Within the Classical Languages major, students will have the opportunity to read and work with original-language texts drawn from or related to the Jewish, Classical, and Christian traditions. In addition to encouraging students to master the languages, we wish to stimulate them to grasp challenging concepts, to ask significant questions and to seek answers to them, to develop original ideas, to become intellectually self-motivated, and to give great attention to accuracy in the use and interpretation of their languages.
Students can begin the Classical Languages major as late as the fall of the junior year. It will be an attractive option for students with no prior knowledge of the classical and biblical languages who are on track for graduate work in Classics, Biblical Studies, Early Christian Studies, or ministry, and many of our alumni have gone on to work in medicine, law, business, the military, the home, and other fields.
Students of this major will achieve intermediate competency in two of the major’s languages (Hebrew, Greek, Latin) and concentrate in one of the two selected languages through 4 hrs of upper-division work, plus the capstone course.
Classical Languages Integrated Majors
Since most of Wheaton College’s curriculum has roots in the classical world or in some other way supplements the study and dissemination of the classical languages, and since the combined study of the classical languages and other fields is mutually supporting, the department offers several Integrated Majors that allow students to complete the major by taking 24 hours of required classical languages courses and 16 hours of designated courses in some companion discipline. Integrative majors may combine 24 hours of one of the classical languages (Hebrew, Greek, or Latin) and 16 in biblical and theological studies, archaeology, philosophy, history, or some other discipline to earn a classical languages degree. The integrated major allows students to pursue both interests simultaneously.
Classical Languages Honors Program
A departmental honors program is an option for the Classical Languages major. To graduate with honors, the student must complete 4 hours of upper-division work in the language of concentration beyond the 4 required of regular majors and another 4 hrs in any upper-division HEBR, GREK, or LATN class or any other departmentally approved ancient language course (e.g., Akkadian, Aramaic, Ugaritic). Upon selection, these courses are to be designated as “honors work.” “Honors work” means that a student’s work goes beyond that of the class’s other students, in quality if not quantity. These hours count toward the major and are usually taken in the senior year. The student will also take CLAL 499 Classical Languages Honors Thesis. The minimum acceptable grade in honors work is A-. The departmental honors designation will appear on a student's transcript and on the printed program at graduation. A copy of the thesis will be kept in the college library. A full set of MCL departmental guidelines for CL honors is available on the website and upon request. For the catalog, see https://catalog.wheaton.edu/undergraduate/academic-policies-information/academic-information/#text.
Gerald F. Hawthorne Professor of New Testament Greek and Exegesis Jon Laansma
Classical Languages Program Coordinator, Associate Professor Alexander Loney
Associate Professor Douglas Penney
Assistant Professor Andrew Burlingame
Classical Languages
- Classical Languages Major
- Classical Languages Major integrated with Art History
- Classical Languages Major integrated with Communication: Rhetoric
- Classical Languages Major integrated with Early Christian Studies
- Classical Languages Major integrated with Education and Applied Linguistics
- Classical Languages Major integrated with English
- Classical Languages Major integrated with History
- Classical Languages Major integrated with Modern Languages
- Classical Languages Major integrated with Philosophy
- Classical Languages Major integrated with an Alternate Field
- Greek Major Integrated with Biblical and Theological Studies
- Hebrew Major Integrated with Biblical and Theological Studies
- Classical Languages Minor
- Latin for Classical Christian Education Certificate
Classical Languages Courses
CLAL 494. Senior Capstone. (4 Credits)
Classical Language majors will take a capstone course in their senior year that connects the ancient languages with other areas of inquiry. The student will do focused research on the Hebrew, Greek, and/or Latin texts of the ancient world. Students will demonstrate how their chosen topic relates to Christian faith. Must be in last year at Wheaton.
General Education: SHAR
CLAL 499. Classical Languages Honors Thesis. (4 Credits)
An independent project requiring advanced research and argumentation, developed in a scholarly paper. By application only.
Greek Courses
GREK 101. Elementary Greek I. (4 Credits)
Intensive study of elementary grammar, syntax, and vocabulary; selected readings from Ancient Greek authors including those of the New Testament. Only offered in fall.
GREK 102. Elementary Greek II. (4 Credits)
Intensive study of elementary grammar, syntax, and vocabulary; selected readings from Ancient Greek authors including those of the New Testament. Only offered in spring. Prerequisite: GREK 101.
GREK 201. Intermediate Greek. (4 Credits)
Review of grammar and syntax accompanied by selections from various Greek authors including those of the New Testament. Prerequisite to further work in Greek. Offered only in Fall. Prerequisite: GREK 102 (or equivalent).
General Education: COMP
GREK 331. Athenian Tragedy. (4 Credits)
Reading a tragedy by Sophocles or Euripides: Oedipus Tyrannus, Antigone, Medea, Bacchae, or other; introduction to literary and historical conventions of Athenian dram; style and dialect of choral poetry; meter; considerations of ethics, gender, myth, religion, and intertextuality. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
GREK 332. Homer's Iliad. (4 Credits)
Intensive readings of selected books from the Iliad; introduction to Homeric dialect and meter and the Homeric question; issues of interpretation, especially warfare, ethics, glory, death, and the gods. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
Tags: LE
GREK 333. Homer's Odyssey. (4 Credits)
Intensive readings of selected books from the Odyssey, introduction to Homeric dialect and meter and the Homeric question; issues of interpretation, especially conceptions of the hero, humans, the gods, narrative, irony; final research paper on a topic of literary or historical interest. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
Tags: LE
GREK 334. Advanced Koine Reading. (2 or 4 Credits)
New Testament book studies in Greek or selections from the Septuagint or the early church fathers to illustrate the development of thought within Christianity. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
GREK 335. Plato: The Apology of Socrates. (4 Credits)
The life and times of Athens' most enduring citizen by reading his own defense and others' accounts of his final days. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
GREK 336. Classical Rhetoric. (4 Credits)
Intensive readings of speeches selected from Athenian orators: Gorgias, Antiphon, Lysias, Demosthenes, or others; genres and conventions of oratory (deliberative, epideictic, forensic); readings from Aristotle's Rhetoric (in translation) and its application to ancient oratory; tropes and rhetorical analysis. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
GREK 337. Greek Prose Composition. (2 Credits)
A systematic review of Greek morphology and syntax by writing sentences in Classical and Koine Greek. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
GREK 338. Herodotus' Histories. (4 Credits)
Intensive readings of selections from Herodotus' Histories - the first surviving work of history in the West; introduction to the Ionic dialect and Herodotus' style; overview of the Histories' major themes - happiness, fate, freedom, ethnicity, religion, and justice. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
GREK 339. Myth/Hesiod. (2 Credits)
Study of Greek mythology through reading selections of Hesiod; overview of epic dialect and meter; examination of genre and comparison to eastern Mediterranean analogs (e.g., Genesis). Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
GREK 342. NT and Patristics. (4 Credits)
Selections from the Greek NT and patristic literature to illustrate the literary and intellectual background of the ancient world and early Christianity. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
GREK 343. Septuagint. (4 Credits)
Selections from the Septuagint and intertestamental literature to illustrate the literary and intellectual background of the ancient world leading to Christianity. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
GREK 344. Aesop's Fables. (4 Credits)
An introduction to the wit and wisdom, attitudes and beliefs of the Greek world through the reading of Aesop's fables in Greek with insight into the functions of oral literature. Course offered occasionally. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency.
GREK 345. Apocrypha. (4 Credits)
This course serves as an introduction to the non-canonical literature of the inter-testamental period. It explores the literary background to the Greek NT as well as the ideas, views, conditions and concerns shared by the god-fearing populace of the Greco-Roman world. Course offered occasionally. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency.
GREK 451. Greek Exegesis. (2 Credits)
Exegesis of books or selected portions of larger books of the Greek New Testament. Capability of translation is assumed because of the prerequisite. The purpose of the course is not to teach Greek grammar but to interpret the New Testament from the Greek text. Course may be repeated for different topics. Prerequisite: BITH 213 or BITH 317 or ARCH 213, and completion of GREK 201 or competency.
GREK 487. Topics in Greek Language and Literature. (2 Credits)
Varied subjects. Designated studies in specialized genres, literature, culture, comparative studies, or inter-disciplinary studies. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
GREK 489. Topics in Greek Language and Literature. (4 Credits)
Varied subjects. Designated studies in specialized genres, literature, culture, comparative studies, or inter-disciplinary studies. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
GREK 495. Independent Reading. (1 to 4 Credits)
Department approval required. Prerequisite: GREK 201 (or competency).
Hebrew Courses
HEBR 101. Elementary Hebrew I. (4 Credits)
Basic grammar, syntax, and vocabulary with readings from the Old Testament and modern Hebrew authors. Only offered in fall.
HEBR 102. Elementary Hebrew II. (4 Credits)
Basic grammar, syntax, and vocabulary with readings from the Old Testament and modern Hebrew authors. Only offered in spring. Prerequisite: HEBR 101.
HEBR 201. Intermediate Hebrew. (4 Credits)
Review of grammar and syntax with an introduction to the Masoretic text of the Old Testament, intensive reading from selected Old Testament texts and modern writers. Only offered in fall. Prerequisite: HEBR 102 (or equivalent).
General Education: COMP
HEBR 487. Topics in Hebrew Language and Literature. (2 Credits)
Varied subjects. Designated studies in specialized genres, literature, culture, comparative studies, or inter-disciplinary studies. Prerequisite: HEBR 201 or competency.
HEBR 489. Topics in Hebrew Language and Literature. (4 Credits)
Varied subjects. Designated studies in specialized genres, literature, culture, comparative studies, or inter-disciplinary studies. Prerequisite: HEBR 201 or competency.
HEBR 495. Independent Study. (1 to 4 Credits)
An independent study in Hebrew which may be either advanced grammar, reading of the literature, culture, comparative studies, or inter-disciplinary studies. Hebrew Old Testament, or an exegesis of a portion of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. Department approval required. Prerequisite: HEBR 201 or competency.
Latin Courses
LATN 101. Elementary Latin I. (4 Credits)
Introduction to syntax and vocabulary. Readings from representative ancient authors. Only offered in fall.
LATN 102. Elementary Latin II. (4 Credits)
Introduction to syntax and vocabulary. Readings from representative ancient authors. Only offered in spring. Prerequisite: LATN 101.
LATN 201. Intermediate Latin. (4 Credits)
Review of grammar. Translation of extensive selections from Vergil's Aeneid and other poets. Only offered in fall. Prerequisite: LATN 102 (or equivalent).
General Education: COMP
LATN 333. Advanced Latin Readings. (2 or 4 Credits)
In-depth readings of selections of Latin literature, focusing on the classical periods of the Roman Republic and Empire. Emphasis will be placed on universal human themes expressed in the literature that shed light on cross-cultural connections between the ancient and modern worlds. Course is offered occasionally. Prerequisite: LATN 201 or competency.
LATN 341. Ovid's Metamorphoses. (4 Credits)
Intensive readings of selections from Ovid's Metamorphoses, with particular attention to the similarities and differences between Greco-Roman myth and the Bible and to Ovid's historical and cultural context in the age of Augustus. Prerequisite: LATN 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
Tags: LE
LATN 342. Apuleius' Metamorphoses and C.S. Lewis. (4 Credits)
Intensive readings of selections from Apuleius' Metamorphoses, with particular attention to the inset narrative of "Cupid and Psyche" and Lewis' retelling of it in his novel "Till We Have Faces", along with selections from the Latin letters of C.S. Lewis. Prerequisite: LATN 201 or competency. Course is offered occasionally.
Tags: LE
LATN 343. Seneca’s Moral Letters. (4 Credits)
Readings in Seneca's Moral Letters and study of his ethical philosophy Prerequisite: LATIN 201, or competency.
Tags: PI
LATN 487. Topics in Latin Language and Literature. (2 Credits)
Varied subjects. Designated studies in specialized genres, literature, culture, comparative studies, or inter-disciplinary studies. Course is offered occasionally. Prerequisite: LATN 201 or competency.
LATN 489. Topics in Latin Language and Literature. (4 Credits)
Varied subjects. Designated studies in specialized genres, literature, culture, comparative studies, or inter-disciplinary studies. Course is offered occasionally. Prerequisite: LATN 201 or competency.
LATN 492. Independent Study in the Theory and Practice of Latin Pedagogy for Classical Schools. (4 Credits)
An independent course of study that combines observation and guest teaching in a local CCE school with the self-directed study of the history and theory of classical education. Students will develop their own materials for teaching Latin in a CCE school. Course is offered occasionally. Prerequisite: LATN 201 or competency. Instructor's permission required.
LATN 495. Independent Study. (1 to 4 Credits)
Department approval required. Prerequisite: LATN 201 or competency.