Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge

Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge
Name	Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge
Established	19th century (as a distinct faculty)
Type	Academic department
City	Cambridge
Country	United Kingdom
Parent	University of Cambridge

Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge

The Faculty of Classics at the University of Cambridge is a leading centre for the study of Latin, Greek, Classical literature, Ancient history, Classical archaeology, and Classical philology. It combines teaching and research across linguistic, literary, historical and material studies, engaging with traditions such as Homer, Virgil, Sophocles, Herodotus, Thucydides, Cicero, Tacitus, Plato, and Aristotle and with later receptions including Dante Alighieri, Renaissance humanists, Giovanni Boccaccio, John Milton, and T. S. Eliot.

History

The Faculty's origins trace to the growth of classical studies at University of Cambridge during the 19th century, paralleling developments at University of Oxford, King's College London, Trinity College Dublin, University of Glasgow, and University of Edinburgh. Its institutionalisation followed curricular reforms influenced by figures associated with Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Trinity College, Cambridge, St John's College, Cambridge, Peterhouse, Cambridge, and the Cambridge classical tradition shaped by scholars like Benjamin Jowett, F. H. Fowler, A. E. Housman, J. R. Green, G. G. Ramsay, and R. C. Jebb. The Faculty expanded in the 20th century through links with the British Academy, the Royal Society, the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, and collaborations with continental centres such as École normale supérieure, University of Bologna, Leipzig University, and Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV).

Academic programmes

The Faculty offers undergraduate Tripos courses (Classical Tripos) and postgraduate degrees (MPhil, PhD) in conjunction with colleges including King's College, Cambridge, Queens' College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge, Selwyn College, Cambridge, and Clare College, Cambridge. Core modules cover authors and texts from Homeric Hymns through Augustan literature and late antique writers like Augustine of Hippo, alongside language training in Attic Greek, Koine Greek, Vulgar Latin, and palaeography exemplified by manuscripts such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. Interdisciplinary options collaborate with departments and programmes linked to Department of Archaeology, Cambridge, Faculty of History, University of Cambridge, Department of Anglo-Saxon Norse and Celtic, Department of Earth Sciences, Cambridge, and research training connected to funders like the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the European Research Council.

Research and centres

Research spans classical literature, ancient history, epigraphy, papyrology and material culture, supported by units such as the Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents, the Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge, and the Cambridge papyri programme that collaborates with Oxford University Press-sponsored projects and international initiatives including the Packard Humanities Institute and the Loeb Classical Library. Major thematic projects have focused on topics connected to Athenian democracy, Roman law, Hellenistic kingship, Byzantine studies, and receptions in movements like Neoclassicism and Enlightenment. The Faculty participates in collaborative grants with institutions including British Museum, Ashmolean Museum, National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Italian National Research Council, and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science.

Facilities and collections

Teaching and research are supported by facilities within Cambridge colleges and central University buildings, alongside specialized collections: the Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge holdings of Greek and Roman sculpture, casts, and inscriptions; the Cambridge University Library papyri and manuscript collections containing items comparable to collections at Bodleian Library, Vatican Library, and Bibliothèque nationale de France; and archaeological archives linked to excavations at sites like Vindolanda, Sabratha, Pompeii, Olynthos, Delphi, and Knossos. Computing and digital resources include collaborations with the Perseus Digital Library, the Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire, and text-encoding projects aligned with standards from Text Encoding Initiative and partnerships with Google Books digitisation initiatives.

Faculty and notable alumni

The Faculty's academic staff and alumni form a network including classical scholars, historians, and public intellectuals associated historically with colleges such as Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and Magdalene College, Cambridge. Prominent academics affiliated to Cambridge classical studies include F. R. D. Goodyear, E. R. Dodds, Moses I. Finley, Peter Brown, P. E. Easterling, Richard Jenkyns, Mary Beard, Keith Hopkins, Edward Greenfield, Robert Fowler, and Nicholas Purcell. Alumni with wider public profiles include figures tied to cultural and political life who studied at Cambridge colleges and subsequently featured in institutions like the British Museum, BBC, House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Royal Opera House, and the Courtauld Institute of Art.

Outreach and public engagement

The Faculty engages the public through lecture series, collaborations with museums such as the British Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum, partnerships with broadcasters like the BBC and publishers including the Cambridge University Press and the Loeb Classical Library, and participation in festivals such as the Cheltenham Literature Festival and city events with Cambridge Festival. Outreach extends to school programmes, teacher training linked to organisations such as the Classical Association, summer schools interacting with European Association of Ancient Economists activities, and digital outreach via platforms comparable to Project Gutenberg and audio-visual projects in partnership with BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4.

Category:University of Cambridge