Four faculty in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences were recently recognized by the Arts & Sciences Council for outstanding achievements in undergraduate teaching.Each year, the Council’s Committee on Undergraduate Teaching honors outstanding faculty for their commitment to their students, for engaging them deeply in research and scholarship, for their continued development as innovative teachers and mentors, and more.Members of the council — in collaboration with the dean's office — select… read more about Four Trinity Faculty Receive 2025 Undergraduate Teaching Awards »
It was late in the evening in December and I was sitting at my desk crying. I don’t mean dainty tears, I mean ugly crying. Why? Because the ongoing impact of Covid-19 had exhausted all my mentoring tools (not to mention exhausted me!) and, as a result, I worried that I was failing mentees in crisis in my role as DGS. I simply did not know what to do, and that lack of knowing felt awful. read more about A Humanist’s Very Human Perspective on the Realities of Mentoring »
On June 5, 2025, Professor Maurizio Forte published his new book A New Etruscan Archaeology: Twenty-First Century Techniques and Methods (Oxford University Press). Abstract:“A New Etruscan Archaeology” redefines our understanding of Etruscan civilization by emphasizing the transformative impact of innovative technologies and multidisciplinary approaches. Historically overshadowed by Roman and Greek studies, Etruscan archaeology provides essential insights into the Mediterranean's cultural… read more about Professor Forte Publishes New Book! »
A Day in the Life at Pottery Wash featuring area supervisor Hannah During the Summer of 2025, I had the privilege of volunteering with the American School of Classical Studies in Athens’ excavation at the Athenian Agora. During my time as a volunteer, I gained valuable hands-on field experiences, worked closely with ceramic specialists, and made meaningful connections with fellow graduate students. Aside from these experiences in the field, I also became intimately familiar with the… read more about Theresa Cole: Athenian Agora Excavation »
Thanks to the support of the Department, between June 16 and 27 I had the opportunity to attend the two-week online Summer School Digital Tools for Humanists 2025 organized by the Laboratory for Digital Culture at the University of Pisa, Italy. The Summer School was divided into two modules: Working on History for the first week and Working with AI for the second week. It was designed as an introductory course and an intensive exploration of different tools that recent technological… read more about Beatrice Milanesi: Digital Humanities Online Summer School »
In the fall semester of 2022, I read what at the time I thought was the best academic paper on Plato ever written. “‘I Went Down to the Piraeus Yesterday’: Routes, Roads, and Plato’s Republic” (Hesperia Vol. 89 No. 4. Oct-Dec. 2020. 725-755) cracked open Plato’s Republic in a way that I had never before thought possible: asking what route Socrates and Glaucon son of Ariston (and older brother of Plato) had taken from the city to house of Cephalus in the Piraeus in the opening lines… read more about Daniel Orr: People and Places of Greek Philosophy »
Thanks to the CLST Department’s Research Travel Award, I was able to spend a significant portion of my summer in Greece, visiting sites and museums which are central to my dissertation research on migrant women in the ancient Greek world. In particular, the funding made it possible for me to travel and stay in Athens for about 6 weeks, giving me a solid homebase for my work. I was able to hold an Associate Membership at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, which gave me access to the school’s libraries and… read more about Tara Wells: Analyzing Stelae and Inscriptions in Athens and Delphi »
This summer, with the generous funding from the Classical Studies travel award, I participated in the American Academy in Rome Classical Summer School, which took place from June to July. With the support from this award, I spent over five weeks in Italy, during which I visited many different ancient sites and museums including those in Rome, the Bay of Naples, Tarquinia, and Florence. Under the direction of Dr. Evan Jewell (Rutgers University, Camden), our group explored themes of “wayfinding” in ancient cities, personal… read more about Brooke Braden: Classical Summer School at the American Academy in Rome »
Through the generous funding provided by the Classics Department, I undertook a transformative three-week journey to Greece focused on experiencing ancient Greek as a living linguistic tradition. This immersive experience fundamentally enhanced my understanding of the language's continuity from antiquity to the present day.Mount Athos: Living Ancient GreekMy journey began with four days on Mount Athos, an autonomous monastic republic where Greek serves as the lingua franca among monks from diverse international backgrounds… read more about Jason Murray Jr.: Ancient Greek Language Immersion in Greece »
Translating a spoliated inscription in a church in Mistras This summer, thanks to the generosity of the Duke Department of Classical Studies’ Research Travel Award, I was able to attend the Gennadius Library Medieval Greek Language Summer School, held between July 1 and 28. This intensive program was not only an excellent introduction to medieval Greek in its many forms between the fourth and fourteenth centuries CE, but was also an outstanding overview of medieval Greek literature and… read more about Mina Moon-Black: Gennadius Library Medieval Greek Language Summer School »
I am grateful for the department’s travel funding, which enabled me to conduct dissertation research in Andalucía and to use specialist libraries in Madrid as I write my dissertation on peasant labor and the olive oil industry in Roman Iberia. In the first phase of my summer research, I joined a team from the University of Sevilla in excavating the site of Cerro Macareno, a few miles north of Sevilla. This site is the type site for Pellicer B–C and Pellicer D amphorae, which were used to… read more about Andrew Welser: Archaeological Fieldwork in Spain »
Although unfazed by the term “dead languages,” Josh Sosin is quick to champion the lasting values that come with studying Latin and Ancient Greek at Duke. The associate professor with the Department of Classical Studies shares that when we confront a language that’s so remote from our own, it forces us to reflect, to linger and to read in a way we rarely make time for. “That’s not a skill we learn and move on from — it’s a fungible habit,” he explains.Engaging with the original texts offers an immersive and intimate… read more about Speaking the Past Forward »
Professor Lauren Ginsberg participated in the 2023 NEH Institute for Higher Education Faculty where participants explored scholarship in Roman comedy, including filming and staging scenes from various examples of work. The 2023 Institute brought together 30 faculty and grad-student participants from numerous disciplines and fields to study ancient Roman comedy on the stage. Over the course of four weeks, and under the instruction of visiting experts representing three generations of scholarly excellence and a wide… read more about Professor Ginsberg helps bring Roman comedy to life »
The following is a partial list of national, university, school and departmental awards presented to the members of the Class of 2025. In some awards where there are multiple winners, only members of the Class of 2025 are included. read more about Department Honors and Laurels for the Class of 2025 »
Benjamin Peng is a Trinity senior graduating in 2025 with a double major in Classical Studies and Computer Science. We asked him to tell us a little bit about his experience, and about the unexpected benefits of graduating with these two very different majors.Were you always interested in Classical Studies?I came into Duke with no experience with Latin and no experience with the classics more broadly, but I've come to really appreciate the four years I've spent studying Latin, and I can honestly… read more about Introducing Trinity’s Class of 2025: Benjamin Peng »
North Carolina native Sidney Jordan has known about Duke for most of her life.“I started coming here for soccer camps when I was six or seven years old and remember thinking the campus was such an amazing place that I just wanted to be here. But at that age, how much does a kid really understand about college?”Years later, while tagging along on her older sister’s campus tour, Jordan’s perspective deepened. "Everything I saw, I liked. The academics are obviously challenging, and I wanted that, but I also loved the… read more about From Soccer Camp to the Hippocratic Oath »
Undergraduate Classical Studies students, Deven Gupta and Paul Rosu, have been named 2025 Barry M. Goldwater Scholars, receiving up to $7,500 annually toward the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Goldwater Scholars are students who already have an exceptional research record and are pursuing careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.Read the Duke Today article HERE. Deven Gupta Paul Rosu Gupta is a… read more about Two CLST students named 2025 Goldwater Scholars! »
Two Duke University undergraduates have been honored as Barry M. Goldwater Scholars, which supports students who already have an exceptional research record and are pursuing careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Each Goldwater Scholar receives up to $7,500 annually toward the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board.Deven Gupta and Paul Rosu are among the 441 students awarded Goldwater Scholarships this year. Goldwater Scholars are nominated by their respective universities and… read more about Two Undergraduate Scientists Named 2025 Goldwater Scholars »
Message from the Chair:Dear Friends,I am very sad to report that our beloved emeritus colleague, Professor Francis Newton, passed away Friday, February 14. As many of you know, Francis joined the department in 1967. He taught for us for over thirty years and chaired the department three times. A classicist with a research focus in western manuscripts, Francis went on to become one of the world’s leading experts in Beneventan (Central and Southern Italian) script and book culture. He retired in 1998 but continued to research… read more about Professor Emeritus Francis Newton Passes »
Associate Professor of Classical Studies Lauren Ginsberg talks to the Graduate School about the importance of mentorships at Duke. She is the School's first Graduate Faculty Fellow, assisting School leadership on processes and decision-making. In the article, Professor Ginsberg notes now mentorship is different within the humanities from STEM. Read the article HERE. read more about A Mentor's Many Hats »
The department would like to take the time to thank everyone for coming to honor Tolly Boatwright with talks by her former students and colleagues on Friday, November 1 and for returning on Saturday, November 2, to hear more about the history of classical study at Duke, watching graduate students perform The Persians, and to hear stories and anecdotes from several emeriti and Tolly.On Friday, there were two sessions with three paper presentations each: Eric Adler, Department of Classics,… read more about Thank you for coming to Tollyfest and the Department Centennial! »
My name is Olivia, and I spent the summer of 2024 in Jackson, Mississippi completing an archeological field school. Asylum Hill is thought to be the largest bioarchaeological site in the United States, with over 6,000 graves lost to time on the grounds of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. These are the bodies of individuals who died at the Mississippi Lunatic Asylum between 1855-1935. Although the graves were once marked with wooden signs, those markers have rotted away, leaving stretches of unbroken, unassuming… read more about Olivia Ares: Archaeological Field School, Jackson, Mississippi »
Thanks to the Classical Studies department’s Research Travel Award, I was able to complete the 2024 Postgraduate Epigraphy Course at the British School at Athens (BSA) in Greece. Dr. Peter Liddel and Dr. Polly Low taught the class, covering all of the need-to-know topics for understanding epigraphy and incorporating it into research, and all over a period of just 10 days. One portion of the program focused on lecture-style sessions for learning about the history of epigraphy, how to work on it, and why it’s important to do… read more about Tara Wells: Postgraduate Epigraphy Course at the British School at Athens »
This summer, I was fortunate enough to participate in the Summer Session at the American School for Classical Studies in Athens with the help of travel funding from Duke’s Department of Classical Studies. The ASCSA Summer Session is a six-week program in which students travel throughout Greece visiting archaeological sites, monuments, and museums from Crete up to Thessaloniki. My nineteen peers and I, under the leadership of Professors Amy C. Smith (University of Reading) and Amelia Brown (University of Queensland), were… read more about Emma Glen: American School for Classical Studies Summer Session »