“Greek studies” is not about to be eliminated either as a field of study or as a major here, as the story titled “Greek studies to be eliminated from UT majors,” which ran in The Daily Texan on Thursday, suggests. The classics department continues to offer a wide range of courses on the languages and cultures of ancient Greece and Rome (classical studies), and UT students will continue to have multiple options for pursuing degrees that include advanced work in the language and culture of ancient Greece.

Yes, the Higher Education Coordinating Board has directed UT to eliminate one of our majors: the bachelor’s in Greek. But students still have four other degree options that require advanced work in ancient Greek language and culture: classics, classical archaeology, ancient history and classical civilization and Latin. The classics major requires advanced work in both Greek and Latin language. The classical archaeology and ancient history majors require advanced work in classical culture and also in either Greek or Latin. Even the bachelor’s in Latin requires advanced work in either Greek or classical culture.

It’s worth emphasizing also that the elimination of our Greek major is unlikely to have any impact on our course offerings, either. As we pointed out to the coordinating board both this year and previously, all of our courses in Greek language and culture serve many other groups and degree plans besides Greek majors. So eliminating this major will have virtually no impact on either the UT budget or what students will be able to study here. As for the symbolic impact, well — that’s another story.

— Stephen White
Chair, Department of Classics