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Ancient Greco-Roman History

Why study classical history?

It is simply impossible to consider ourselves informed, educated, and well-rounded people without a knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. So many aspects of all the historical periods and movements that would follow—religion, politics, philosophy, values, art, architecture, literature, historical consciousness, and government—are grounded in this era that was so formative and influential for western civilization. Whether we agree or disagree with how ancient folks thought, decided, and lived their lives, we must understand who they were as we adopt, adapt, or even react against what are the foundations of the world in which we live our own lives today.

Courses available:

Ancient Greece
HIST 3110 Greek Civilization
HIST 4150 Athens in the Age of Pericles
HIST 4152 Alexander the Great: History and Legend

Ancient Rome
HIST 3120 Roman Civilization
HIST 4110 The Roman Revolution: 133BC-AD 14
HIST 4111 The Roman Empire

Of related, cross-cultural interest
HIST 3121 The Ancient City
HIST 4250 The Papacy and its History

You may also want to consider an Independent Study and/or Fieldwork Internship connected to the Ancient Greco-Roman world. There are plenty of opportunities to study a particular topic that interests you (“Did Alexander the Great really think he was a god?”) or to work in a museum setting.

Other courses offered at Kean that study the classical world
AH 1700 Art from Prehistory to the Middle Ages
AH 3770 Greek and Roman Art
AH 4771 Byzantine Art
ENG 3300 Ancient Greek and Roman Literature in Translation
PHIL 2200 Ancient Philosophy
PS 3200 Classical Political Theory

Main Kean catalog (see p.107 for history offerings):
http://www.kean.edu/catalogs/Undergraduate_Catalog_09-10.pdf

Useful links:

There are, of course, thousands of websites of varying quality devoted to the ancient world. These are just a handful of reputable gateway sites that will take you into the range of fields connected to the study of classical culture.

American Philological Association
http://www.apaclassics.org/

Routledge Classics Resource Centre
http://www.routledge.com/rcenters/classics/hot.html

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/ANCIENT/asbook.html

Perseus Project
www.perseus.tufts.edu

Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, Greco-Roman galleries
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/greek_and_roman_art

• For more information contact

Dr. Christopher Bellitto
History Department
email: cbellitt@kean.edu
webpage: www.kean.edu/~cbellitt

Office phone: 908-737-4261