Francesca LaPasta '19 Wins Rome Prize Fellowship
Francesca LaPasta '19 has won the 2027 Emeline Hill Richardson/Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Rome Prize in Ancient Studies.
Although it gets its core identity (and its name) from the "great books" that it quite rightly teaches again and again, Classics survives and thrives by striving to encompass the classical Mediterranean under many aspects and methodologies, so that its faculty all represent other fields of study as well: archaeology, art, philosophy, religion, history, linguistics, comparative literature or theater.
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Classics News
Cat Lambert Awarded Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study
Cat Lambert, the Joyce A. Yelencsics Rosevear ’65 and Frederick M. Rosevear ’64 Assistant Professor of Classics, was awarded a fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in the School of Historical Studies for the spring semester of the 2026-27 academic year.
Look, up in the sky! It's two alums inspecting buildings and bridges!
Evan Kopelson ’94, an alum of Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences and Kent Diebolt ’82 are the co-founders of Vertical Access. The company inspects iconic structures using rope-access techniques.
Ancient texts offer timely lessons on speaking freely
A new book by classicist Michael Fontaine, Cornell College of Arts and Sciences, connects ancient debates on free speech to modern concerns about misinformation, dissent and open inquiry. His new translations of Plato and Lucien examine expression, tolerance and disagreement.
Military historian Barry Strauss receives U.S. Naval War College Hattendorf Prize
Barry Strauss, College of Arts & Sciences professor emeritus at Cornell University, received the 2026 Hattendorf Prize from the U.S. Naval War College for lifetime achievements in military history research and writing. The biennial award was presented Sept. 9, and Strauss delivered a lecture on sea power’s modern lessons from ancient Greece and Rome.
How to speak freely examined in eCornell event Oct. 6
Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff and classics professor Mike Fontaine will discuss free speech and leadership Oct. 6 at Cornell University. The eCornell Keynote opens the Program on Freedom and Free Societies series.
Trump's triumphal arch revives a symbol of empire rule, says Cornell expert
A classics professor in Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences says Trump’s planned triumphal arch revives imperial symbolism tied to military conquest and centralized power. The scholar argues the monument contrasts with American founders’ preference for republican ideals over Roman emperor imagery.
Einhorn Center launches new staff fellowship program and welcomes largest cohort of new engaged fellows
Cornell College of Arts and Sciences scholars are among the 42 faculty members and staff from 19 Cornell schools, colleges and units named Engaged Fellows for 2026-2027, the largest cohort since the program’s launch in 2013.
Undergraduate Program
Coursework in Classics can involve everything from learning to read ancient tragedies in their original languages (and even performing in them yourself) to studying what archaeobotanical evidence can tell us about climate change on the millennial scale.
Graduate Program
Our doctoral program fully promotes an interdisciplinary approach to the ancient world. We offer all students an opportunity to develop a comprehensive course of study within one of our five concentrations: ancient history, ancient philosophy, classical archaeology and art, classical literature and philology, and Greek and Latin languages and linguistics. We support a strong series of colloquia in which faculty, guest speakers, and graduate students are presented with current work in our field of study.
Classics Events
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Thursday 04:30 PM
Harry Caplan Travel Fellowship Info Meeting
Location: Goldwin Smith Hall, 122
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Friday 04:30 PM
Classics Speaker Series: Curtis Dozier
Location: Goldwin Smith Hall , 142