Classics at the U: Enduring and Vital

“So what did ancient Rome smell like?” I ask, my attention completely captivated. 

Alexis Christensen, associate professor (lecturer) in World Languages and Cultures, laughs. “Probably not very good,” she cautions, launching into an explanation of how Roman cities were laid out, and what smells were likely to have been present according to textual and archaeological records—everything from pleasant aromas of baking bread and herbs in kitchen gardens to the pungent odors of tanneries and midden heaps containing the jawbones of tiny dormice, a delicacy in ancient Rome. 

Christensen, a classical archaeologist by training, is part of a growing team of scholars dedicated to continuing the University of Utah’s strong tradition of education in the classics. She, along with fellow professors John Wynne, Margaret Toscano, Jordan Johansen, and Echo Smith, teach 650+ students every year in a wide variety of classes—topics as diverse as  Video Games & Antiquity, Ancient Greek, Classical Mythology, Ancient Divination and Latin. 

Says Christensen, “We have a faculty that allows us to offer a more complete picture of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds in their connections across the Mediterranean. We all have different areas of interest and expertise, and overlap in other ways. We can show students the real breadth of ancient cultures and present a more authentic picture of what life was like for a broad spectrum of individuals.” 

Starting in Fall 2026, U students will have another opportunity to study the classics with the introduction of the newly created Classical Civilizations emphasis. This program of study offers the same deep engagement with the classics but without the Latin or ancient Greek language requirement, making it accessible to students who are already studying a different language, or have discovered a love of the classics later in their college career. 

“Classics education is a core tradition of humanities and humanistic inquiry,” says Dean Wanda Pillow. She highlights the benefits of studying in the discipline, commenting, “Classics offers perspective, deep knowledge, cultural literacy, and provides insight and practice on the expanse of being human.” 

Since the early days of the U, the study of classics has been an integral part of the curriculum. In 1895 Maud May Babcock, one of the first female faculty members at the U, directed what is thought to be the first play produced by the U: the classically-inspired play Eleusthenia. (She also founded the Department of Speech, which would eventually evolve into the Department of Communication!)

Now, the U’s classics program includes comprehensive study of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, from politics to drama and from textual criticism to the material world, including newer approaches like sensory studies and explorations of the everyday aspects of ancient environments.

While the sensory landscape of the ancient Mediterranean world may seem very far away from contemporary Utah, associate professor John Wynne offers some perspective on how thoroughly classical traditions saturate the modern American world. 

“I think people miss just how much—for better or worse—the Greeks and Romans are in our heads. For instance, if people are reading my words in your article, they're looking at symbols devised by an ancient Roman, with a two-and-a-half millennia echo. And if they ask themselves, what time is it now, or what date? We still use the Roman timekeeping system,” says Wynne. He continues, “So even before we get to such ideas as justice and democracy, which, of course, are foundational to how Americans think—before all of that, the very most basic concepts by which we make sense of everything are inherited for the most part from the Romans and the Greeks.”

One of the reasons Wynne, whose research focuses on Greek and Roman philosophy (“Cicero is my guy!” he jokes), loves teaching classical literature is the way it bridges differences that are sometimes extremely difficult to cross while discussing modern issues. He says, “I find that in my classroom, the fact that these thinkers are ancient and are a historical foundation for almost every modern way of thinking, means that students with very different viewpoints feel comfortable talking about those viewpoints together, and debating them.” 

He offers an example: “One could say something similar for our 300-person classical mythology class. It's one thing to discuss how a citizen should think about politics and sex and religion in America today. It's another to talk about, what should we make of the hero Perseus chopping the head off the snake-haired monster woman Medusa? Everyone can do that in a friendly, civilized, rational way. It abstracts it, gives it—at least on the surface—a distance.”

Wynne pauses, leaning back in his office chair, and says almost as an aside, “But then again, sometimes a student will come up after class and show me a Medusa tattoo. So the story may be not-so-distant after all.” 

For their part, students are still drawn to the classics, overcoming significant challenges to learn ancient languages and read texts in their original tongues. Gabrielle Frappier, a second year student majoring in history and minoring in classical civilizations, is drawn to the subject partly “because of the smaller classes and the sense of belonging. In the humanities, I feel like I’m actually cared about and my struggles are seen. Professors are just so willing to work with you.”

Frappier is enrolled in her second semester of Ancient Greek with professor Margaret Toscano this spring, which she says has been a challenge—and one she is relishing. The satisfaction of inching towards mastery is worth grappling with a difficult ancient tongue. 

She says, “There have been so many benefits that I have gained from learning the language. It's given me more confidence to learn other languages – I'm taking French right now because I'm like, ‘Well, if I can take Greek, I could probably take French!’ It's also giving me a lot of studying skills.” 

Pausing, Frappier adds, “And the way that I think about words has really changed. Greek is a very nuanced language, and I have learned so much about the importance of language in culture-building.”

Studying the classics have made a difference to Frappier, helping her develop durable, transferable skills. “It’s really impacted every part of my life and caused so much development in me as a person. Humans are so entwined with the classics. I also think it has vastly improved my communication skills; it’s encouraged me to travel more; it’s opened doors and opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” she says. 

Some of those opportunities are found in the lush green foothills of northern Italy’s Piedmont mountains, where Christensen is the co-director of the archaeological project Libarna Urban Landscapes Project Field School. Each summer, she travels to the site for several weeks; there, working alongside archaeologists and other specialists, students spend four weeks working on an active dig site. Jevan Winn, a classics student and graduating senior, spent a month excavating a Roman house in Libarna last summer. 

The weeks spent sweating in the sun and dirt were well worth it, says Winn, for the experience of “holding the actual objects in your hand. One of the things that Professor Christensen found was the handle of a pot that had broken off. When the clay was wet, someone picked it up before it was finished drying, and their thumbprint was still in it. We all put our thumbs on the same spot, and I had this feeling of ‘Oh my gosh, I’m not just reading the texts that mention people, I’m holding their actual things.’” 

Winn, who has studied Latin and Greek for four years, advises fellow students to “Enjoy the language for what it is, not just its value as a tool for translation. Every language is a window into how people experienced the world.” 

Christensen agrees that studying the material together with the textual has an outsized impact, and emphasizes the modern relevance of studying the classics. She says, “It's old stuff, but there are cool new ways of examining the old things and thinking about them. And there are new discoveries, all the time!” 

Classics are also seeing a renaissance of appreciation across the university. President Randall’s recently announced presidential initiative on federalism, law, and American governance, which will be led by two professors from the S.J. Quinney College of Law, is one such example. An understanding of American federalism means an understanding of the Greek and Roman traditions and philosophy that heavily influenced the founding fathers—and the classics faculty are thrilled. As Wynne says, “We will be delighted to work with our law school colleagues to contribute to this initiative and bring it the historical rigor that our students and our community deserve!”

With so many threads that can be traced back throughout the U’s history and twining together in the current moment, the classics continue to be an essential part of university education—both enduring and vital.