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Student Organizations

Umanisti

Umanisti is the student organization of the Department of Classics and Humanities.

Umanisti is the Italian name taken by the medieval scholars who established the humanities as independent university disciplines. Founded in 1970 as the Classics Club, the organization changed its name in 1990 to include students of Humanities.

The purpose of Umanisti is to promote the study and appreciation of the humanistic heritage that originated in classical Greece and Rome. This was reaffirmed in Renaissance Europe and extends to all ages and civilizations that value the great achievements in history, letters, and the arts.

Umanisti holds meetings and organizes and sponsors study groups and such events as lectures, films, outings, and symposia either independently or with the Department of Classics and Humanities, Eta Sigma Phi, The Friends of Classics, or other such bodies that foster the humanities.

The motto is HVMANI NIL ALIENVM, from the Roman playwright Terence: Humani nil a me alienum puto (I consider nothing human alien to me).

Sign up for the Umanisti email list.

Dr. Danielle Bennett ([email protected]) and Dr. Andrew McClellan ([email protected]) are the faculty advisers.

Eta Sigma Phi

Eta Sigma Phi is the national undergraduate Classics honorary society founded in 1914.

Each fall qualified students of Greek and Latin are initiated into Zeta Gamma Chapter, which was chartered at SDSU in 1989.

Initiates must have at least a 3.50 GPA in second-year Greek or Latin courses, a 3.50 in courses that satisfy the Classics major or minor, and an overall 3.00.

Initiation fees are donated by The Friends of Classics.

Dr. Jennifer Starkey is Archon Basileus (Adviser), [email protected].