2021

McClanahan Lecture: Death and Transfiguration

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

McClanahan Lecture: Death and Transfiguration Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/25/2021 - 00:00

McClanahan Lecture Series

Death and Transfiguration:
The Tomb of Bibulus and the Remaking of Rome
Dr. Tyler Lansford, ��«��Ƶ

Monday, October 25th, 2021 | 7:00 p.m. | Virtual Webinar

Towards the end of the Roman Republic, a minor magistrate called Gaius Publicius Bibulus was accorded the honor of public burial at the southern end of the Campus Martius. Despite the small size and relative fragility of his tomb, its inscribed facade has remained in situ and visible for more than two millennia – a persistent if unlikely witness to the tremendous cycles of collapse and recovery, death and renewal that have transformed central Rome beyond recognition down the centuries.

This lecture is free and will be hosted on Zoom.
This lecture is sponsored by Mary E.V. McClanahan. CU Classics is grateful for her generous support.

View the PDF poster here

Dr. Lansford shares about an unlikely witness to the tremendous cycles of collapse and recovery, death and renewal that have transformed central Rome beyond recognition down the centuries.

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Colorado Classics Day 2021

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Colorado Classics Day 2021 Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 09/25/2021 - 00:00

On September 25, 2021, the CU ��«��Ƶ Department of Classics is excited to host Colorado Classics Day! Every year, we welcome high-school and middle-school students from across the state of Colorado to see ��«��Ƶ's campus, and to participate in workshops about the ancient world led by our faculty and graduate students. This year we will be hosting the event virtually, and we're excited to see you there! See the schedule of the day below. Please contact Zach Herz zachary.herz@colorado.edu for information on attending or if you have any questions.

September 25, 2021
Virtual (via Zoom)

Welcome Address

10 A.M.

Session 1

10:15 - 11:00 A.M.

Class A: Latin Strength Training for the Life Sciences (Why It's No Joke That the Humerus Is Latin)
Pierre Habel, Colorado Classics Association

Calling all future MDs, Physician Assistants, RNs, DVMs, dentists, and biologists! We often hear that students of Latin enjoy advantages when they pursue degrees and careers in biology and the life sciences. Why? Because Latin is built into the technical terms of these disciplines. You’ll learn the truth of it as we examine and learn how the systems of Latin vocabulary and grammar shape the nomenclature of the human skeletal and muscular systems. You’ll acquire eight tools from Latin, and with them you’ll have a tremendously easier time mastering the nearly 800 bones and muscles of the human body!

Class B: A Pixar Odyssey?
Jacob Horton, CU ��«��Ƶ

The Odyssey is a riveting tale of a man forced to face dangerous monsters and vengeful gods in his quest to return home to his family. One of the most famous stories from the Ancient Greek world, Odysseus’ adventures, whether it be facing off against the hungry cyclops or dealing with the Sirens, were the stuff of legend for those living in the ancient world. However, the structure and themes of The Odyssey are as much alive now as they were back then. In this workshop I will not only provide a brief introduction to The Odyssey, but also dive into how the story has inspired numerous modern movies.

Class C: Archaeology to the Rescue!
Stephanie Kimmey, Colorado College

You might know that archaeologists dig in the dirt looking for things from past civilizations. But did you know that they also spend time trying to put together puzzles with missing pieces? Or that they have to dig overnight to protect sites from robbers? The past few years I’ve been excavating Bronze Age tombs that have attracted robbers who only go looking for valuable items or treasures. In this session, you will get a look at what archaeology in Greece really looks like. I’ll show you a little of what we’ve found, but also talk about why we aren’t treasure hunters (even if that’s what it looks like in the movies) and why it is important to keep excavating and studying ancient materials. Because, yes, there is still so much more to find!

(Please note, this presentation will display images of human remains.)

Class D: Egyptian Stories: The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor
Kate Newell, CU ��«��Ƶ

What did the ancient Egyptians like to read? In this presentation, you will learn about Middle Kingdom Egypt (2030 ~1650 B.C.E.), the golden age of Egyptian literature! We first introduce the Middle Egyptian language and give you the chance to determine your own pharaonic name! After discussing how scribes came to write folk stories and religious texts, we will puzzle through the hieroglyphs and read a portion of The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor. Preserved on only one papyrus, this is a story within a story, featuring a seafaring expedition that goes awry and maroons the only survivor on the Island of Ka with an unexpected friend!

Session 2

11:15 A.M.- 12:00 P.M.

Class E: Women in Latin Literature
Reina Callier, CU ��«��Ƶ

From the legends of early Rome to the journey of Perpetua, this workshop will present a quick survey of some lesser-known Roman women who appear in - and write! - Latin literature, including Hersilia, Cloelia, Claudia Quinta, Terentia, Tullia, Sulpicia, Perpetua, and others. We'll use histories, poetry, and letters in our investigation, as well as some Roman inscriptions if we have time!

Class F: Decipher a Roman Gravestone
Peter Hunt, CU ��«��Ƶ

Ancient epitaphs open a window on classical Roman society that is especially valuable when it comes to slaves and ex-slaves, for whom our other evidence is limited. In this session, you’ll learn how to read some simple epitaphs (no prior Latin required) and we’ll explore the stories they tell—including a murder mystery. We’ll also talk about what epitaphs can and cannot tell us about life expectancy, marriage patterns, and disease in ancient Rome.

Class G: Learn Greek in a Day!
Lauri Reitzammer, CU ��«��Ƶ

This mini-course will introduce participants to the Greek alphabet, some basic Greek vocabulary commonly found in English, and important concepts in Greek language and literature.

Class H: Digging Up Dance in Ancient Greece and Rome
Hannah Slough, CU ��«��Ƶ

What kind of dances were performed even before such ancient steps as the "Cabbage Patch" or "The Carlton"? And how do we know what they looked like without thousand-year-old TikToks to show us? This session will explore the process of uncovering and understanding dance traditions of Ancient Greece and Rome through storytelling and sculpture. Participants will learn about the cultural significance of dance in the Classical world as they apply their own understanding of dance in 2021. Although some aspects of Greek and Roman dance history will always be unknown, this session will leave participants without a doubt of the importance of their fresh n' funky perspectives in the field of classical archaeology.

Panel Discussion

1:00 P.M.

What Can You Do With A Classics Degree?

You already know that you can get a Classics degree and teach Latin or Greek. But you can also be a lawyer, a doctor, or anything else you want! In this panel, you’ll hear from teachers and professors about all of the different ways college Classics prepares you for The World.

Closing Remarks

2:00 P.M.

Please join us for Colorado Classics Day on September 25th!

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McClanahan Graduate Essay Prize Announcement 2021

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

McClanahan Graduate Essay Prize Announcement 2021 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/01/2021 - 00:00

Announcement of the 2021 Mary E. V. McClanahan Graduate Essay Prize

Summary:

Classics Graduate students are invited to submit essays to be judged by a committee of three faculty members. The writer of the essay judged to be the best will receive $1,500 and will present his or her essay as a lecture to the department, to be followed by a reception. Even very good seminar papers are likely to have a better chance if they have been revised and improved; hence the fall submission deadline.

Eligibility:

Graduate students enrolled in the Department of Classics at the University of Colorado at ��«��Ƶ in the Fall 2021 semester are eligible to submit essays in the field of Classics, broadly defined. These will usually have been written for seminars and courses here, but essays originally written at other institutions are also eligible. Essays should be between four and six thousand words in length, although shorter submissions may be considered. If the essay includes a research apparatus (footnotes, bibliography, image captions), these should not be included in the word count. A student who has won the prize may not compete a second time.

Submission deadline:

Electronic versions of the essays (.docx, .doc, or .pdf)
should be submitted to Steve Slater (steve.slater@colorado.edu) by Monday, September 20, 2021. The winner will be announced by Monday, October 4, 2021.

Prize:

In addition to the cash prize ($1500) the winner will present his or her essay to the department in a public lecture to be followed by a reception.

Judging:

The papers will be judged anonymously. The selection
committee consists of three faculty members in the Department of Classics. The committee may decide not to award the prize. In exceptional circumstances, the committee may decide to acknowledge more than one paper in whatever way they deem appropriate, e.g. designating a paper as an honorable mention, splitting the prize money, or sponsoring two lectures. The announcement date, due date, and amount of the prize may vary from year to year.

Judges for this year’s competition are Professors Sarah James (Committee Chair),
Lauri Reitzammer,and Zach Herz.

Classics Grad Students! Compete for this year's McClanahan Prize! Deadline is September 20th.

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Congratulations Summer Graduates!

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Congratulations Summer Graduates! Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/19/2021 - 00:00

Please join us in congratulating our Summer Graduates, Florencia Foxley (PhD) and Kate Johnson (MA)!

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McClanahan Lecture: Cracking a Late Bronze Age Code

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

McClanahan Lecture: Cracking a Late Bronze Age Code Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/15/2021 - 00:00

McClanahan Lecture Series

Cracking a Late Bronze Age Code:
Linear B and its Decipherment
Dr. Dimitri Nakassis, ��«��Ƶ

Thursday, April 15th, 2021 | 7:00 p.m. | Virtual Webinar

Michael Ventris and the Pylos Tablet An 35

The decipherment of Linear B in 1952 by Michael Ventris is one of the great intellectual achievements of the 20th century, for Ventris cracked this Late Bronze Age code without the Aegean equivalent of the Rosetta Stone. The demonstration that Linear B was used to write Greek ca. 1400-1200 BCE, half a millennium before Homer, inaugurated a new chapter in the history of the Greek language and revolutionized the study of Late Bronze Age Greece. This lecture will review how the decipherment happened and what insights Linear B continues to provide to scholars of early Greece, almost 70 years after Ventris’ magnificent discovery.

This lecture is free and will be hosted on Zoom.
This lecture is sponsored by Mary E.V. McClanahan. CU Classics is grateful for her generous support.

View the PDF poster here

Dr. Nakassis will review how the decipherment of Linear B happened and what insights it continues to provide to scholars of early Greece, almost 70 years after Michael Ventris’ magnificent discovery.

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McClanahan Lecture: Nobody's Monster

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

McClanahan Lecture: Nobody's Monster Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/18/2021 - 00:00

McClanahan Lecture Series

Nobody's Monster:
The Cyclops in Greek and Roman Literature
Dr. Reina Callier, University of Colorado ��«��Ƶ

Thursday, February 18th, 2021 | 7:00 p.m. | Virtual Webinar

The cyclops, Polyphemus, hurls a boulder towards Odysseus and his crew.

The Cyclops (best known for his encounter with Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey) was a figure who captured the imaginations of authors and audiences in the classical world. In this talk, Reina E. Callier will explore the Cyclops’ appearances in texts ranging from archaic Greece to the early Roman Empire, revealing the ways in which this monstrous character was adapted and interpreted by different authors.

This lecture is free and will be hosted on Zoom.

This lecture is sponsored by Mary E.V. McClanahan. CU Classics is grateful for her generous support.

View the PDF poster here

Dr. Callier explores the Cyclops' appearances from archaic Greece to the early Roman Empire. Thursday, February 18th at 7pm.

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McClanahan Essay Prize: Maternal Dreams

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

McClanahan Essay Prize: Maternal Dreams Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/04/2021 - 00:00

McClanahan Essay Prize Lecture

Maternal Dreams and Influence in Aeschylus' Persians and Libation Bearers
Florencia Foxley, University of Colorado ��«��Ƶ

Thursday, February 4th, 2021 | 5:00 p.m. | Virtual Webinar

National Theatre of Greece presentation of The Persians by Aeschylus.

The power of maternity loomed large in the ancient Greek cultural imagination. Mothers and motherhood were essential to any city-state, yet deeply mistrusted by this misogynistic culture. Greek literature reflects both reverence and fear of maternity—awe at the intense attachment between mother and child and efforts to contain and channel that attachment in service to patriarchal structures. Gaia, Medea, Demeter, Alcestis, and Andromache; there are countless examples of mothers feared for the threat they pose or celebrated for their devotion to husband and home. My paper explores two Aeschylean examples of powerful and complex maternal bonds: Atossa and Xerxes and Clytemnestra and Orestes. In Persians and Libation Bearers, Aeschylus uses a mother’s ominous dream of her son in order to draw attention to the close, and likely harmful, maternal bond. Both Atossa and Clytemnestra attempt to exert their influence over their sons through the gestures of nurture and clothing. Although Atossa is a positive example of motherhood, and Clytemnestra more threatening, nevertheless, I argue that the similarities between the two plays draw attention to the inherent damage that an overly influential mother poses to her growing son. Regardless of maternal intent, both sons must reject maternal influence at all costs in order to become autonomous adults.

This lecture is free and will be hosted on Zoom.
Register Today!

This essay prize and lecture is sponsored by Mary E.V. McClanahan. CU Classics is grateful for her generous support.

View the PDF poster here

Our 2020 McClanahan Essay Prize winner, Florencia Foxley, discusses the power of Maternity in ancient Greek literature. Thursday, February 4th at 5pm.

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2021

McClanahan Lecture: Death and Transfiguration

McClanahan Lecture Series

Death and Transfiguration:The Tomb of Bibulus and the Remaking of Rome Dr. Tyler Lansford, ��«����Ƶ

Monday, October 25th, 2021 | 7:00 p.m. | Virtual Webinar

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Colorado Classics Day 2021

Welcome Address

Session 1

Class A: Latin Strength Training for the Life Sciences (Why It's No Joke That the Humerus Is Latin) Pierre Habel, Colorado Classics Association

Class B: A Pixar Odyssey? Jacob Horton, CU ��«����Ƶ

Class C: Archaeology to the Rescue! Stephanie Kimmey, Colorado College

Class D: Egyptian Stories: The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor Kate Newell, CU ��«����Ƶ

Session 2

Class E: Women in Latin Literature Reina Callier, CU ��«����Ƶ

Class F: Decipher a Roman Gravestone Peter Hunt, CU ��«����Ƶ

Class G: Learn Greek in a Day! Lauri Reitzammer, CU ��«����Ƶ

Class H: Digging Up Dance in Ancient Greece and Rome Hannah Slough, CU ��«����Ƶ

Panel Discussion

What Can You Do With A Classics Degree?

Closing Remarks

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McClanahan Graduate Essay Prize Announcement 2021

Announcement of the 2021 Mary E. V. McClanahan Graduate Essay Prize

Summary:

Eligibility:

Submission deadline:

Prize:

Judging:

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Congratulations Summer Graduates!

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McClanahan Lecture: Cracking a Late Bronze Age Code

McClanahan Lecture Series

Cracking a Late Bronze Age Code: Linear B and its Decipherment Dr. Dimitri Nakassis, ��«����Ƶ

Thursday, April 15th, 2021 | 7:00 p.m. | Virtual Webinar

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McClanahan Lecture: Nobody's Monster

McClanahan Lecture Series

Nobody's Monster: The Cyclops in Greek and Roman Literature Dr. Reina Callier, University of Colorado ��«����Ƶ

Thursday, February 18th, 2021 | 7:00 p.m. | Virtual Webinar

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McClanahan Essay Prize: Maternal Dreams

McClanahan Essay Prize Lecture

Maternal Dreams and Influence in Aeschylus' Persians and Libation Bearers Florencia Foxley, University of Colorado ��«����Ƶ

Thursday, February 4th, 2021 | 5:00 p.m. | Virtual Webinar

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Death and Transfiguration:
The Tomb of Bibulus and the Remaking of Rome
Dr. Tyler Lansford, ��«��Ƶ

Class A: Latin Strength Training for the Life Sciences (Why It's No Joke That the Humerus Is Latin)
Pierre Habel, Colorado Classics Association

Class B: A Pixar Odyssey?
Jacob Horton, CU ��«��Ƶ

Class C: Archaeology to the Rescue!
Stephanie Kimmey, Colorado College

Class D: Egyptian Stories: The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor
Kate Newell, CU ��«��Ƶ

Class E: Women in Latin Literature
Reina Callier, CU ��«��Ƶ

Class F: Decipher a Roman Gravestone
Peter Hunt, CU ��«��Ƶ

Class G: Learn Greek in a Day!
Lauri Reitzammer, CU ��«��Ƶ

Class H: Digging Up Dance in Ancient Greece and Rome
Hannah Slough, CU ��«��Ƶ

Cracking a Late Bronze Age Code:
Linear B and its Decipherment
Dr. Dimitri Nakassis, ��«��Ƶ

Nobody's Monster:
The Cyclops in Greek and Roman Literature
Dr. Reina Callier, University of Colorado ��«��Ƶ

Maternal Dreams and Influence in Aeschylus' Persians and Libation Bearers
Florencia Foxley, University of Colorado ��«��Ƶ