#studying classics

[latinandlattes]

21.01.24 || New year, same old me with the pics from my study abroad two years ago. Where does the time go?

Term started late this year due to covid, but classes finally started last week. I’m taking three language courses and am in absolute heaven right now. I feel like I finally have the time to focus on the smallest details of Greek and Latin and can nerd out over grammar constructions with my professors. Maybe teaching a language is my true calling, since I’m at my happiest in a language class.

Also lerne ich Deutsch und lese Der Kleine Prinz. Wo sind die Deutschsprache studyblrs?

[wrathofakilless]

[its-caesar-bitch]

how did you decide you wanted to be a classics major? I'm super interested in it and also linguistics but idk what I would do with it

ti’ve studied latin since i was like 12 because i was a stubborn little shit who didn’t want to do spanish or french like normal kids and my mom said i wouldn’t be able to do it. latin clicks in my brain the way that math or science does for some people where it’s like a puzzle or a game, y’know? the best way i can describe it is how they show it in the episode about the hound of the baskervilles in sherlock where he’s thinking and manipulating words and concepts to put them in the right order.

that being said, i picked up an affinity for the language and everything you could do with it. think close reading of literature, historical studies, archaeology, linguistics, &c. my dad is a professor so i’ve always been a part of academia so for me it was just putting two parts of my life together, like my love for latin and my desire to keep learning until the day i die because then i never have to leave school. (just kidding) (not really)

i also got some really good advice from my high school’s college counselor because she was basically like “if you don’t enjoy what you’re studying in college, you won’t enjoy what you do with it afterwards.” yes, classics is not an up and coming field like corporate law but it’s not a death sentence either like there’s so much you can do with it. classics can lead into philosophy and law, or teaching, whether at the middle/high school level or collegiate, but also more than that like you can be a curator at a museum or work for an auction company like Christies’ evaluating artifacts and things like that. you could be an archaeologist or a doctor or an activist who uses classics as a way to start necessary discourse (such as using the play antigone to start a discussion about sexism and internalized patriarchal values). you could be an artist! you could be a writer! j.k. rowling majored in classics! so did sigmund freud! so did tom hiddleston! toni morrison! oscar wilde! 

classics isn’t just teaching you a subject. it’s also a way of thinking, of looking at the world and processing it and making sense of the information you receive. think about how much latin grammar helps with your english (which is surprising because english is largely germanic). the father of one of my closest friends is now a pediatric anesthesiologist and he majored in classics before going on to med school. 

basically, i’d say if you love the subject, keep doing it. doors will open for you during your studies that will lead you into new and exciting directions. i didn’t expect to get to work with the ancient artifacts with my advisor in the bowdoin museum when i matriculated. i didn’t expect to go to oxford for my junior year or to learn how to compose ancient greek in a proper attic style (which apparently is something they only do at oxford bc other schools have phased it out). you can do anything you want with it. just be bold, be assertive, follow your interests & you’ll find new adventures and opportunities every time you look for them.

[latinandlattes]

20.07.02 || this summer i’ve been learning how to read and digitize greek papyri. i have to say, i think this is the coolest job that i’ve ever done! even though i’m only a part-time research assistant, i honestly can’t wait to do my one hour of papyrology work each day. the online papyrology course i’m taking is a bit daunting, since i’m the only undergrad in my class, but it’s super awesome to learn from all the other students who have way more experience than me.

[darkshiney]

Studying Classics can be a bit frustrating sometimes...

“If the Greek are sailing to Carthage, it should be accusative. Remember? Place whither? That’ the rule.” “Can’t be.”Said Bunny. His voice was nasal, garrulous W. C. Fields with a bad case of Long Island lockjaw. “It’s not  place whither, it’s place to. I put my money on the ablative case.” There  was a rattling of papers. “Wait,” said Charles. His voice was a lot like his sister’s – hoarse, slightly southern. “Look at this. They’re not just sailing to Carthage, they’re sailing to attack it.” “You’re crazy.” “No, they are. Look at the next sentence. We need a dative.” “Are you sure?” More rustling of papers. “Absolutely. Epi tō karchidona.“ “I don’t see how,” Said Bunny. He sounded like Thurston Howell on 'Gilligan’s Island.' “Ablative is the ticket. The hard ones are always ablative.” A slight pause. “Bunny,” said Charles. “You’re mixed up. The ablative is in Latin.” “Well, of course, I know that,” said Bunny irritably after a confused pause which seemed to indicate the contrary, “But you know what I mean. Aorist, ablative, all the same thing, really….” “Look, Charles,” said Camilla. “This dative won’t work.” “Yes it will, they’re sailing to attack, are they?” “Yes, but the Greeks sailed over the sea to Carthage.” “But I put that epi in front of it.” “Well, we can attack and still use epi, but we have to use an accusative because of the first rules.” Donna Tartt - The Secret History