Meggie Macdonald

The Chicago Flame, a publication devoted to reporting on the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC),  published an article last year regarding the transitional period underway in the Classics Department at the time.  Head of the department John Ramsay detailed that, in response to falling enrollment numbers in Latin and Greek courses, the university had requested that the department find a way to amalgamate the three majors – Latin, Greek, and Classical Studies – into one.  The hope was that, even with a single major, it could be flexible enough to accomodate students wishing to focus on languages, literature, archaeology, history etc.

This is an issue facing many undergraduate level classical studies programs throughout Canada and the United States:  how to encourage enrollment, how to maintain the high level of academic tuition, how to keep classics in the curriculum.  In very few cases, attempts have failed and the department of classics has either been absorbed into a larger unit, such as History or Near Eastern Studies or Religion, or done away with entirely apart from a few vagrant courses.

From reviewing the UIC Department of Classics website recently, I have noted that an alternative solution to the single major was developed and, thus far, seems to be doing well.  There are now two majors for UIC Classics students:  Classical Languages and Literature and Classical Studies.  In fact, it appears that the original three majors have been simplified:  Latin and Greek are included under a single umbrella major with a specialization in either or of the ancient languages.  A student no longer has to choose one or the other, languages or history, but can incorporate the two to establish their own academic specialization while still meeting the university requirements in the Faculty of Liberal Arts.

The solution from UIC’s Department of Classics is just one of a variety of options available to other departments and faculties facing tough times.  I for one am relieved to see that Classics at UIC was not absorbed and disbursed throughout the larger faculty and that it is still on the radar for students wishing to study the ancient world.  The creativity of academics is rarely so self-evident as in situations where their very survival depends on their ability to be flexible, sensible, and demanding simultaneously.

There’s hope for the fossilized bookish types yet!