CLASSICS

Marston Hall
(206) 281-2036
www:spu.edu/depts/fll

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The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures encompasses the academic discipline of foreign language acquisition and its application to the serious study of culture and literature. Currently at SPU there is a focus on four spoken languages — French, German, Russian, and Spanish –– and two ancient languages, Latin and classical Greek. There are three departmental degree programs: European studies, Latin American studies/ Spanish, and a student-designed program in classics. The studentdesigned major must be constructed in close cooperation with appropriate faculty. (See Student-Designed Major in the Catalog.) All programs emphasize the unique relationship between culture and language. Acquisition of analytical skills, familiarity with important works of literature from several languages and the cultures they express, deeper understanding of communication patterns, and improved writing skills are all addressed in departmental courses.

Elementary language courses are sequential and begin Autumn Quarter. Students are advised that there is an enrollment limit of 35 in all sections of 1000-level classes (2100 for Russian) of the modern spoken languages. Should a desired class be closed, students are urged to choose another language or to consider Summer Quarter offerings or language courses from other local colleges. Depending on staffing, a section of French, German, and Spanish 1103 and/or Spanish 1102 is offered Autumn Quarter. Students should consult the Online Time Schedule to verify such offerings.

Foreign language study (with emphasis on the needs of the traveler) is available on Seattle Pacific’s European Quarter. Depending on the location of European Quarter, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish 1100 are available for beginning students, 2100 for intermediate students, and 3100 for advanced students.

Classics: Student-designed

Owen Ewald, Contact person

The surviving works of literature and art inherited from classical Greece and Rome have been foundational to Western European culture. From the classical world have come the patterns within which intellectual thought has developed, the models from which canons of aesthetic excellence have been formed and the languages in which the original literary works were written, including more than 1,000 years of Christian theology. The student who chooses to major in classics will acquire preparation that can key into any of the liberal arts, as well as provide enrichment for personal satisfaction. Students interested in pre-law, pre-medicine, education, and many of the sciences are encouraged to consider the classics offerings as electives, as are business majors aspiring to management.

All students who complete the classics major must be proficient in a foreign language. Proficiency is established upon satisfactory completion of the third quarter of a first-year college-level foreign language or its equivalent. For alternative ways of satisfying this requirement, see General Education in the Catalog. Language proficiency is not satisfied by transfer of an associate’s degree from a community college unless the transcript records the completion of foreign language coursework.

Admission to the Classics Major
Applicants for a major in classics must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher in all college work applicable to the B.A. degree and a 2.5 GPA in 10 credits of coursework at SPU in classics and/or Latin. Since the major is student-designed the student must work closely with the classics advisor.

Requirements for the Major – Language Emphasis
Requirements for the Major – Cultural Emphasis
Note: To be taken from the listings below and courses from philosophy, history, English, or linguistics.)
Requirements for the Minor – Classics or Latin
Note: Classical Latin courses appear under the Latin program requirements.

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