anacreon, and Theognis from A. Miller, Greek Lyric
- Tetralogies by Antiphon
- Dyscolus by Menander
- Lucian: selected Dialogues of the Gods in L. Casson, Selected Satires of Lucian, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 20, 24; The Dream or Lucian’s Career, The Death of Peregrinus
- Daphnis and Chloe by Longus
Ancient Greek Readings (My Recommendations from the List Above):
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey
- Homeric Hymns
- Theogony
- Sappho (all)
- Oresteia
- Oedipus Rex
- Antigone
- Medea
- Clouds and Lysistrata
- Argonautica
Latin:
- Plautus’s Menaechmi (Latin), Aulularia and Amphitryo in English (the first time I read Amphitryo was as a graduate student)
- Terence’s Adelphoe (Latin) (another one I didn’t read until I was a graduate student)
- Ennius's Annales 34-50, 72-91, 96, 268-286 (as numbered in O. Skutsch’s Annals of Quintus Ennius) (Latin)
- Catullus 1-16, 22, 28, 30-36, 44-46, 49-51, 58, 62-64, 68, 70, 72, 75, 76, 82-87, 92, 93, 95, 96, 99, 101, 109 (Latin), (I love his poetry ngl)
- Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura I.1-448 (Latin)
- Caesar’s Bellum Civile I (Latin)
- Sallust’s Bellum Catilinae (Latin)
- Cicero’s In Catilinam 1, Somnium Scipionis, Letters 1, 3, 6, 15, 18, 19, 20, 24, 27, 33, 34, 38, 52, 63, 67-69 (ed. Shackleton Bailey) (Latin), Brutus, Penguin Classics On the Good Life (Trans. Grant) in English
- Horace’s Satires 1, Odes 1, Epistles 1 (Latin), Ars Poetica in English
- Virgil’s Eclogues, Aeneid I, IV, VI, XII (Latin), Georgics and Aeneid (all) in English
- Tibullus I.1, 3, 5 (Latin)
- Propertius I.1, 3,5, 6, 11, 18-20; IV. 7-11 (Latin)
- Nepos’s Atticus (Latin)
- Ovid’s Amores 1, Metamorphoses 1 (Latin), Ars I and Metamorphoses (all) in English
- Livy praef., I.1-16 (Latin), Books I and XXI in English
- Res Gestae Divi Augusti
- Seneca’s Phaedra, Letters 7, 47, 56 (Latin), Apocolocyntosis, Octavia in English
- Lucan’s Bellum Civile I.1-182 (Latin); Books I and VII in English
- Persius’s Satire 1 (Latin)
- Petronius’s Satyricon chapters 26-78 in Latin, the rest in English
- Martial’s De Spec. 31 and 34; Book I.1-4, 13, 16, 29, 32, 38 (Latin)
- Pliny’s letters I.9, VI.16, VII.33, X.96-97 (Latin)
- Tacitus’s Agricola 1-4, 42-46 and Annales I (Latin), Annales (all) in English (I’m literally reading these right now lol)
- Juvenal’s Satires 1, 3 (Latin), 6, 10 (English)
- Suetonius (in English): Augustus, Nero, Domitian
- Apuleius Metamorphoses 1 (Latin), Metamorphoses (all) in English
- Ammianus XVI.1, 5, 10; XXXI.16.7 (Latin), XIV.5.6-XV.8.16, XVI (all) in English
- Augustine’s Confessions I.VIII(13)-XIV(23) (Latin), Confessions I (all) in English
- Claudian’s In Eutropium I (English)
- Boethius Consolatio Philosphiae 1 (English) (I never read this for a Classics course, but did have it in a Medieval Literature course in English)
- Quintilian Instit. X.1.85-131 (English)
Latin Readings (My Recommendations from the List Above):
- Ennius’s Annales
- Catullus (all)
- De Rerum Natura
- Bellum Civile
- Bellum Catilinae
- In Catilinam
- The Aeneid
- Ovid’s Metamorphoses
- Pliny’s letters
Here are the best places to find translations of these works, in case you cannot find them in your local library or don’t have the money to invest in all of them:
- http://classics.mit.edu/index.html
- http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/
- https://www.sacred-texts.com/
All the best,
The Ancient Geeko-Roman
Note:
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