The Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies (CAMS) provides the home within the University for the study of ancient civilizations that arose and flourished around the Mediterranean basin from the "cradle of civilization" in Mesopotamia (ca. 4000 BCE) to the end of Greco-Roman antiquity (ca. 600 CE). An understanding of Greece and Rome, on the one hand, and the older "near-eastern" civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Israel, on the other, is fundamental to an education in the humanities, which are concerned with the meaning and values of human life. The linguistic roots, literary traditions, and physical monuments of these ancient cultures offer vital points of reference for modern civilization. CAMS investigates the whole scope of the ancient Mediterranean world and trains students to interpret the linguistic and archaeological evidence of the greatest ancient cultures. We offer instruction in ancient languages including Sumerian, Egyptian, Hittite, Akkadian, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. We read the literatures of these civilizations in the original languages as well as in translation and illuminate the transmission of these texts from antiquity through the Middle Ages to the present. Our department also trains students in the methods of archaeology and archaeological interpretation with the goal of reconstructing the social practices and historical development of different peoples in the ancient Mediterranean. CAMS is by nature interdisciplinary, which is to say that we are concerned with the histories, religions, and philosophies of the ancient world as well as their laws, economies, arts, and architecture. CAMS majors typically participate in one of the department's international study-abroad programs. There are two programs in Athens and Rome that enable students to visit the famous sites and museums of Greco-Roman antiquity. For Egyptologists and archaeologists, there is a program of archaeological excavation in Egypt. Whether one is studying at University Park or abroad, CAMS offers the best of a traditional education in the liberal arts, ready access to a faculty of international prominence, state of the art instruction, a variety of research tools, and a foundation for many careers, whether in education, law, the media, library science, or a research-oriented field.
