In conjunction with the graduation requirements of The College of Wooster, the Department of Classical Studies requires all majors in Greek, Latin and Classical Civilization to complete one course of junior Independent Study and a two-course senior Independent Study Thesis. The Departmental Guide is intended to assist and direct our majors in the planning, organization and completion of their Independent Study programs. It complements the general regulations articulated in the College Handbook for Independent Study, and the department recommends that classics students become thoroughly familiar with both documents.
The department wishes to emphasize the central importance of Independent Study in its major program and in the entire academic experience of each student. The ability to engage in Independent Study is one of the primary goals of the major, and the successful completion of the I.S. Thesis represents the culmination of each student's academic program.
The department reserves the right to make changes in future editions of the Departmental Guide.
Scheduling of Independent Study
One course of Independent Study is a prerequisite for beginning the I.S. Thesis. This course (Greek, Latin, or Classical Civilization 401) must involve a research paper. Additional courses in Independent Study (402, 403) are optional, and may involve either directed reading or additional research papers. The I.S. Thesis (451, 452) involves a single research project and is usually conducted in two consecutive semesters. The student is expected to complete 401 during the junior year and to register for 451 and 452 during the senior year. Normally, each course will constitute one-fourth of the student's work load in a given semester, and the student should expect to devote a minimum of twelve hours a week to it.
Before the student begins the I.S. Thesis, he or she will be assigned an advisor who will supervise the project. Assignments will be made by the department chair on the basis of the student's interest and the teacher's areas of expertise and teaching loads. Students are urged to give serious thought to their choice of area or topic well in advance and to discuss this with the chair or other members of the department.
Consulting advisors from other departments
In addition to assigning you to work with a Classical Studies advisor, the Department invites you to consider consulting regularly with a faculty member from another department. Classicists have traditionally adopted interdisciplinary approaches to the study of antiquity, and the multiple perspectives on a given question offered by faculty with different disciplinary training can be an invaluable resource. Independent Study theses that satisfy the requirements of a double major have also become more popular in recent years. Students in 2002-3, for example, combined a major in Classical Studies with majors such as English, Philosophy, and Spanish. Double majors should consult carefully with both advisors early in the fall semester to make sure that their project will meet the requirements of both departments.
Both the junior Independent Study and the senior I.S. Thesis involve intensive research projects resulting in a substantial paper. The junior Independent Study paper usually runs between 20 and 40 pages, the I.S. Thesis from 50 to 100 pages. The department will accept longer or shorter papers, but the topic must be significant and the treatment neither superficial nor excessively wordy.
The department expects that the student will have learned,
during the first two years at The College of Wooster, the basic
skills required in writing a research paper. I.S. is intended
to refine these skills and bring them into line with the traditions
of classical scholarship. The following advice about the I.S.
Thesis also applies more generally to junior Independent Study.
As stated in the Handbook for Independent Study the elements
of the I.S. Thesis are three: content, method, and form.