The Department of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies offers courses in four ancient languages: Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. Arts students can use these courses to fulfill the language requirements to complete their degree.
Arabic
- ARBC 101 Beginning Classical and Quranic Arabic I
- ARBC 102 Beginning Classical and Quranic Arabic II
- ARBC 201 Intermediate Classical and Quranic Arabic I
- ARBC 202 Intermediate Classical and Quranic Arabic II
- ARBC 420 Supervised Study in Classical and Quranic Arabic
Greek
- GREK 101 Beginning Ancient Greek I
- GREK 102 Beginning Ancient Greek II
- GREK 201 Intermediate Ancient Greek I
- GREK 202 Intermediate Ancient Greek II
- GREK 351 Reading Ancient Greek: Prose
- GREK 352 Reading Ancient Greek: Verse
- GREK 401 Greek Prose
- GREK 402 Greek Verse
- GREK 403 Studies in Ancient Greek Prose and Verse
- GREK 501 Greek Prose
- GREK 502 Greek Verse
- GREK 503 Studies in Ancient Greek Prose and Verse
- GREK 525 Seminar in Greek Literature
- GREK 540 Seminar in Greek Palaeography
- GREK 545 Seminar in Greek Epigraphy
- GREK 550 Directed Studies
- GREK 649 Doctoral Dissertation
Hebrew
In years 1 and 2, you will gain fluency in Biblical Hebrew and in the larger world of the Hebrew Bible. During year 1, you will acquire vocabulary, develop reading facility, and become acquainted with the verbal system. Throughout the year, you will translate short excerpts from actual biblical texts, and by the end of the year, you will be able to translate portions of the Book of Ruth. In the second year, the “textbook” becomes the Hebrew Bible itself. During the year, you will read and translate texts from all genres of the Bible, including poetry, prose, legal material, prophecy, and psalms. In the process, you will improve your pronunciation of Biblical Hebrew with regard to accuracy and speed; build your vocabulary and develop a sophisticated sense of Biblical Hebrew grammar; and make use of key resources that biblical scholars employ for translation and interpretation.
- HEBR 101 Beginning Biblical Hebrew I
- HEBR 102 Beginning Biblical Hebrew II
- HEBR 201 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I
- HEBR 202 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew II
- HEBR 479 Supervised Study in Classical Hebrew
- HEBR 509 Advanced Readings in Classical Hebrew
Latin
Latin was the language of the Roman Empire, the language of the Caesars and enslaved people, of philosophers and demon hunters, and the root of modern Romance languages such as French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, and at the core of much English vocabulary.
In the UBC Latin courses, you can learn the basics, or follow a course of study that, by the third and fourth years has you reading some of the most famous and enduring ancient Roman authors, including Cicero, Caesar, Catullus, Virgil, Sulpicia, Ovid, Seneca, Tacitus, and more. From history to poetry to novels and bizarre medical texts, Latin has a little something for everyone.
Latin language instruction can be a key part of the undergraduate major in Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies. Many students also come to Latin from other departments and programs around the university. It is a great language for students who are pre-med or pre-law.
For advanced Latin learners, including those coming in with a background in Latin from high school or those who move through the Latin program quickly at UBC, there is the opportunity to take Latin courses at the graduate level.
In the first year of Latin, you can expect to learn the basics of Latin vocabulary, grammar, and syntax, read connected passages of adapted Latin, read real Latin inscriptions, mottos, and phrases, and learn a bit about Roman culture. In the second year of instruction, we delve into more complicated grammatical concepts, build on reading fluency, and start to read connected unadapted Latin texts.
In the third and fourth years of Latin instruction at UBC, you can expect to read unadapted Latin texts organized by authors or themes and delve more deeply into Roman culture, society, and history.
Dictionaries and grammars
Recordings
Texts: adapted
Texts: unadapted
Video lessons