Classical languages and literatures and ancient history
Class: LM-15 - Ancient philology, literature and history
Next Calls for applications (international students) - A.Y. 2024/25:
- 1st Call: 2 November 2023 - 2 February 2024
- 2nd Call: 2 March - 2 May 2024
- 3rd Call (ONLY EU and equated students): 2 June - 2 August 2024
A course that focuses on the study of ancient worlds, in particular the Greek-Latin culture recognized as a model for Western Civilization by studying not only its historical and literary heritage, but also its reception into the medieval, modern, and contemporary age. Students with deepening their understanding of literary texts as it related to their creation and use as well as its diffusion into the learning methods of historiographic, literary, documentary, epigraphic, and juridical sources. From an interdisciplinary perspective, the course does not delve into areas such as archeology, philosophy, or oriental studies. Students will be able to work as schoolteachers, or to devote themselves to research or into professions of writing for such as publishing, journalism, creative writing, translating, text, and cultural information.
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Characteristics and objectives
The Master's Degree Programme in Classical Philology and Ancient History is devoted to an in-depth study of the ancient world, with particular emphasis on Graeco-Roman culture, whose foundational role in Western civilization remains of extraordinary relevance today. The curriculum enables students to acquire a solid and comprehensive understanding of classical civilization, with a particular focus on its literary and historical heritage in the broadest sense, as well as on its reception (Nachleben) throughout the medieval, modern, and contemporary periods.
The critical analysis of Greek and Latin literary texts is complemented by the study of their historical and cultural contexts of production and reception, as well as by a focus on the mechanisms of textual transmission. Equally central is the acquisition of research methodologies pertaining to historiographical, literary, documentary, epigraphic, and legal sources. Linguistic, philological, literary, and historical disciplines are addressed not only in their content but also in their theoretical and technical dimensions, with the aim of providing students with the scholarly tools required for an autonomous and in-depth exploration of all aspects of the ancient world.
The programme fosters a fundamentally interdisciplinary approach, consistently anchored in the historical and cultural context, and integrates related fields of study such as archaeology, ancient philosophy, Roman law, the history of religions, and Oriental studies into a coherent and comprehensive framework.
Occupational opportunities
The programme trains specialists in the linguistic, philological, literary, and documentary disciplines of the ancient world, whose competencies are applicable across a range of professional sectors. Graduates may pursue careers as linguists, philologists, archivists, editors, and experts in the classical, philological-literary, and historical sciences. The rigorous training in philology and ancient historiography, combined with advanced critical and methodological skills, also enables graduates to work in fields such as publishing, cultural journalism, academic and scientific dissemination, translation, writing and editing, and cultural communication.
The Master's Degree also provides access to teaching positions in secondary education, subject to the completion of the required teaching qualification process in accordance with current regulations. Furthermore, it qualifies graduates to apply for doctoral programmes in the fields of classical and ancient studies. The degree thus offers a solid foundation both for entry into the professional world and for the continuation of an academic career.
