The overarching aim of the Department of Classics and Archaeology is to expand students' awareness and knowledge of the history, culture, languages and legacy of key civilisations of the ancient Mediterranean, especially Egypt, Greece and Rome. We have sought to highlight areas which do not feature prominently, if at all, in the curriculum of other Victorian tertiary institutions and are immensely proud of, and committed to, our wide range of Egyptological subjects.
Given the determining influence of the ancient Mediterranean world on Western culture at many levels, all participants in our courses are encouraged and urged to relate their studies within the department to those, historical, literary and philosophical in particular, that they undertake elsewhere in the faculty. The intellectual climate of the present decade features narrow specialism that in combination with the tyranny of distance promotes ignorance of, and alienation from, deep cultural connections and roots. Studies of the ancient world and its riches contribute like few others to broader, more holistic perspectives. Our courses in modern Greek language and culture fall into place in our program overall by exploring their linkage also with the ancient, and intermediate, past.
The department believes that effective teaching involves drawing students into a dialogue about the nature and purpose of their learning and into critical debate about the knowledge they are expected to gain. Through studying the past students are calculated to develop the sense that problems can be examined dispassionately and that the transitory can be distinguished from the permanent. Such realisation will enable them to assess the present more critically and more wisely.
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