Classics is an interdisciplinary field, encompassing the languages, literature, art, archaeology, history, philosophy, mythology, and religious lives of the Greeks and Romans in the broader ancient Mediterranean world. At John Carroll, we teach Latin and ancient Greek languages from the introductory to advanced levels. In the introductory sequence, you’ll build vocabulary and language skills (in English, too!) and explore ancient cultures. In the upper-level Latin and Greek classes you’ll read literature by many authors, from Homer to St. Perpetua.
In addition to Latin and Greek, we also offer classes about the ancient world that require no knowledge of the ancient languages. Classics courses examine the Athenian democratic experiment, the Roman Republic, Greek art, ancient drama, mythology, and even barbarians.
By helping you build strong thinking, writing, and speaking skills, a degree in classics will prepare you for any career: law, medicine, teaching, politics, business, and more.
We focus on how to use words, how to look at art, and how to think about cultural contexts. You will interpret ancient myths that are foreign and yet very relevant to our own times. You will study religions, philosophies, and politics, all within the context of the ancient Mediterranean world.
Allison Horner, a double major in Data Science and Classical Languages, has been honored with the 2023 Kiefer Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement in Classical Languages. Named in honor of Rev. Joseph A. Kiefer, S.J., who taught Classics at John Carroll University from 1927 to 1951, the award is presented annually to a major who has exhibited excellence in the Classical languages.
Horner is from Medina, Ohio.
Greg Pal, double majoring in Classical Studies and Political Science with minors in History and Philosophy, has been honored with the 2022 Rev. Joseph A. Kiefer, S.J., Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement in Classical Languages. Named in honor of Rev. Joseph A. Kiefer, S.J., who taught Classics at John Carroll University from 1927 to 1951, the award is presented to the graduating major who has exhibited outstanding scholastic achievement in the Classical languages.
Pal, from Columbia Station, OH, will be attending a master's program for German and European Studies at Georgetown University next year.
Mallory Fitzpatrick '19 was recently featured in Bryn Mawr's Alumnae Bulletin. Mallory, a graduate student in Classics at Bryn Mawr, published Investigating Incunables in the magazine.
Ava Minutello, a Classical Languages major with minors in Theatre and Italian Studies, has been honored with the 2021 Rev. Joseph A. Kiefer, S. J., Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement in Classical Languages. Named in honor of Rev. Joseph A. Kiefer, S.J., who taught Classics at John Carroll University from 1927 to 1951, the award is presented to the graduating major who has exhibited outstanding scholastic achievement in the Classical languages.
Minutello, from Cranberry Township, PA, will be pursuing an MAT in foreign language education at Pitt in the fall.
Alison Horner '23 and Greg Pal '22 will each receive funds through the Boleslav and Draga Povsic Scholarship in Classics to complete summer research projects.
Horner, from Medina, OH, will conduct research on ancient methods of divination, the cultural influence of fortune telling, and how ancient methods of divination have affected religious and non-religious practices today.
Pal, of Columbia Station, OH, will analyze three epics (Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid), and travel to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to assess depictions of epic battle scenes by artists of antiquity.
This scholarship fund was established in honor of Boleslav and Draga Povsic, whose love for the Classics extended throughout their life. The scholarship is intended to acknowledge their lifelong support, their dedication to their children and their desire to encourage students at JCU to pursue a study of the classics and develop a lifelong love of the discipline. They stressed the importance of education and the study of the classics as the key to a better life and to understanding the diversity of humanity.
Mary Rose Flynn has been named the 2020 recipient of the Joseph A. Kiefer Award for Outstanding Achievement in Classical Languages. Flynn, a senior from Valencia, PA, is a double major in History and Classical Languages, with a minor in Catholic Studies. Join us in celebrating Mary Rose.
Dr. Kris Ehrhardt, Associate Professor of Classics, takes learning beyond books and lectures. Encouraging her students to build their own mini catapults is one way she fosters a maker mindset. Dr. Ehrhardt is creative in more than just the classroom activities that contributed to her receiving the 2018 Culicchia Excellence in Teaching Award. She is a multi-skilled maker in her own right. Dr. Ehrhardt is currently featured in Medium's Idle Musings column. Read about her adventures in Classical ceramics here, Classicists Build Things.
Classics students recently spent an afternoon at Brick Ceramic + Design Studio with Dr. Ehrhardt and Dr. Compton-Engle where they had the opportunity to create their own "ancient" pottery.
Dr. Emily Butler took Latin 375 students from the classroom to the museum for some practical experience. The students transcribed text from medieval Books of Hours on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art.