Classical Studies Major

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About the Major

Classical studies offers an interdisciplinary lens into  the languages, history and cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world and beyond. Students both explore “classical” ideas and practices as well as investigate the ways in which diverse traditions inform our present socio-historic moment.

Jobs in Classical Studies

• Museum specialist
• Lawyer
• Educator
• Writer
• Archeologist

Related Majors

• Anthropology
• Art History
• English
• History
• Philosophy
• Political Science
• Religious Studies

Opportunity to forge his own path brought student to classical studies major — and opened his world

When Zach Gianelle took his first literature course at Elon University in the fall of 2013 — a survey of British literature — he was fascinated by the allusions to myths and snippets of Latin that peppered the pages.

“It was like finding out I had the basic subscription to classical literature and there was more I could have access to,” Gianelle said.

That inkling was what first propelled him toward a major in classical studies — the exploration of the languages, cultures and history of the ancient Mediterranean world. Next, he dove into Elon’s Latin courses, which were like “getting access to the code of a lot of classic literature, which is just the tradition that those authors were writing in,” he said.

Gianelle came to Elon expecting to major in English or communications. He loved literature — so much that one of the reasons he chose Elon was because of its renowned study abroad program; he wanted to explore the world like the characters did in his favorite books. He thought perhaps a job in communications would be more practical, but he also couldn’t shake how excited he felt learning Latin and decoding classic literature.

I was surrounded by professors who wanted me to make the most out of my experience, and I will always be grateful for that.

His Latin mentor, Kristina Meinking, and English mentor, Scott Proudfit, also saw that excitement in Gianelle.

“They were super encouraging about staying in the humanities and focusing on subjects I enjoyed,” he said. “With a humanities degree, you’re learning how to think rather than how to do, and that really resonated with me.”

In the fall semester of his sophomore year, Gianelle took a Latin course with Meinking reading adapted versions of Aesop’s fables and selections from the Lives of the Caesars. That class propelled him to take a course his spring semester that included reading the love poetry of Propertius. It was in that class where he realized the impact that Latin had on his ability to feel the literature more deeply.

“Translating the poetry came to be more like … you know when you crush an herb and then you can smell it better? The translating is like the crushing of the plants, bringing all of that goodness from it,” he said.

As he continued to take courses that interested him those first two years at Elon — Latin and religious studies and ancient philosophy — Meinking couldn’t help but notice that Gianelle was essentially building the structure of a major in classical studies.

Elon didn’t have a classical studies major when Gianelle attended (student interest prompted the expansion of the program in 2021, four years after he graduated), so Meinking encouraged him to pursue it as an independent major. And because another student was finishing up her own independent major in classical studies, he would be able to use that student’s proposal as a guide when crafting his own.

“I felt like I had enough structure that I could comfortably do this and it wouldn’t be charting new territory,” he said of the independent major. “By the end of that year, I was totally sold on the idea and had already been taking other classes that were thematically connected to classics.”

Gianelle, who would ultimately double major in classical studies and English literature, took advantage of many opportunities at Elon that enhanced his studies. He was Meinking’s teaching assistant in an introductory Latin course; studied abroad in Bath, England; and performed research under the guidance of his religious studies mentor, Lynn Huber. In addition to his research applying queer theory to the classics, he spent the summer before his senior year researching the cult of Dionysus and some of the sexually explicit and homoerotic aspects of cult worship and leadership.

He also had the opportunity to study in Greece following his graduation from Elon in 2017 thanks to a grant put on his radar by Meinking. While Gianelle had spent his years at Elon studying the cultural, historical and linguistic aspects of the ancient world — and had even taken an intense eight-week online course learning Greek to better prepare himself for graduate school — he didn’t have much experience in archeology. Through this four-week visit through Athens and the Peloponnese, he visited museums and archaeological dig sites and studied Greek sculpture and other material culture with fellow graduate and aspiring graduate students. “It was a life-changing experience,” he said.

One of the most valuable lessons Gianelle learned at Elon was how rewarding it can be to take chances when faced with opportunities. When he was a shy freshman, he applied to become a student orientation leader for the following year’s incoming class. The experience was scary but ended up becoming an integral — and favorite — part of his time at Elon as he later took on a leadership role in freshman orientation.

“Between that experience and the independent major, I would say that Elon is the sort of place where if you put yourself out there and just try the opportunities that are all around, they’re [going to be] extremely fruitful,” he said. “The attitude of putting yourself out there and trying something different, even if it’s sort of scary, that has been something that has stuck with me.”

Gianelle continued his education at the University of Arizona, where he earned a master’s degree in classical philology in 2019. He then began teaching Latin, first at a high school in Lorton, Virginia, and today at Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy in Washington, D.C. In addition to teaching, he’s also working on his master’s degree in library science.

He often thinks about how grateful he is to have been able to forge his own path at Elon and pursue the studies that interested him the most.

“I think about the conversations that I used to have with Dr. Meinking and Dr. Proudfit, and they were compelling and transformative for a reason,” he said. “I think that they really helped me follow the path that I wanted to follow, one that I was able to set myself. I wasn’t put on some kind of track. I was surrounded by professors who wanted me to make the most out of my experience, and I will always be grateful for that.”

Curriculum & Degree Requirements

• Classical Studies A.B. (opens a new window)