NEWS: FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
The Classical Association of the Atlantic States has awarded a $10,000 Presidential Initiative Grant to Judith P. Hallett for the Maryland Initiative in Classical Reception Studies, sponsored by our department. This initiative is helping to fund Latin 640, our series of Latin pedagogy workshops for school and college educators; a public colloquium on the novels of Thornton Wilder, particularly those influenced by classical sources, on March 27; and "The Personal and Professional Challenges of Illuminating the Greek and Roman Past: A Conversation with Anna Julia Cooper of the M Street School (1858-1964) and Grace Harriet Macurdy of Vassar College (1866-1946), held in conjunction with National Employment Disabilities Awareness Month on October 12. This initiative will expand awareness of classics in Maryland and the greater Washington area, as well as of the efforts of CAAS to support classics in the region. To view the tribute to Dr. Judith Hallett for all of her hard work and dedication please click here
New books by Judith Hallett and Gregory Staley
Professor Judith Hallett is the coeditor (with Christopher Stray) of the anthology of essays, British Classics Outside England. The Academy and Beyond (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2009), to which she also has contributed an essay, “The Anglicizing Way”: Edith Hamilton (1867-1963) and the “Twentieth Century Transformation of Classics in the U.S.A.:”
Associate Professor Gregory Staley is the editor of the volume American Women and Classical Myths (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2009), to which he contributed the essay, “The Amazons; Wonder Women in America.” Also in this volume are essays by Classics faculty Lillian Doherty, "The Figure of Penelope in Twentieth-Century Poetry by American Women," and Judith Hallett, "Edith Hamilton and Greco-Roman Mythology.
Stehle to Speak in New York on “Athena and the Akropolis in Cult and Drama”
Professor Eva Stehle has been invited to present a paper in New York city on May 2, 2009, at an international conference entitled “The Feminine and the Sacred in Ancient Athens.” Distinguished scholars from Greece, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States, will be participating. Professor Stehle teaches Greek Tragedy, Greek Religion, and Mythology at Maryland and has published extensively in these areas. The conference is being sponsored by the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation in the Onassis Cultural Center, Olympic Tower Atrium, 645 Fifth Avenue, in conjunction with the exhibit, “Worshipping Women: Ritual and Reality in Classical Athens”, which runs from December 10, 2008 to May 9, 2009. For further information on the exhibit, see http://www.onassisusa.org/occ.htm. Reservations are required for the conference: 212-486-8314.
Classics Grad Students Create Facebook Aeneid
Once again University of Maryland graduate students in Classics have made their mark in technology and classics.
Heather Day and Erika Carlson have created quite a stir with their Facebook Aeneid, a fresh and humorous take on the great Roman epic. Political columnist Andrew Sullivan calls Facebook Aeneid “brilliant.” (http://beltwayblips.dailyradar.com/search/?query=Facebook+Aeneid). See too the enthusiastic reaction from the Rutgers University Classics Department website, including an interview with Heather and Erika: http://rutgersclassics.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/ru-classics-luvs-lolable-facebook-aeneid/ .
Heather receives her MA in May 2009 and plans to teach high school. and Erika expects her degree in May 2010 and would like to continue on in a PhD program. The University of Maryland offers the MA in Classics.
Another Classics graduate student, Josh Rocchio (MA May 2009), also made the news with his Vicipedia site, which is written in Latin. The word "vici" means "I conquered" in Latin, and is a word-play on Wikipedia. In the classical Latin pronunciation, “vici” sounds the same as “wiki”. The Wall Street Journal (September 29, 2007) featured an article about Josh and his site: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB119103413731143589-lMyQjAxMDE3OTMxMDAzMzA0Wj.html
Merrill Presidential Scholar Lida Zlatic
Senior Lida Zlatic, a double major in Classics and Art History and Archaeology, has been named a 2008-9 Phillip Merrill Presidential Scholar.
Dean’s Senior Scholar Ashish George
Senior Ashish George is the recipient of the Dean of Arts and Humanities Senior Scholars Award. He is one of six winners and was honored at a dinner and ceremony on November 6, 2008 at the David C. Driskell Center.
$250,000 for Modern Greek
The Hellenic Ministry of Culture has contributed $250,000 towards an endowment to fund the permanent teaching of Modern Greek. Professor John Baras, Lockheed Martin Chair in Systems Engineering at College Park, has energetically spearheaded the fundraising effort.
updated March, 2009
