Experiences & Opportunities

There are ample opportunities to enhance your studies in classics through independent research, off-campus study, internships and other activities. These programs are integral to a Knox education, teaching you how to apply your skills in real-world situations.

Student Research and Creative Projects

Many of our majors and minors pursue research and creative projects. Some even present or perform their work at national and international conferences. Here are a few recent projects:

• "Homeric Heroes in Comic Book Universes"
• "The Underworld Again: The Intertextuality Between the Gilgamesh and the Odyssey"
• "Greek Prose Composition"
• "Alexandrian Poetry"
• “Classical Love Stories and Disney”

College Honors

Outstanding students may elect to undertake College Honors in their senior year, carrying out an advanced research project presented and defended to a faculty committee that includes a distinguished outside examiner. Recent College Honors awarded in classics include:

• "Emperors Among Us: Kanye West, Roman Spectacle, and the Appropriation of Classical Imagery," Kayleigh O'Brien '16.
• "Hoplite Ideology: Poetics, Paideia, Social Structure," Luke Madson '14.
• "Spectacle and the Respectable in Juvenal's Satires 2 and 6," Heather Elaine Elomaa '07.
• "Imagined Spaces: Propertius, Vergil, and their Poetic Romes," Sara Jo Legowski '05.
• Classics and Linguistics: "Hebrews: A Semantic Discourse on the Use of the Greek Root Telei," Scott Robinson '03.

Capstone

Our majors complete a major research paper in their senior year as a culmination of their studies. Some of the recent capstone papers include:

• “Social Etiquette and Sexuality, as it Applies to Women in Ancient Rome”
• “The Horrenda Virgo in Vergil’s Aeneid”
• "Storytelling in the Aegean World"

Teacher Certification in Latin

We welcome and encourage students planning to become Latin teachers. Knox offers State of Illinois certification in Latin (grades six through twelve). A student intending to pursue Latin teacher certification in Illinois should complete a Latin-focused major and a major in Educational Studies, and must pass the State of Illinois Certification test in the Latin subject area.

Since the specific requirements are complex, it is important that students interested in certification in Latin consult with the Department of Educational Studies early in their college careers about current requirements.

Off-campus Study

Many classics students study abroad on programs that immerse them both in ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture, and in modern Greek and Italian culture. Others study in a program in Florence exploring the works of the Italian Renaissance that drew its inspiration from antiquity.

• College Year in Athens - This program focuses on the art and archaeology of ancient Greece; courses in Greek, ancient and modern, are also offered as well as courses on Byzantine and modern Greece.
• The Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies - This program takes place in Rome and is an intensive program on Roman history and archaeology with intermediate and advanced language work and travel in Italy.
• The ACM Florence Program and The ACM Arts of London and Florence Program - These programs explore the Renaissance, when European culture was invigorated by renewed interest in classical antiquity.

Internships

There's no better way to explore the possibilities of life after Knox than internships. Our students find internships with the assistance of the Bastian Family Center for Career Success.

Other Activities

The Classics Club is an active group of classics students. It sponsors an annual reading and dinner in the spring and organizes a variety of special events over the year. Speakers have included Stanley Lombardo, translator, who has performed dramatic readings of Homer's Odyssey; William Levitan, who read from his published translation of the letters of Abelard and Heloise; and Joe Goodkin, who performed a half-hour musical version of The Odyssey.