An Overview of the Discipline

Classical Studies is a humanities discipline that focuses on Greek and Roman civilizations during Late Antiquity. Truly interdisciplinary, Classics draws upon the fields of Greek and Latin Languages, History, Art History, Comparative Literature, Archaeology, Linguistics, Gender Studies, Philosophy, and Science. Classicists seek to formulate a greater understanding of Greek and Roman societies and how subsequent civilizations have perceived and interacted with these legacies.

Writing in the Discipline

Goals

The study of Classics encompasses the past and the present: understanding Ancient Roman and Greek civilizations and how contemporary observers have appropriated and interpreted the legacy of these civilizations. Classicists often work from a problem-solution explanatory structure. For example, scholars may work to understand the function of an artifact, text, or practice in an effort to achieve a deeper understanding of Ancient Roman and Greek cultures.

On the other hand, Classicists who focus on the reception of Ancient Roman and Greek cultures by later civilizations are generally engaged in justificatory reasoning as they attempt to affirm or critique other scholars’ positions. In both cases, the goal of these scholars is to contribute to the collective scholarly discourse that illuminates the cultural legacy of Ancient Rome and Greece.

Evidence

Scholars in Classics are most likely to work with Greek and Latin texts, which are derived ancient manuscripts. Less frequently, they will focus on artifacts, architecture, and works of art to elucidate Ancient Roman and Greek cultures. In turn, scholars who are engaged primarily in reception studies will use other scholars’ work as evidence to support or critique their positions.

Reasoning

Classics scholars use both explanatory and justificatory reasoning. Classicists who have the goal of elucidating Ancient Greek and Roman cultures will most often use explanatory reasoning. Classicists use justificatory reasoning when they are trying to affirm or critique other scholars’ positions, such as how Seneca should be understood by contemporary audiences. Lacking conclusive evidence about how to translate or interpret a text or an artifact, Classics scholars must justify their interpretations in an effort to persuade their readers. Thus both explanatory and justificatory reasoning are employed in this field and their use is situational, depending on the scholar’s goals and audience.

Classists base their analyses and interpretations on primary source evidence.

Authorship

Classics scholarship can be single- or multi-authored. For example, Dr. James Ker co-edited an edition of translations of Seneca into English. Dr. Peter Struck said collaboration comes to the fore when a scholar presents a paper to other scholars. Their feedback is subsequently incorporated into the revisions of that paper for publication.

Student Writing Tips

Thesis

The main mistake that students make is to formulate an overly broad thesis statement. Afraid that they will not have sufficient reasons and examples to support a narrower thesis, they provide a very general, unfocused thesis that results in generic, uninventive papers. A broad thesis is not wrong, but it precludes the presentation of original thought, which gets swallowed up by a vague thesis.

Evidence

While winnowing through evidence, students should look for what stands out. They should be alert to anything that strikes them as odd or provocative. Interesting evidence leads to the development of inventive theses and makes the project interesting to writer and reader alike.

Organization

Incoherent organization is the most pernicious problem in student papers. The discipline contains vast amounts of evidence that can easily overwhelm an inexperienced writer. Students should take care to connect their reasons and evidence to a focused thesis rather than attempt to link loosely related evidence to a large, generic claim. Synthesis is critical to a strong paper in Classics, as is a strong understanding of how each paragraph relates to the paper’s proposition. The most successful students organize their writing so that there is no ambiguity about how ideas relate to each other.

Style and Revision

Classics scholars use different citation methods, e.g. MLA, APA, Chicago, etc., depending on their fields. Whatever style is chosen, be sure to be consistent. Given the many citation styles used by Classics scholars, they sometimes find themselves having to change their citation method for a particular publication.

A recommended technique for final proofreading is for students to read their papers aloud; students hear mistakes they often miss when they read too quickly silently.

Important Criteria for Student Writing

Students are advised that ideas and organization are most important to professors in Classics. Grammar, mechanics, and style are second to original, well-organized work. Style should be the last consideration, for it is cosmetic, in contrast to the thesis, reasoning and evidence, and coherence, which are the life of the paper.

Common Errors

• Logical and semantic incoherence: Students often make logical or semantic leaps, forgetting to develop links between their ideas and evidence or making incorrect assumptions about what their readers know or understand. All claims should be supported with evidence and reasoning should be tested for logical coherence.
• Assuming there is only one interpretation or function of a text: Students should keep their minds open as they work with ancient texts and artifacts. They should refrain from resting upon a premature interpretation. The best way to approach the work of Classics is to read carefully and then revisit the original sources to test and pressure the original analysis.

Genres

Student Writing Assignments

Students are often required to engage in close readings of texts, in which they are asked to carefully analyze an individual passage from a text. Another common assignment is to analyze and compare two textual passages. Research papers are works of analysis and synthesis of multiple sources organized around a carefully constructed thesis.

Additional Resources

Penn Classics Department

© 2013 The University of Pennsylvania

Meet the Professors

Dr. Peter Struck

Dr. Struck is interested in Greek and Roman mythology, ancient theories of signs and interpretation, and dreams and divinations. He recommends reading works by Peter Brown, as an excellent example of writing in the Classics field, due to his elegant style. More...

Dr. James Ker

Dr. Ker is interested in Latin Literature, Greco-Roman culture, and ancient philosophy. He notes that classics is a "heavy footnote discipline." Successful students will draw from intellectual experiences across the board. He recommends reading works by Ellen Oliensis, as an excellent example of writing in the Classics field. "She writes elegantly and precisely, but also manages to include her personality in what she writes." More...