About
Housed within GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (CNELC) Department offers undergraduate courses in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, Uyghur, and Persian, as well as ancient and modern Middle East. Chronologically, course material spans from 4,000 BCE to the present. Students can also take advantage of a number of resources, internship opportunities and career options that are available in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and beyond.
CNELC prides itself on a unique blend of professors focused on both research and teaching. We are the only department in the United States that is home to two professors who have won the national Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award from the Archaeological Institute of America. Members of our faculty have also received the ASOR Nancy Lapp Popular Book Award, the National Geographic Society/CRE Grant for Tel Kabri and the Latin Ovatio (or Speech of Commendation) from the Classical Association of the Atlantic States.
"I am a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where I examine modern Hebrew, Biblical grammar and liturgy daily. I remain grateful for the opportunities at GW that prepared me for further learning and this sacred calling."
Adam Graubart, BA '19
Judaic and Hebrew Studies Minor
Research in Action: Unearthing Ancient Pottery Fragment
Chris Rollston, Professor of Biblical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, is using GW imaging equipment to examine ancient pottery fragments discovered in Jordan. Rollston calls these fragments “the post-it notes of antiquity” and says they can reveal glimpses of Jewish life from 2,000 years ago.