Areas of knowledge

Majors should be able to:

• Comprehend with proficiency classical Latin and/or Greek, including the ability to practice textual analysis and formulate and answer questions about the language(s) independently through the use of standard reference works. (See Language Learning Mission statement document for complete details of specific language outcomes)
• Demonstrate general knowledge of the primary sources available to Classicists: literary and non-literary texts, artifacts, and institutions.
• Understand the broad shape of classical antiquity in time and space, including traditionally important periods, events and geographical locations.
• Understand various sub-disciplines of Classics and their methodologies.
• Display a general sense of the development of the discipline of Classics over time.

Skills of Inquiry and Analysis

• Locate (with appropriate searching tools) and cite (in the format specified by the departmental style sheet) primary sources. (See the Junior Skills Portfolio document for specific details)
• Locate (with appropriate searching tools) and cite (in the format specified by the departmental style sheet) secondary sources.
• Know when and how to make use of standard reference works in the discipline.
• Use primary sources as evidence in a thesis-driven argument.
• Use secondary sources to situate work in the context of the discipline.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, the results of their own research and the research of others.

Higher Order Thinking Skills

Majors should be able to:

• Recognize and interrogate key assumptions underlying the ancient texts.
• Recognize and interrogate key assumptions and the types of arguments scholars make in the discipline.
• Integrate general and specialized learning to ask productive questions and solve problems concerning particular texts, problems in the discipline, and inter-disciplinary areas.
• Practice ethical reasoning and action in the collection and attribution of both ancient material and scholarly material.
• Participate actively and respectfully in the scholarly community surrounding Classics as well as the world of academic discourse in general.
• Develop an attitude of critical open-mindedness regarding the classical past in order to place their own culture in a deeper context.
• Develop an attitude of informed appreciation of and lifelong interest in the achievements of classical civilizations, and the habit of drawing upon such an attitude to inform their lives.

Assessment of learning outcomes

As noted in the Overview, our aim is to give our students many opportunities to gain the knowledge and practice the skills we have identified. Our curriculum is designed to sequence as much as possible the knowledge and skills in stages of increasing complexity, culminating in the senior integrative exercise. Along the way we provide our students with feedback and critical evaluations of their work so that they are aware of their individual strengths and areas that need improvement.

Majors can expect the following:

• Assessments of the knowledge areas embedded in course work in the targeted area
• Inquiry and analysis skills assessed through course-based research projects, the submission of the Junior Skills Portfolio at the end of the Junior year, and the senior integrative exercise
• Higher order thinking skills assessed through course-based research projects and especially the senior integrative exercise.

In addition to feedback to individual students, we understand that attention to programmatic assessment is also necessary. Regular monitoring of the senior integrative exercise provides us with the most valuable feedback as to how we are succeeding as a program and where we need to make adjustments to our curriculum to accomplish the outcomes we expect. We have developed a rubric for the scoring of the senior integrative exercise, and we feel that the use of this rubric over time will yield valuable longitudinal data for our program.

Conclusion
Classics engages enduring problems and questions basic to our 21st century world. Ancient voices return again and again to basic ethical topics, from larger social issues such as the difficulties inherent in democracy and empire, to individual concerns with identity and how one ought to live. While we do not require off-campus study, we strongly encourage it, as it enhances both understanding of ancient culture and contemporary intercultural competency. We believe that most of our learning outcomes complement and enhance the overall liberal arts mission of the college and prepare our majors for a lifetime of learning beyond the discipline.