Web address: www.newpaltz.edu/ancientstudies
About the Minor
Ancient World Studies is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the study of the world before the Middle Ages – everything from the Paleolithic period to the late Roman Empire, covering the Near East (Israel, Mesopotamia, Persia and their neighbors), Egypt, Greece and Rome, China, India, Japan, and all regions in between. It can also encompass the study of the cultures of the Americas – North American Indians, as well as the great urban American cultures of the Inca, the Maya, the Aztecs and others – before the arrival of European explorer/conquerors in the fifteenth century. With courses in philosophy, history, English, political science, art history, anthropology, and foreign languages, students in the Ancient World Studies minor can explore and learn about the ancient world from almost any angle.
Students who minor in Ancient World Studies will be well positioned for graduate studies in archaeology/anthropology, classics, Egyptology, or any other specialized discipline dealing with the ancient world. Beyond that, the skills stressed in Ancient World Studies courses – languages, research, analysis, writing – are valuable in almost any field of endeavor. But possibly the most valuable thing the minor has to offer is a wider and deeper perspective on what it means to be human, which is crucial to understanding today’s globalized, multicultural world. As Homer’s Odyssey says of the hero Odysseus: “He saw many cities, and knew the minds of many men.” A minor in Ancient World Studies offers SUNY New Paltz students the opportunity to travel widely in both space and time – to really follow in the footsteps of Odysseus.
Ancient World Studies Program
For more information about this minor, please contact Andrea Gatzke, Associate Professor of History and Ancient World Studies program coordinator, JFT 210, 845-257-3523 or gatzkea@newpaltz.edu.
