Classics

Why study Classics at Emmanuel College?

Classics is one of the oldest degrees at Cambridge, and it has been studied continuously at Emmanuel since its foundation. Nowadays it is one of the broadest subjects among the humanities. Emmanuel College offers both the 3 year and the 4 year course. Classics centres on ancient Greek and Roman literature and culture, with all that entails: political and social history, philosophy, art, architecture, to name a few. That already embraces over a thousand years and the foundations of many aspects of European and western culture, but studying Classics invites you think beyond those limits too, into ‘reception’ (the way Classics has influenced modern art, literature and film, for instance), an area which all Cambridge students have the option to study, and more broadly still into fundamental questions about our own culture and ourselves: Classics is a ‘humanities’ degree in a very literal sense.

 

Cambridge Classics is distinctive in the UK in the size and vibrancy of the department, in its flexible curriculum, and in ensuring all students acquire a working command of both ancient Greek and Latin. While the Classics Faculty is responsible for providing all lectures and classes, the tuition known as ‘supervisions’ – a distinctive and immensely valuable part of the Cambridge experience – is organised by Colleges. Typically this means one hour each week one-to-one or in a group of two or three students, ahead of which you will have written an essay. In addition, most students have two or three hours a week of language supervisions.

Emmanuel is fortunate to be able to provide much of this teaching ‘in house’, with three Fellows in Classics, all of whom also hold University posts. The Director of Studies is Professor Christopher Whitton, Professor of Latin Literature, whose research is focused on Pliny the Younger and Tacitus. Dr Nigel Spivey is a Senior Lecturer in Classical Art and Archaeology. He is an expert on Etruscan art, and has made several television series as well as writing books including Greek Art, Enduring Creation and The Ancient Olympics. Professor Stephen Oakley FBA is the Kennedy Professor of Latin and a renowned expert on Livy, Roman history and the editing of classical texts. Between them the three Fellows cover the large majority of language and literature supervisions for Emmanuel students, as well as those in art and archaeology. For other topics, as is usual at Cambridge, the Director of Studies (Chris Whitton) draws on expertise as appropriate from other Colleges.

 

Classics at Emmanuel typifies the ethos of the College as a whole, combining academic excellence with a friendly and happy atmosphere. Classics students regularly meet for drinks, play-readings and the legendary annual dinner, though social lives are by no means restricted according to subject. They also benefit from the College’s excellent accommodation and facilities, from the sixteenth-century dining hall and the Wren chapel to music practice rooms, playing fields and the open-air swimming pool. The recently refurbished College library has an exceptional collection of Classics books and journals, and students have access to generous grants and prizes from the College and the Faculty for language courses and travel to Classical lands.

 

What might a typical day be like studying Classics at Emmanuel College?

A typical weekday for a first-year Classics student will involve spending 2-3 hours at the Classics Faculty in the morning, for lectures and language classes (between 9am and 1pm), together with perhaps some time in the Faculty library spent reading for an essay or working or socialising in the common room there or in one of the cafés on the Sidgwick Site. Most students take the short walk or cycle back to Emmanuel for lunch. Then you might have the afternoon free to work on an essay and/or to do some language work, whether in your room, the College library, the Faculty library, Fiona’s (the College café), or when the weather is kind out out on the Paddock. The afternoon might also include a supervision for an hour, in Emmanuel or another College, and/or sport, music or other non-work activities. Evenings really vary depending on what work rhythm you like, and what you like to do outside your studies: no one is expected to put in more than a standard working week, but some people prefer to work in the evenings to the afternoons, while others might be busy with music or drama, or out socialising

What qualities do successful Classics students have?

The most important qualities are an enquiring and flexible mind and an eagerness to learn. Linguistic aptitude is also important – that is, an ability and interest in learning languages, rather than necessarily having reached a particular level in ancient Greek or Latin already. Some of our students come with A2 or equivalent in both languages, some with only one of them, and some with no Greek or Latin at all: there are different pathways through the degree for each of those possibilities, and they’re all equally valid as starting-points. Most successful applicants who have no Greek or Latin arrive with A2 or equivalent in a modern language.

 

Where could my degree lead?

One of the great things about the British education system is that your choice of undergraduate degree leaves open a wide range of career opportunities. A Classics degree can lead to an academic career or a job as a school teacher, but it’s also an excellent (and very marketable) launchpad to many other sorts of job: law, management, accounting and charity work to name a few. To put it another way, there are only a few career paths, such as medicine, which it can’t directly lead to. Classics has a valuable ring to it, and Cambridge Classics graduates can bring to the table a distinctive combination of rigour and flexibility which makes them extremely employable.