About the Department

The Department of Classical and Semitic Languages and Literatures is devoted to providing a liberal education to majors and non-majors which provides skills and tools for students as they pursue rich and fulfilling careers and lives. We have designed a curriculum which strengthens the student's ability to communicate, to reason, and to understand the social, cultural and physical environment. We foster careful and creative thinking in our students based in the linguistic, cultural, and historical roots of the rich, varied, and strategically important societies of the Mediterranean basin.

Within our department we have faculty who teach both ancient and modern languages, literatures, and cultures of the Mediterranean in three distinct programs: Hebrew, Arabic, and Classical (Greek and Latin). Chronologically our courses span 4000 BCE to the present.

Our courses provide training in a broad spectrum of humanistic inquiry and range from the exacting mastery of difficult languages to the insights obtained from literature and cultural studies. Students planning to go to Medical School or Law School find that our courses give them special preparation, from learning Greek and Latin terminology to the study of ancient medicine and the foundations of international law. Our Arabic and Hebrew courses provide excellent background for careers in political science and international affairs.

Our ancient history courses encompass both cultural and social scientific approaches to the understanding of human experiences of early times. Our courses support programs both in the humanities and in the social sciences, with especially close ties to and cross-listings with History, Religion, Judaic Studies, Women's Studies, Classical Archaeology and Art History, Anthropology, as well as the Elliott School of International Affairs.

We utilize the diverse resources of the Washington DC area in fulfilling our linguistic and cultural mission, with field trips to and assignments at local museums, walking tours of Classical Washington, promotion of foreign films and lectures, and cultural programs and internships at embassies. We have arranged internships at Washington institutions, including magazines and professional journals, the Smithsonian Institution, the Middle East Institute, and other area resources. Our students have opportunities to study abroad, most recently in Israel, Morocco, and Europe, and are assisted in finding opportunities to participate in excavations.

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