Practical Ways of Saving a Classics Program: A Report from the Front

Abstract

PRACTICAL WAYS OF SAVING A CLASSICS PROGRAM: A REPORT FROM THE FRONT Since 1885,theUniversityof NorthDakota (UND) has provided instruction in classics.During theearlyyears oftheinstitution, B.A. studentswererequiredtotakethreeyearsofbothLatinand Greek,' and by the 1920s, there were two professorsin classics.2 When theUND switchedto a majorand minorsystem,studentshad threeclassics-related majors. and threeminorsfromwhichto choose: Greek,Latin and Classical Languages. But the Greek and Classical Languages majors and minorswere eventuallyeliminated,leaving onlythemajorand minorin Latin,and by themid-1990s, even Latin was in peril due to lower-than-required enrollmentsand low numbers of graduates,endangeringthe veryexistenceof classics at the University. The truthwas thattheLatin majorand minorno longer mettheneeds of students,who did not want a degree thatwas almostentirely literature-based. Thissituation-which maystrike readers of thisjournal as all too familiar-required a creativesolution and the assistance of otherdepartments.The Universityof North Dakota now offers a stableprogramin Classical Studies,whichmay providea model forotherinstitutions facedwithsimilarchallenges. After theUNDadministration proposed eliminating classicsfrom theUniversity'scurriculum, a letter-writing campaign mountedby theAmericanPhilologicalAssociationbroughtin countlessexpressions ofsupportfortheprogramfrommembersoftheprofessionat other institutions. As a consequence, the administrationradically modifiedits course and encouraged theUniversity'sclassics faculty to develop a new programthatwould satisfytheirdesiderata and rescueclassicsfromelimination. In thelate 1990s,a taskforceconsistingoffaculty from theDepartmentsofEnglish,History, Modernand Classical Languages and Literatures, Philosophyand Religion,and Visual Artswas formedto studytheproblemofclassics at theUND. Aftermuch discussion,theTask Force concluded thatthe solution mightbe a flexible Classical Studiesprogramthatwould draw in studentsmoreinterested in classical civilizationthanliterature, but that would nonethelessstillrequirestudentsto develop corecompetence in theClassical Languages. The new majorwould require36 semes1 Wilkinsetal. (1983) 1. 2 Wilkinsetal. (1983) 3. THE CLASSICAL JOURNAL103.3(2008) 301-6 302 DANIEL N. ERICKSON terhours ofcoursework(11 courses),including16 hoursofLatin or Greek (4 courses) or 8 hours ofboth languages (4 courses),and 20 additionalhours(15 upper division)selectedfromapproved courses taughtbyfaculty in a varietyofdepartments listedbelow (7 courses). A 28-creditminor(8 courses) would be offeredwiththe same language requirement as themajor,butwould requireonly12additional credits(9 upper division).For studentsinterestedin theequivalent of a traditionalLatin or classics degree, upper-divisionliterature courses in Greekand Latin would continueto be taughtas needed. The Task Forceand I learnedmanylessonsaboutestablishing a good classicsprogram,whichare summarizedintheconclusionbelow. In September1998,I was hiredattheUNDand eventuallyoffered a tenure-track positioninClassicalStudies.To ourrelief, theproposed new programreceived finalapproval in spring1999, and I implementeditthatfall .Later,our DepartmentofTeachingand Learning and I collaboratedwiththeDepartmentsofEducation and Classical Studies at ConcordiaCollege in Moorhead,Minnesotato draftan articulationagreementto reinstateLatinteachertrainingattheUNDso thatstudentscould takeadvantage oftheexpandingjob marketfor Latinteachers.Thisagreement was approvedinfall2003.InJuly 2005, I completed a required comprehensiveevaluation of the Classical Studies program,partofwhich deals withtheClassical Studies facultyand a comparisonofenrollment and graduationstatistics forthe lastsixyearsoftheLatinmajorand minorwiththoseforthefirst six oftheClassical Studiesmajorand minor.Details arefurnished below. Faculty I am SectionCoordinatorofClassical Studiesand thesole classiciston campus. Previously,therewas one full-time and one half-time classicist;theClassical Studiesprogramthusneeded significant contributions fromotherfacultyto be viable. Fortunately, theUND has professorsin a varietyofdepartments who eitherspecialize or have a significant interestin some aspect of the classical world, and we have been able to turnthisfactto our advantage.The program'scurrentfaculty is drawnfrom theDepartmentsofArt,History, Humanities , Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Philosophy and Religion,and Political Science and Public Administration. In addition,in2005a lecturer was hiredto teachone sectionofclassical mythologyeveryspring;thisis popular both as a Classical Studies and a GeneralEducationcourse.The followingcoursesapproved for theClassical Studiesmajorand minorare offered bythisfaculty:3 3Cf.Academic Catalog (2005) 133. SAVING A CLASSICS PROGRAM 303 ArtHistory * ART 210:HistoryofArtI (3 credits)4 ClassicalStudies * CLAS 101:First-Year LatinI (4 credits) * CLAS 102:First-Year LatinII (4 credits) * CLAS 151:First-Year GreekI (4 credits) * CLAS 152:First-Year GreekII (4 credits) * CLAS 185:Introduction toClassical Mythology(3 credits) * CLAS 201:Second-YearLatinI (4 credits) * CLAS 202:Second-YearLatinII (4 credits) * CLAS 251:Second-YearGreekI (4 credits) * CLAS 252:Second-YearGreekII (4 credits)5 * CLAS 301:LatinProse(3 credits)6 * CLAS 362:MasterpiecesofLatinLiterature (3 credits) * CLAS 364:Special Topics in Classical Literature (3 credits)6 * CLAS 404:LatinPoetry(3 credits)6 * CLAS 491:SeminarinLatinLiterature (3 credits)4 * CLAS 494:Individual Greekand LatinReadings(1-4 credits)4'5 History * HIST 101:WesternCivilization1(3 credits) * HIST 301:Medieval Civilization(3 credits) * HIST 343:AncientGreece(3 credits) * HIST 344:AncientRome (3 credits) * HIST 345:The AncientNear East (3 credits) Humanities * HUM 102:Introduction totheHumanitiesII (4 credits) Philosophy * PHIL 300:Classical Greekand HellenisticPhilosophy(3 credits) * PHIL 301:Medieval Philosophy(3 credits) Political Science * POLS 310: Introduction to PoliticalThought(3 credits...