Records of the Department of Classics

The Records of the Classics Department at Northwestern University fill three boxes and span the years 1964-1992. They have been arranged chronologically by date in each folder, and the folders are arranged alphabetically by folder title. The records fall into four categories - administrative, faculty files, teaching files, and teaching assistant files, of which the teaching files comprise the largest part.

The administrative files document the functioning of the Classics Department. They document the efforts of Classics faculty to institute new courses or change existing ones; the distribution of grants and scholarships; the management of teaching assistants; and attempts to establish joint programs with other departments in the University. Three files in particular are noteworthy. The first contains a list of responses that former classics students gave to a survey conducted by the department to determine how studying classics had helped them in the “real world” (Box 1, Folder 1). Most respondents said that, despite comments like “why the ____ did you study that?,” their concentration in classics helped them develop a better understanding of the English language and of modern civilizations, and gave them a solid background for law school. On a personal level, they felt that studying classics gave them motivation to read and learn. The second file of interest covers the department's plan for developing a Modern Greek Studies program. The effort to create this new program was begun, in large part, by Charles Moskos of the Sociology Department who, together with John Wright, began seeking funds from former alumni. The records include receipts for donations and correspondence for and against the program, including a letter from the Greek Consulate General, who requested more information on Greek students on campus. Another file contains correspondence with the Philosophy Department in an attempt to create joint program in Ancient Philosophy.

The files on the Classics Department faculty contain general correspondence about publications, reviews and comments on their texts, student recommendations, and letters sent to friends and other classics professors.

The teaching files contain class lists and schedules; student grades; copies of exams, lectures, and handouts; and flyers for symposia and lectures sponsored by the department. These flyers are especially interesting, showing that the faculty lectured on a wide variety of topics including ancient architecture, “The Heinrich-Schliemann Controversy,” and “The Anti-Semitism of the Apostle Paul”. The class lists, schedules, and grades have been arranged chronologically by date within each folder. Those records pertaining to specific courses are arranged alphabetically by course number and chronologically by date within the folders.

The teaching assistant files contain grades, correspondence, exams, and student evaluations of the various graduate students within the department who served as teaching assistants. These records are arranged alphabetically by surname and chronologically by date within the folders.