Am I a Classicist?

[LateAntique]

Here's the rundown: I'm in my senior year at a lesser-known public school, double majoring in Religious Studies and Classics (our Classics faculty is actually very good). My interests are in Early Christianity, but I'm thinking about doing graduate work in a Classics department. I don't see why early Christianity isn't studied within the context of the Late Antique. So - my question is - am I rowing against the current here? Do I have any chances of doing this in a Classics department or should I look only in Religion programs?

[celph]

If you're interested in Christianity alone, then you belong in a religious studies department. If you're interested in late antiquity in general and look at religious texts from a philological point of view (that is, you're not only interested in what they have to say as religious texts per se), then perhaps a classics department is the right one for you. However, if you decide to go to a classics department, be prepared to work with texts from all antiquity, even if it's a department that specializes in late antiquity.

The name of Peter Brown comes to mind. He is considered a historian, and he's done work almost exclusively on Late Antiquity and religious matters. But then again, you wouldn't call him an expert on religious studies.

Early Christianity is studied within the context of late antiquity. It definitely is of interest when you study the history or archaeology (let alone literature) of the Principate (or later). In courses on byzantine literature/history/archaeology, Christianity has an even more prominent role.

I think it's clear that this is a decision you have to make based on how wide you think the range of your interests is.

[LateAntique]

I'm certainly not only interested in early Christianity - in fact, I think that's a methodological flaw. I want to better understand the world of the Late Antique for its own sake, but also to shed light on this particular interest of mine. I'm interested in all forms of Religion in the Late Antique, but Christianity just happens to be the one that mosts interests me (due to its rising popularity in antiquity).

The last I heard, Peter Brown is retiring/not accepting new students. His books have been very influential, however.

Thanks for the response.

[celph]

Yes, he's old. Just mentioned him as a case in point.

From what I've read so far, I'd tell you to look for a department that

a) is a classics department

has some kind of ancient history program

c) is strong in late antiquity

PS: It's too bad there's only so few classicists on this forum.

[Ardea]

I think you could go at Late Antiquity from any number of directions.

At my alma mater, for example, the Center for Late Ancient Studies is made up of professors from Classics, Religion, Art History, and Philosophy.

[LateAntique]

Kemet - Duke is one of my top choices for a variety of reasons. They have a great library of papyri, professors doing what I want to do (both in the Classics dept and in the Religion dept), and their connection with UNC (James Rives does Greek and Roman Religion, Plese teaches Coptic, etc).

[Joe001]

UNC sounds like a very good place based on your interests. They also have Bart Ehrman.

[LateAntique]

As it is right now, Duke is my top choice. The grad schools at Duke and UNC have an understanding that allows their students to take courses from each school, so I would still get to take classes with people like James Rives, Zlatko Plese, and perhaps even Ehrman, but after speaking with some people there, I realize UNC is not a good fit for me.

[Cardea]

I'm currently at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and we have a fairly strong Late Antique program. Most of the Classics students come here to study with Danuta Shanzer. Her reputation as a person isn't the best but she's a big name in Late Antique. The RS program is also beginning an MA program next year (I believe). There's a guy in that dept who I've worked with who studied under Robert Wilken, whose done stuff in Late Antiquity and is highly respected. Also, the Medieval Studies program is good and we have a great Rare Books and Manuscripts Library.

As for the Classics program in general, it's a program strong philologically but mostly in Greek. We haven't been able to acquire many Latinists. Shanzer is the only one.

From what I can tell, Notre Dame and Duke seem like good options. U of Nebraska I think does late stuff. U of I has the resources as far as the library and the Medieval Studies options, but our Classics department is in a bit of a transition.

Hope that helps.

[Thanks4Downvoting]

UNC sounds like a very good place based on your interests. They also have Bart Ehrman.

And Bart Ehrman has been on Colbert, so we know he's legit. Jk, but really, he would make all the difference to me.

[LateAntique]

And Bart Ehrman has been on Colbert, so we know he's legit. Jk, but really, he would make all the difference to me.

In what way would Ehrman make the difference for you?