History, Classics, and Religion
Welcome to the Department of History, Classics, and Religion!
The Department of History, Classics, and Religion offers a full range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in Classics (including Classical Archaeology), Religious Studies, and History. Classics is the interdisciplinary study of the ancient cultures and civilizations of the Mediterranean world, particularly those of Greece and Rome. History is the study of change over time within and across human societies, from any period and any part of the world. Religious Studies is the critical study of religious beliefs, practices, texts, institutions, and communities. Our courses and degrees help students develop their abilities in critical analysis, creative thinking, and effective oral and written communication. Our award-winning instructors and researchers teach nearly 9000 students in about 200 classes per year – and we welcome you to join us!
Programs
Undergraduate Programs
BA in History
The BA in History will give you an understanding of our society by studying the conflicts, ideas, and relationships that shaped global societies over time. Our History professors are passionate and creative teachers, eager to help you explore and understand the past and to develop your skills as researchers, thinkers, and communicators.
BA in Ancient and Medieval Studies
This interdisciplinary program allows students to explore past societies in the pre-modern period. Take courses from Anthropology, Classics, East Asian Studies, English, History, Philosophy, Scandinavian Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies to explore the peoples, places, and cultures of the Islamic world in the Golden Age, Greco-Roman antiquity and an emerging Europe, as well as ancient and medieval Africa, India and Asia.
BA in Classics
The BA in Classics will give you a broad perspective on the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, particularly those of Greece and Rome. Read some of the most influential texts from the Greco-Roman world (in English or in the original languages), and study the material culture of ancient civilizations whose influence remains profound in the modern era. Classics courses help students develop their abilities in critical analysis, creative thinking, and effective oral and written communication.
BA in Religious Studies
The BA in Religious Studies program provides you with the skills to critically study religious beliefs, practices, texts, institutions, and communities. We ask: What is religion? How has it functioned in societies past and present? How do religious groups answer the enduring questions of human existence? An undergraduate degree in Religious Studies will prepare you to do research, think, ask questions, and communicate your ideas.
Graduate Programs
MA and PhD in History
We offer graduate studies at both the PhD and MA level (course-based or thesis-based MA programs). Our faculty supervise on fields in Canadian and global history related to their geographic or thematic areas of study. Our coursework exposes students to diverse areas of historical inquiry and emphasizes training in the theory and methods of History as a discipline, as well as writing and research skills with a wide application beyond academia.
MA and PhD Programs in Classics
We offer PhD and MA programs in both Classical Archaeology and Classical Languages, as well as an MA program in Ancient Societies and Cultures. Our faculty supervise projects on a full range of topics relating to Ancient Greece and Rome. The training our students receive ranges from learning ancient languages to participating in archaeological fieldwork and provides a thorough foundation in the discipline of Classics, along with valuable research and writing skills.
MA and PhD in Religious Studies
Our MA and PhD programs offer advanced graduate training in the interdisciplinary study of Religion from an academic, non-affiliated perspective, and are suitable for students of any or no personal faith background. Our faculty, as well as affiliated colleagues in other programs, supervise projects on a range of world religious traditions, particularly Islam and the religions of South and East Asia. Students gain experience in the diverse methodologies applied in Religious Studies, in addition to transferable writing and research skills.
Winter term 2027
TR 11 A.m.-12:20 p.m.
RELIG 205 - Introduction to Judaism
An introduction to the varied world of Judaism: its ways of life, beliefs, history and thought.
Instructor: Rachel Colwell
WINTER Term 2027
MWF 10-10:50 A.m.
HEBR 210 - Introduction to Biblical Hebrew I
This course provides a foundation in Biblical Hebrew, focusing on the grammar, vocabulary, and syntax needed to read selected passages from the Hebrew Bible in their original language. In addition to language acquisition, the course introduces key approaches to text analysis, along with the historical and cultural contexts of Biblical Hebrew.
Instructor: Lea Lavy
WINTER Term 2027
TR 11 A.m.-12:20 p.m.
HIST 300 B01 - Topics in European History; Nationalism in Central Europe
This course will offer an introductory thematic overview to the ideas and politics of nationalism in Central Europe, from the Napoleonic Wars to today. Using case studies from the lands east of France and west of Russia, lectures will focus on questions such as: What is a nation? Who is part and not part of a nation? What is nationalism's relationship to violence?
Instructor: Dominique Reill
WINTER Term 2027
TR 12:30-1:50 p.m.
CLASS 399 B01 - Topics in the Ancient World; Race, Class, and Identity in Imperial Rome
This course explores the social and cultural history of the Roman Empire in roughly the first four centuries CE, with particular attention to the construction of group identities. The course will pose questions about who "the Romans" were and how inhabitants of Rome and the provinces thought of themselves in terms of class, ethnicity, and related concepts in the context of post-conquest imperialism.
Instructor: Adam Kemezis
WINTER Term 2027
F 9-11:50 A.m.
HIST 444/633 - Topics in Transnational History; Central European Migration to Canada: Biographical Histories
This is a hands-on research seminar: students conduct original historical research and see their own work published. Working from original sources, students research and write biographical case studies of individuals who migrated from Central Europe to Canada in the 20th century, building a collective, research-based history.
Instructor: Philipp Strobl
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the WG Hardy Classics Museum
Founded in 1975, the WG Hardy Classics Museum includes artifacts from ancient Greece, Roman Europe, Egypt, Persia, and South and Central Asia. Free to visit, it has around 200 objects on display and is the only museum of its kind in the province.
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Educational Diversity
Our department is an incubator for educational diversity in Alberta. Ukrainian Studies, Islamic Studies, Chinese language and history, and the study of Canada’s First Nations and Indigenous/ settler relations in the Fur Trade era are only a few of the areas of study pioneered here.
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Distinguished Alumni
Our alumni have distinguished themselves all over the world and in many different professional spheres. They include lawyers and judges, educators, politicians, business and industry executives, public servants, and leaders in the non-profit sector.
EDI Statement
The Department of History, Classics, and Religious Studies is committed to a climate of safety and acceptance for all its members and guests. We see great strength in diversity of ability, class, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, nationality, religion, and sexual orientation, but those strengths can only be realized in the absence of structural oppressions. We are committed to revealing and dismantling these barriers.
News + Events
November 4 - Western Canadian Lecture
Join us for the Western Canadian Lecture, “We got our house built by Seneca Root”: "Métis Labour in the Settler Economy”, by Professor Cheryl Troupe.
Giving
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