A cluster of new classics professors are expanding our view of the past. When the 2020–2021 academic year began, Duke’s Department of Classical Studies looked a lot different than it had when the previous year ended. Over the summer, the department welcomed four new professors—a cluster of hires that accounts for nearly 50 percent of the department’s faculty. Their presence alone is a significant addition to Duke’s classics expertise and teaching, but equally as important is who was hired. The four new professors cover the… read more about The Complicated Classical World »
On Thursday, September 3, Prof. Ceaser spoke to Prof. Atkins' "Democracy: Ancient and Modern" class, placing James Madison's view of founding within the context of other historical ideas of founding from Plutarch to Edmund Burke. read more about Professor James W. Ceaser, (UVA) "James Madison: The Founder of Modern Founding" »
The David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library has announced that Gretchen Wright is one of this year’s winners of the Chester P. Middlesworth Award. The Middlesworth committee was deeply impressed with her Senior Honors Thesis, “In the Spirit of Suetonius: A Closer Look at Argus Books’ 1930 The Lives of the Twelve Caesars.” The award, which comes with a cash prize, recognizes the insight and verve of her investigation of an intriguing translation of Suetonius now held in the Rubenstein. read more about Gretchen Wright, BA 2020, wins Middlesworth Award »
Congratulations to Courtney Michelle Monahan who has just successfully defended her dissertation, "Matrona Visa: Women's Public Visibility and Civic Identity in Hispania Tarraconensis.” This is an enormous achievement, not least in the current circumstances. Brava! Please join us in congratulating Dr. Monahan. read more about Courtney Monahan successfully defends her dissertation »
Classical Studies wishes to draw everyone’s attention to a special online event just announced by President Price, Living While Black, that will bring together a distinguished group of speakers from our Black community at Duke: students, staff and faculty. The event will amplify the lived experiences of the Black members of our community through presentations by our Black faculty scholars on the background, dimensions, and impact of racism and racist policies and structures. We will also hear personal perspectives and… read more about Living While Black - Perspectives from Duke »
For any students interested in Summer Session 2 courses, please consider the following: Classical Sculpture [CLST346S/ARTHIST340S] Tues, Thurs. 11:45-1:00 PM (we will not hold synchronous meetings during all scheduled sessions) Instructor: Kyle Jazwa This seminar will examine the history and diversity of sculpture during Greece’s Classical period. It will not be limited to freestanding sculpture; we will also explore the rich tradition of architectural sculpture, funerary sculpture, portrait sculpture… read more about Summer 2020 Archaeology Courses Available »
Visit our 2020 Marking the Moment web site by which we celebrate (virtually) our 2 PhDs, 10 Majors, and 7 Minors: https://sites.duke.edu/classicalstudies2020/ read more about Celebrating our 2020 Classical Studies Graduates »
Congratulations to the following student award winners from Duke University units in 2020. African & African American Studies John Hope Franklin Award for Academic Excellence: Elizabeth DuBard GrantlandKarla FC Holloway Award for University Service: Beza GebremariamMary McLeod Bethune Writing Award: Jenna ClaybornWalter C. Burford Award for Community Service: Kayla Lynn Corredera-Wells Art, Art History & Visual Studies … read more about Student Honors and Laurels for 2020 »
Laura Winters successfully defended her dissertation on Thursday (3/26/2020) on “Schools of Greek Mathematical Practice”. Congrats Dr. Winters! read more about Laura Winters defends her dissertation! »
As a first-generation graduate student, Natalie Gasparowicz felt that she didn’t understand the norms of graduate school as well as the other students. She was uncomfortable asking professors for help and constantly felt the need to apologize. It took a professor pointing out to her that helping graduate students was their job before she realized how helpful professors could be. Gasparowicz, a Ph.D. student in history, saw that she was not alone when she connected with other first-generation graduate students through the… read more about Duke F1RSTS Builds A Community for First-Gen Graduate Students »
Last week, Dr. Kyle Jazwa participated in the European Islands conference at the University of Tuebingen in Germany. He presented preliminary results from his 2018 architectural documentation project at Maa-Palaeokastro, Cyprus. read more about Dr. Kyle Jazwa presents his research on Maa-Palaeokastro at the European Islands conference in Tubingen, Germany »
Duke Professor Rex Crews featured in Wall Street Journal article. Read full article read more about Two of the Same Ultra-Rare Cars in the Same Town? Almost Impossible! Featuring Duke Professor Rex Crews »
On October 28, Duke hosted a workshop, followed by a conference, with scholars from Classical Studies, New Testament Studies, and Jewish Studies on the topic of Cultures of Reading in the ancient Mediterranean, the first of a pair of such events (the second will be at St Mary's in London). This international, interdisciplinary research program is an exploration of ancient "reading cultures" or "reading communities" that seeks to extend the work in William Johnson's Readers and Reading Cultures in the High Empire: A Study of… read more about Cultures of Reading in the ancient Mediterranean: Jews, Christians, Greeks, Romans »
Research Travel Award Winner (Undergraduate): Summer 2019 For a month over the summer following the first year at Duke I was given the incredible opportunity to travel to the Vulci, an Archaeological Park located about an hour and a half north of Rome, Italy. There I worked with Dr. Maurizio Forte and his team as they excavated an ancient Etruscan and Roman urban city center. The project, Vulci 3000 focuses on combining methods of traditional archaeology with innovative technology like Photogrammetry, GIS and remote… read more about Anna Gotskind: Documentarian and Writer for Vulci 3000 Archaeological Excavations, Vulci, Italy »
Research Travel Award Winner (Graduate): Summer 2019 This July, I attended the Conventiculum Dickinsoniense, a yearly meeting for Latin enthusiasts eager to enhance their spoken Latin abilities. Together with several dozen other participants, including fellow graduate student Tori Lee, I spent a week playing games, attending seminars, creating dialogues, and watching plays all in Latin. On the first day of the Conventiculum everyone signs an oath agreeing that they will speak entirely and only in Latin with fellow… read more about Clinton Kinkade: Spoken Latin, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA »
Dr. Kyle Jazwa and Michael Freeman's "Ancient Science and Technology" course was recently awarded a David L Paletz Innovative Course Enhancement Grant for this year's Ancient Science Fair. Students will reconstruct ancient technologies and technological processes, including ancient alchemy, aqueducts, Mayan chocolate, Greek slings, and much more! read more about Ancient Science and Technology course is awarded a David L Paletz Innovative Course Enhancement Grant »
Tom Cole successfully defended his dissertation this past Friday on “Beyond Republicanism: Political Thought in Tacitus’ Minor Works”. Congrats Dr. Cole! read more about Tom Cole defends his dissertation! »
Research Travel Award Winner (Undergraduate): Summer 2019 Thanks to the Duke Classics Department, this summer I was able to complete some research necessary for my senior honors thesis at the Vatican Film Library at Saint Louis University. My senior honors thesis is centered on a copy of an English translation of Suetonius’ De vita caesarum in the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library here at Duke. This translation is a limited edition (only 300 copies printed) from 1930 and features a dozen… read more about Gretchen Wright: Suetonius’ De vita caesarum at the Vatican Film Library, St. Louis University »
Research Travel Award Winner (Graduate): Summer 2019 This July, I spent a week at the Conventiculum Dickinsoniense in Carlisle, PA learning to speak Latin. Fellow graduate student Clinton Kinkade and I stayed with the rest of the participants at Dickinson College, where we attended seminars, played games, and had conversations—all in Latin. On the morning of the first day, all the participants took a pledge to speak only in Latin with one another throughout the duration of the program, even at meals and after hours. Though… read more about Tori Lee: Conventiculum Dickinsoniense learning to speak Latin, Carlisle, PA »
Research Travel Award Winners (Undergraduate): Summer 2019 For two weeks in August Katherine and Cordelia attended the Paideia Institute's Living Greek in Greece Program in Selianitika, Greece. The Paideia Institute invites students during this program to study classical languages through speaking, as though they were modern languages. Twice a day we met with our class, guided by a resident Paideia instructor, and we talked in Ancient Greek about the text we were reading, about life in Greece, and about our everyday lives… read more about Katherine Owensby & Cordelia Hogan: Paideia Institute's Living Greek in Greece Program, Selianitika Greece »
Research Travel Award Winner (Graduate): Summer 2019 The department’s generous research funding this summer allowed me to continue to participate in the Vulci 3000 Archaeological Project as a Trench Supervisor, under the supervision of Prof. Maurizio Forte. Every season the excavation uncovers important and tantalizing new details about the urban center of this Etruscan and Roman city. While the tombs around Vulci are famous for their rich and evocative grave assemblages of ceramics, jewelry, and artwork, the urban fabric… read more about Antonio LoPiano: Vulci 3000 Archaeological Project, Vulci Italy »
On Sept. 16, 2019 Prof Boatwright spoke at Elon University on the Jewish Revolts against Rome. read more about Boatwright speaks at Elon »
Dr. Kyle Jazwa recently returned from Greece where he studied unpublished clay architectural fragments from several sites, including Rouf (Attica), the Athenian Agora, and Dimini. He also visited the Netherlands where he continued his experimental archaeology collaboration with Dr. Caroline Jeffra ("Tracing the Potter's Wheel," at the University of Amsterdam). They made several more Early Bronze Age roofing tiles and performed numerous tests to determine the effects of straw temper on the "wet strength" of clay pastes. read more about Kyle Jazwa Spent the Summer Studying (and Making!) Ancient Greek Architecture »
A team from three Universities (Duke, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and Universidad de Castilla La Mancha) led by Prof. Jiménez completed in August an intensive field survey of the Roman camps near Numantia (Renieblas, Spain, 2nd-1st c. BCE), with the generous support of the Gerda Henkel Foundation (https://www.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/en/). The project combined traditional archaeological methodologies, such as the analysis of historic maps and photographs, with the use of Geographic Information… read more about Prof. Jiménez obtains new data in the field to create a digital plan of the Roman camps near Numantia (Renieblas, Spain) »
Prof. Tolly Boatwright will present an illustrated talk, "Imperial Women of Rome," in Stonington, CT, Sept. 8, 2019. read more about Upcoming talk by Duke professor, in CT »
In what has started to become a semester-opening tradition, a bunch of classics graduate students spent a relaxing evening together at the ballpark watching the Durham Bulls. Grads enjoying a game at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. read more about Grad Student Outing to the Ballpark »
Research Travel Award Winner (Undergraduate): Summer 2019 For ten days this summer I was in Athens with Professor Sheila Dillon and her research team in the Athenian Agora. Professor Dillon’s research focuses on portrait statuary in the Agora, and she also leads the Digital Athens project in the Wired! Lab. I was a member of this project during my last two years at Duke, working with a GIS (geographic information system) software product, ArcGIS, to visualize the changes in Ancient Athens by digitizing and georeferencing… read more about Evangeline Marecki: Digital Athens, Athens Greece »
Gretchen Elise Wright is an English and Classical Civilizations double major with a Latin minor. She studied abroad for a semester at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome (ICCS) program administered by Duke. She graduates in May 2020. Read full article read more about Student Stories, Gretchen Wright on ICCS Rome: New Friends and New Experiences »
Curtis Lee is majoring in History with minors in Political Science and in Classical Civilization. He spent one summer abroad with Duke in Greece. Curtis graduates in May 2021. Read full article read more about Student Stories, Curtis Lee: On the Move in Greece »
For Maurizio Forte, professor in Duke’s Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies, there is plenty to teach his students in the classroom. But some lessons are best taught in the windblown countryside of central Italy. For the past six summers, Forte has brought Duke students to the Vulci archeological excavation site to use traditional techniques and cutting-edge technology to examine what was once an Etruscan and Roman city. “It’s great to bring students to the excavation where we can teach something you can’t… read more about Where the Scholarly Work Takes Them »