Welcome to the Department of Classics

Classics is by nature an interdisciplinary pursuit. At Brock, we study the Greek and Roman worlds in the many aspects available to us, offering a complete range of courses in the languages and literatures, their histories (political, social, cultural, intellectual, and religious), their arts, and the archaeological remains that have survived to this day. We also place strong emphasis on the study of Greek and Roman material culture by promoting active archaeological research and travel to the Mediterranean.

We offer an Archaeological Practicum – well regarded in the discipline –that runs every even-numbered year (2002, 2004 and so on). Study Tours to the Mediterranean run every odd-numbered year (2003, 2005 etc.) Bursaries for both programs, each supported by a $10,000 endowment, enable students to participate in Brock Classics courses abroad. The Trine Varcoe Memorial Award, currently exceeding $55,000 in endowed funds, and Brock’s general bursary fund also support students participating in such programs.

Classics at Brock is more than a degree – it is also a community. Student involvement in the department is strong and highly valued. The Brock University Archaeological Society (BUAS) is a student run organization for all students of Classics. Each year, BUAS hosts a symposium in which international scholars participate. These symposia are characterized by the quality of the programs and their liveliness, but most especially by the tradition of being entirely planned, organized and staffed by the student members. The March 2008 symposium, Descent into Discord:  Warfare and the Ancient World, was the 19th annual symposium. Students also organize a student symposium each fall in which they present their own work. Finally, they organize and administer an outreach program dedicated to introducing primary and secondary students to the field of archaeology.

The Archaeological Institute of America (Niagara Peninsula chapter) housed in the department is very active, bringing eight speakers to the University each academic year. It also hosts three pot-luck dinners a year, where local members, faculty and students interact. In 1998 the Niagara Society won the Kershaw Outstanding Local Society Prize. Our society's hospitality was singled out as one of the decisive criteria. The Niagara AIA promptly used part of the prize to create endowed prizes in second-year archaeology and ancient history.

The Department also hosts the Ontario Classical Conference (OCC), a competitive gathering of 500 Ontario high school students and teachers devoted to promoting the study of Classics, each May. Brock University has been named the permanent host institution for the OCC for the period 2003-2012.

We hope to see you in our classes or at any of our many yearly events!