Classical Studies
Independent Study
Overview
All majors complete a one-semester Independent Study seminar in junior year and a two-semester senior I.S. Working closely with a faculty advisor, each senior identifies a topic of interest, researches it intensively, and writes an extensive study which must later be defended in an oral examination before two members of the department.
Recent Topics
Recent topics have ranged from the examination of marriage and death in
three plays by Euripides to the portrayal of national identity in the
works of Vergil and J.R.R. Tolkien. Aaron Smith Bowen ’01, a double
major in classical studies and history, wrote “Sturm und Drang: A
Comparison Between the Delian League and Imperial Germany,” and Jessica
Anne Wollett ’05 completed an I.S. on “Domestic Architecture and the
Mosaics of Roman North Africa.”