At the end of each school year, our faculty and graduate students look back to reflect on highlights — professional and personal — that occurred. We also invite our alumni to share with us and their classmates any news happening in their lives and careers. We compile this information in the following e-newsletter and associated web pages. If you would like to be on our email distribution list, please contact Nicole Coscolluela.
2023-2024
Message from Chair J. Clare Woods
The department experienced some big changes over the last academic year. Our colleague, Jed Atkins, who started the year as Chair of Classical Studies left us in April to take up the position of Dean and Director of UNC's new School of Civic Life and Leadership. Even though he has deserted us for our rivals down the road, we wish Jed all the very best in this exciting move. I know I am thankful for his calm, thoughtful, and compassionate leadership during the Covid years. I took over as Chair on April 1 (auspicious date!), and have spent the last few months settling into my new role. The transition was relatively smooth, in large part thanks to the support of Sondra, our Business Manager, and the patience of my colleagues. We also saw another big change in our Program Coordinator position. Matthew Meyer, who was an invaluable part of our team for nine years, took up a position as DGSA in the History Department. We are grateful to Matthew for all his work for us over the years. In May, we welcomed our new Program Coordinator, Nicole Coscolluela. Nicole, who has a background in Classics, Archaeology, and Digital Humanities, is already proving to be an indispensable member of our team.
Our other news looks forward as well as back. As most of you are no doubt aware, 2024 is Duke's Centennial year. We will be celebrating 100 years of Classical Studies at Duke with stories from the past ten decades. These will go live on our website in November. We are also planning a departmental celebration on November 2. Watch this space for more information and plan to attend a lunch-time party on November 2, if you are in and around Durham on that day.
I am also delighted to announce that later this Fall we will be celebrating the retirement of our beloved colleague, Tolly Boatwright. Tolly retired in 2020, but Covid prevented us from hosting an event for her that year. Mark your calendars, then, for TollyFest on November 1. Our celebration of Tolly will take the form of a symposium of papers offered by Tolly's former colleagues and graduate students.
You can find further information on this flyer:
Please do share widely and plan to attend, if you can.
Check out the links below for updates and highlights from our faculty and students.
Graduate Student Highlights Faculty Highlights
Undergraduate Activities and Recognition
Two of the department's graduating seniors received rather distinguished awards: Jacob Alexander Rosenzweig and Stephanie Allison Morgan. Both graduated with highest distinction. Both also were awarded the David Taggart Clark Prize in Classical Studies, and won the CAMWS (Classical Association for the Middle West and South) Award for Outstanding Accomplishment in Classical Studies. Additionally, Stephanie was awarded the Anthony Fauci Award in STEM and Classics from CAMWS.
The David Taggart Clark Prize is awarded to the senior major in classical civilization or classical languages who is judged to have written the best honors thesis of the year. Rosenzweig's thesis, directed by Jed Atkins, examined the contributions of Greco-Roman philosophy and political thought to the development of natural rights theories in Medieval Europe. Morgan's thesis, directed by Clare Woods, was called "Culture Isn't Set In Stone: Critical Analysis of Ancient and Modern Depictions of Medusa."
Jacob was selected for a Barry Scholarship at Oxford University. The John & Daria Barry Scholarship is awarded to students in any field of study at the University of Oxford in recognition of their dedication to the academic vocation and the pursuit of truth. At Duke, Jacob majored in Classical Studies and Political Science. At Oxford, he will continue his studies in the Classics while reading for an MPhil in Greek and Latin Languages and Literature at Merton College. Jacob's academic interests lie in ancient conceptions of nature, justice, and citizenship. He plans to attend Harvard Law School after he completes his studies at Oxford.
Stephanie will begin a PhD program in Integrated Biomedical Sciences (IBMS) at Notre Dame. She will be specializing in immunology and infectious diseases, with a long term goal of working to identify disease mechanisms and treatments for neglected, tropical diseases (e.g. malaria, trypanosomiasis, etc). Stephanie also plans on continuing to work on Classics, taking classes in the Classics department at Notre Dame and working towards publishing a revised version of her senior thesis.
Commencement 2024
On May 10, 2024 the department celebrated the accomplishments of its graduating students, both PhDs and undergraduates. Stephanie Morgan and Jacob Rosenzweig (Classical Languages Majors) graduated with highest distinction, the David Taggart Clark Prize (see above), and the CAMWS Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Classical Studies. Joining them were Robert Thomas Gress, who graduated with a Classical Civilization major and Latin minor.
We also celebrated a great group of minors:
Classical Civilization Minors: Dagny Laine Edison, Andrew Athanasios Fostiropoulos, Jason Guojun Liang-Lin, Taylor Corbin Parker, Esha Vishnu Patel, Mariami Shanshashvili, Angelica Estrella Villalba, Jeremiah Arik Yarden
Greek Minor: Skijler John Hutson
Latin Minors: Isabella Liu, Alexander Mason, Matthew Jacob Peljovich
Lastly, the department sent off into the world three newly-minted PhDs, with one more finishing his dissertation over the Summer (Leo Trotz-Liboff):
Melissa Baroff - Rereading Octavia and Poppaea: Unraveling the Literary Afterlives of Nero’s Wives
Mason Barto - Negotiating Subjectivity: Gender, Communication, and Narrative telos in the Odyssey
Antonio LoPiano - Inventing Public and Private: The Development of Spatial Dynamics and State Organization within Archaic Central Italic Cities
Leo Trotz-Liboff - Esoteric Philosophy in Rome
Gratias Agimus
We are immensely grateful to friends and supporters who designate their Duke gifts to help the Department. Even as they help us accomplish our goals of furthering the love and understanding of Classical Studies, they remind us that our department continues to have an impact on those we have taught and met. We use these individual gifts primarily to support student research and course enhancement.
We also want to recognize the several endowments that are vital to the health of the department. Some were set up long ago, while others are fresh contributions, but all are vital to our mission:
- The Warren Gates Endowment
- The Anita Dresser Jurgens Endowment
- The Francis Lanneau Newton Endowment
- The Leonard and Lynn Quigley Fund
- The Teasley Family Classical Antiquities Endowment
- The Teasley-Carroll-Trope Family Faculty Support Endowment
- The Diann Miller Nickelsburg Fund
If you are interested in learning more about how you can support the department, please contact Joanna Murdoch at joanna.murdoch@duke.edu or 919-684-2123.
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