Since its founding in 1804, the study of classics has been considered a cornerstone of liberal arts education at Ohio University.
The Honors Tutorial College program in classics is designed to give highly motivated students a substantial overview of the disciplines that constitute "Classical Studies" and at the same time equip the student with both the linguistic and archaeological training that is essential for expert study of Greek and Roman antiquity.
Students in the tutorial program have easy access to all the faculty in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies, which comprises philologists specializing in the Greek and Latin languages and texts, and archaeologists who interpret the classical world through the study of the material culture. Each student will work with a personal advisor/tutor from our faculty to craft the individual program and to monitor the student's progress.
The program develops familiarity with the different aspects of the classical world, effective research and writing skills, and independent thinking. Students are exempt from university general education requirements. Students must maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher in courses required for the program and the Honors Tutorial College.
Program Overview
The HTC program in Classics has two distinct tracks: Classical Languages and Literature and Classical Civilization. Both tracks share core tutorial and non-tutorial courses in Greek, Latin, archaeology, civilization and humanities, and ancient history.
For each track, students will take eight tutorial courses, one per semester over four years, as well as eight regular courses in ancient languages, civilization, archaeology and ancient history, and two courses of Colloquium in Classics and World Religions.
The civilization and language tutorials in the first three years are tied to the regular classics courses offered each term. Each of the required tutorial courses comprises four hours of regular course work plus an additional hour of tutorial with the course instructor, on areas of interest developing from the materials of the course.
Tutorials and Senior Thesis
In the first three semesters, tutorials for all students focus on civilization, archaeology, and/or ancient history. In the spring of the second year, students ready to move to a higher level of language study can take the fourth semester tutorial in language, rather than in an aspect of civilization. In the third year, all students will take one or two language tutorials at the 3000 level or above.
The last two tutorials in the fourth year are devoted to Senior Thesis. By the beginning of the fourth year, each student will develop a prospectus for a thesis topic under the supervision of a Classics faculty member, and over two semesters will carry out research, write, and revise the senior thesis and submit it before the end of Spring semester. The completed thesis should be at least 10,000 words. The final draft of the thesis will be evaluated by the thesis advisor and another member from the department.
Classical Languages and Literature
Students who choose languages and literature will complete the introductory sequences of both Greek and Latin through LAT/GK 2120. Qualified students coming with experience in Latin and Greek, or who are able to advance more quickly in language coursework, may substitute a language tutorial for LAT/GK 2120. Then in the language of specialization, they will complete at least two tutorials and one regular course at the 3000-4000 level. However previous knowledge of Latin or Greek is not required to enter the program. Languages and Literature students also study Classical archaeology, civilization and ancient history in both tutorials and regular courses.
Classical Civilization
Students who choose Classical Civilization will take four tutorials and six regular courses in civilization, archaeology, and ancient history, and two tutorials in the language of specialization the 3000-4000 level of Latin or Greek. We recommend but do not require that Civilization students achieve competence in the other language, so that they can understand both Greek and Roman civilizations through the languages as well as material culture.
Colloquium in Classics
In addition, in fall of the second and third years, all HTC students are required to enroll in two courses of CLAS 3800, Colloquium in Classics and World Religions, a 1 credit-hour course which meets seven times each term. The Classics Colloquium is designed to acquaint students with the different disciplines of classical studies (e.g. philology and literature, history, archaeology, epigraphy, papyrology, prosopography) and to introduce them to ongoing research by faculty and visiting scholars.
Structure of Tutorials
The object of the weekly tutorial is 1) to enrich the student's understanding of the topics and issues raised in the regular course and 2) to focus attention on areas of particular interest to the student.
To achieve these goals, the professor and student together devise a set of topics of interest connected with the course and the research projects that develop from them, and establish the criteria upon which the tutorial course will be graded, including written exams, assignments, and presentations required in the regular class as well as the research and writing projects designed for the tutorial.
The tutor will set readings and activities for the tutorial above and beyond the readings assigned in the regular course, to be prepared by the student in advance of each tutorial meeting. A tutorial typically involves a series of short papers and a final project; this affords the student the opportunity to report on his/her findings and, where possible, to develop informed original theses.
At the beginning of the second, third, and fourth years, each student will compile a portfolio with samples of work from different tutorial and regular courses, to track the academic and personal progress of the student. All HTC students must fulfill the Tier I Freshman and Junior Composition requirements, or show proof of excellence in writing to waive it.
Opportunities Upon Graduation
The qualities of research, critical thinking, synthesis, and effective writing developed in our program are applicable to many careers besides graduate programs in classics. Graduates from our Classics HTC program have gone on to graduate programs in classical languages and archaeology, theology, rhetoric, education, and law school. Several have served in Teach for America before starting graduate school.
Director of Studies
Associate Professor, Dr. Myrna Perez Sheldon
(740) 597-2105Ellis Hall 246
sheldonm@ohio.edu
Education
Ph.D., Harvard University, Department of the History of Science, 2014
B.S., Westmont College, Department of Biology; Department of History, 2006
Scholarly Interests
- Science and Religion
- Feminist Science Studies
- Sexuality Studies
- Critical Race Studies
- History of Science
- 19th and 20th Century U.S. History
- History of Christianity
About
Myrna Perez Sheldon earned her Ph.D. in the History of Science from Harvard University in 2014 and was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Rice University. She is a faculty affiliate of the Program for Science, Religion, and Culture at Harvard Divinity School and is the editor of Cosmologics Magazine .
She was a Research Fellow at the Darwin Correspondence Project at Cambridge University from 2010-13. Her work has been supported by the Huntington Library, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Society, and the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History.
She has published in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society , Endeavour , Studies in the History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences , and the Routledge Companion to Religion and Ecology .
Dr. Sheldon's dissertation, on the public career of Harvard evolutionary biologist and public intellectual Stephen Jay Gould, was the sole runner up for the Allan Nevins Prize in American History. The book manuscript is currently under review at the University of Chicago Press.