In this election cycle, there has been a resurgence of populism, a political ideology that emphasizes the needs of the general public above those of the elite, on both the right and the left. Two presidential candidates in particular, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, have embraced populism and achieved extraordinary success, astounding political observers and the establishment wings of their respective parties. While it can be tempting for non-populists to dismiss such movements as ephemeral and extremist factions that… read more about The Perils of Populism by Matthew Raskob, currently in Roman History and Latin. »
For the 12th straight year, Duke University is one of the top producers of U.S. Fulbright Scholars, with 12 students awarded the latest scholarships, the U.S. Department of State announced Monday.The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. The success of the top-producing institutions is highlighted in The Chronicle of Higher Education. "We are delighted to see Duke named as a top producer of Fulbright Scholars for the 12th year in a row, which is really a… read more about 12 Duke Graduates Named Fulbright Scholars »
Working with the Duke Collaboratory for Classics Computing, Josh Sosin, John P. Aldrup-MacDonald, Mackenzie Zalin (PhD), Matthew Farmer (Asst. Prof. Classics, U. Missouri), and members of the ’crowd,’ have finished a draft of the first complete translation of Harpocration’s Lexicon of the Ten Orators. They hope now to start in on Photius’ Lexicon, perhaps Stephanus of Byzantium’s Ethnica. [more…] read more about Team completes collaborative, open-licensed translation of ancient lexicon »
Please join us in congratulations: the Provost has accepted the recommendation that José González be promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure in our department, effective July 1, 2016. read more about Congratulations, Professor José González »
Congrats to Mack Zalin for successfully defending his dissertation yesterday on “Studies in Aetiology and Historical Methodology in Herodotus”. Well done Dr. Zalin! read more about Duke Graduate Student Mack Zalin successfully defends his dissertation »
Congratulations to Duke graduate students Melissa Huber, Courtney Monahan, David Stifler, and Robert Dudley, who have all received Summer Research Fellowships for Summer 2016! read more about Duke Graduate School Fellowship Award Winners »
The latest edition of Duke's Department of Classical Studies annual newsletter, PHEME is available now. read more about 2014-15 Annual Newsletter PHEME »
Professor Alicia Jimenez was featured in an interview on Spanish National Public Television. read more about Fieldwork at the Roman Camps at Renieblas (Soria, Spain) »
What was the lagoon’s appearance when the ancient Venetians were looking from their windows? And what plants were growing close to the Etruscan tombs? What animals could see an inhabitant of Catalhoyuk in Turkey in the Neolithic? The virtual reality allows us to see with our ancestors’ eyes, “diving” into ancient landscapes using sophisticated 3D visualizing systems such as the DiVE, Oculus Rift and zSpace. These immersive systems in fact are able to substantially increase interpretation and perception of the virtual… read more about Digital Archaeological and Historic Landscapes: Laboratory and Fieldwork (2015-2016) »
Valerie Sheares Ashby, a professor and chair of the chemistry department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), will be the next dean of Trinity College of Arts & Sciences at Duke University beginning July 1, Duke President Richard H. Brodhead and Provost Sally Kornbluth announced Thursday.Ashby will oversee the university's core academic units, which offer courses and degrees across the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. She succeeds Laurie Patton, who will be the new… read more about Valerie Ashby to Become Arts & Sciences Dean »
The nation’s oldest academic honor society inducted 166 Duke University juniors, seniors and alumni in Reynolds Theater on Thursday, May 7. The Phi Beta Kappa initiation launched the class of 2015 graduation events for family and friends. Initiates too the stage to sign their names into the Beta Chapter of North Carolina registry.Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa elects over 15,000 new members a year from 276 chapters across the United States.The Duke Chapter, Beta of North Carolina, was formed in 1920 at Trinity College. The… read more about Duke Inducts New Members into Phi Beta Kappa »
Classical Civilizations – Majors Barbara Blachut – Cum laude Amanda Rae Fetter Deborah Lynn Mayers Brittany Alexis Nanan Sonora A. Williams Erica Elizabeth Zeno Classical Languages – Majors Erin Lynn McInerney – Cum laude Classical Civilization – Minors Katelyn Taylor Alley Chelsea Marie Bright Wilson Alan Moore Fisher Lauren E Hansson – Cum laude Erin Lynn McInerney – Cum laude Kevin William Shamieh Crystal Whitney Terry Tara… read more about Congratulations Class of 2015! »
Congratulations to our latest PhD graduate, Cliff Robinson, who has recently accepted tenure-track position at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. read more about Placement Announcement »
Congratulations to Robert Dudley who has won a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Germany in 2015-16. read more about 2014-15 Awards and Honors »
Congratulations to Katie Langenfeld for winning the President's Award for Best Graduate Student Paper from the Classical Association of the Midwest and South - Southern Section. She gave "Challenging the 'Conspiracy of Silence': Historical Memory, Usurpers, and the Imperial Biographies of the Historia Augusta," in October 2014 at CAMWS-SS Meeting in Fredericksburg, VA. Great job, Katie! Below: Current Graduate student, Katie exploring the remains of the Colosseum in Rome, July… read more about 2014-15 Awards and Honors »
In 1985, a new Spanish law decreed that any historically significant land targeted for development must first be explored by an archaeologist.This meant little at the time to Alicia Jiménez, then a schoolgirl in Madrid. But it means quite a lot to her today.Jiménez, a new assistant professor of classical studies at Duke, has already carved out a niche studying archaeology in Spain, in the western edge of the Roman Empire. Though the law created new opportunities for scholars, many from North America have been slow to dig… read more about What Have the Romans Done For Us? »
From drones to ancient tombs, students in the inaugural Duke in Tuscany program have learned how to blend emerging technology with the study of ancient cultures.Besides being the first Duke program in Tuscany, the team is also the first from a university outside Italy to conduct research in Vulci, an ancient Etruscan city and archaeological site north of Rome. Previously the local government was opposed to allowing outside universities into the archaeological park, but recent political changes and newly developed… read more about Classical Studies With a Technological Edge »
National AwardsTruman ScholarsDuke University juniors Dominique Beaudry and Jamie Bergstrom are among 59 students selected as 2014 Truman Scholars.Students are selected based on their records of leadership, public service and academic achievement, and their likelihood of becoming public service leaders.Beaudry, a Benjamin N. Duke Scholar from Concord, N.C., plans to pursue dual master's degrees in public policy studies and education at Stanford University. As part… read more about Student Laurels and Honors, 2014 »
Thanks to Ben Brumfield, we may soon be Googling our way through Byzantine records and medieval manuscripts."Search engines, because of how they organize information, allow us to make serendipitous connections between information we might not otherwise make," Brumfield told a Duke audience Wednesday. "[Crowd-sourced] transcription can help people make those connections with handwritten materials."Brumfield, a software engineer based in Austin, Texas, has expedited the digital transcription of handwritten documents --… read more about Crowdsourcing Research: A Team Effort »
Hans J. Van Miegroet wants to expand on the traditional college lecture by bringing theory and practice together.He wants to expand creativity in the student experience and better provide the immersion many arts and humanities students need to grasp subject matter that is more complex, multifaceted and faster moving than ever.So Van Miegroet and Duke are turning to Media Arts + Sciences, a new program aiming to harness big, new ideas stemming from arts and humanities scholarship and marry them to the natural sciences and… read more about New Program Connects Arts with Science »
Several Duke faculty members, students and alumni will join President Richard H. Brodhead for a poetry reading to honor the late Irish poet and 1995 Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, who died in August.The reading, free and open to the public, is at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, in Goodson Chapel at the Duke Divinity School. A reception will follow. Parking is available in the Bryan Center parking garage. In addition to Brodhead, readers will include Sarah Beckwith, theater studies; Gregson Davis, classical studies; Joseph… read more about Duke to Honor Late Poet Seamus Heaney With Public Reading, Oct. 1 »
Three Duke faculty members are members of the newest class of Fellows at the National Humanities Center.They are Joshua Sosin from Classical Studies, Robert E. Mitchell from English and Sarah T. Beckwith, chair of the Theater Studies department. They join 30 other new scholars from institutions in the United States and five foreign countries who will work on projects at the center in 2012-13.Based in Research Triangle Park, the National Humanities Center is a private institute for the advanced study of the humanities. Since… read more about Three Duke Faculty Named Named Humanities Fellows »
The light bulb switches on. Something just clicks. Eureka! No matter the expression used (although the last seems to be quite fitting for a Classics major), that moment of realization, when the abstract suddenly becomes palpable and real, is a phenomenon we’ve all experienced at one time or another. Standing across from an ostrakon propped up in a shiny glass case was that moment for me: I imagined an Athenian scratching the name Themistocles on the potsherd, or a supporter of Aristides handing them out… read more about Fueled by a Curiosity to Understand the Complexity of Civilization »