A Future for Ancient History in the Undergraduate Curriculum? The Case of the University of North Carolina

"As a specific illustration of ongoing trends nationwide, this paper examines the current outlook for the ancient field within the History department at UNC, Chapel Hill: the retirement of one of its two faculty members looms, and a new undergraduate curriculum is due to be introduced from fall 2006. The case is made that heightened awareness of the department''s drift towards presentism, and pressure to counteract it, may accelerate the retiree''s replacement, thereby forestalling a period of retrenchment and uncertainty. At the same time, ancient historians ready to experiment by opening up their field to undergraduates in a more inclusive, thematic, interdisciplinary fashion—without loss of respect for traditional, core needs—can have every confidence that class enrolments will continue strong within the new curriculum. "