Classics Department Events
Academic Year 2022-2023
Academic Year 2021-2022
Spring semester lecture series (zoom format):
Wednesday, February 23 5:00pm Deven Patel, University of Pennsylvania. "The Sanskrit Mahābhārata as a "National" Epic. It has become a truism of sorts that the Sanskrit Mahābhārata (“The Great Story of the Bhāratas”) is the monumental “national epic” of India, with the other great ancient epic, Rāmāyaṇa ("Rāma's Journey") complementing its significance for many contemporary Indians. More than 2500 years old, the Mahābhārata continues to serve as both an analogical and allegorical template to delineate historical, social, political, and ethical changes during epochal crisis points punctuated by transforming ideas about nationhood. While the logic to make claims about its relationship to nationhood rests on several theorizations drawn largely from the epics of European antiquity and Indological scholarship, it is perhaps worthwhile again to interrogate the claim, if only to bring out the cultural specificity of the Sanskrit epic tradition and also to strengthen the edifice upon which comparatist studies of national epic traditions have been built. This talk is a sketch of some of the arguments and issues at stake when declaring the Mahābhārata a national epic.
Wednesday, March 23 5:00pm Idan Dershowitz, University of Potsdam. "The Shapira Deuteronomy Manuscripts: Worthless Forgeries or one of the Greatest Discoveries of All Time?". In 1883, Moses Wilhelm Shapira presented several blackened leather fragments to scholars, claiming they had been discovered by Bedoins in a cave near the Dead Sea. These fragments contained a text that seemed to be an idiosyncratic version of the book of Deuteronomy. If authenticated by the British Museum, Shapira stood to make an unfold fortune on their sale. While several of the fragments were being examined, others were put on display, drawing scores of onlookers, including the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, William Gladstone. The excitement was short lived, however, and the verdict soon came in: The fragments were forgeries, and Shapira himself was the immediate suspect. It wasn't long before Shapira took his own life. Following the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, some scholars revisited the Shapira fragments, thinking they might be a 2000-year-old abridgment of the book of Deuteronomy. Alas, by that time the manuscript fragments had gone missing, and the scholarly consensus of forgery would not budge. In March of last year, I published new research arguing that these long lost fragments are not only ancient but of unimaginable significance. The text they contain, which I call "The Valediction of Moses" or "V," is not based on the book of Deuteronomy at all. It is, rather, a far earlier version of Deuteronomy. In other words, this text is a totally unprecedented document: a proto-biblical book. While some scholars have come out in support of this identification, many remain skeptical. I will discuss the ramifications of this text for our understanding of the Bible and the history of religion.
Wednesday, March 30 5:00pm Bill Beck, Indiana University In Medias Res? The Iliad and the First Nine Years the Trojan War. The Iliad has long been praised for the temporal circumscription of its plot, covering a span of less than two months within the middle of a decade-long war. In spite of the poem’s narrow parameters, the poet enriches the narrative with many references to events that lie outside the scope of the plot (e.g., the Judgment of Paris (Il. 24.30-34), the death of Achilleus (Il. 22.358-60 et al.), and the destruction of Ilios (Il. 12.15 et al.)). While the Iliad’s proleptic references and allusions to post-Iliadic events have been much discussed, considerably less attention has been paid to the events that precede Chryses’ arrival at the Achaian camp. This talk focuses on the Iliad’s depiction of the first nine years of the Trojan War. I argue against the widespread misapprehension that the first nine years of the war were characterized by regularly occurring pitched battles waged before the walls of Ilios, and I suggest that the pervasive misunderstanding of the nature of the first phase of the war has unjustifiably fueled criticism of the Iliad’s chronological verisimilitude.
Wednesday, April 13 5:00pm Emily Wilson, University of Pennsylvania. "Translating the Iliad". Professor Wilson will read one or two passages of her in-progress verse translation of the Iliad and she will discuss some of the stylistic and interpretative priorities and the specific challenges of creating a translation of this poem.
Friday, April 15 Happy hour Trotter Lawn Tent
Friday, April 29 Happy hour Trotter Lawn Tent
Friday, May 20 Senior reception Trotter Lawn Tent
Fall semester:
Happy Hour Friday, November 12, 4:30-5:30 Trotter Lawn Tent
Happy Hour Friday, October 22, 4:30-5:30 Pearson Lawn Tent
Happy Hour Friday, September 24, 4:30-6 Trotter Lawn Tent
Welcome Reception Friday, September 10, 4:30-6:30 Trotter Lawn Tent
Academic Year 2019-2020
Friday, September 6 Welcome back happy hour, 4:30 pm, Classics department hallway
Friday, October 4 Happy hour, 4:30 pm, Classics department hallway, Trotter
Monday, November 4 Martin Ostwald lecture, 4:30 pm, Science Center 199 presented by James I. Porter '77, UC Berkeley
Friday, December 6 Happy hour, 4:30 pm, Classics department hallway, Trotter
Friday, January 31 Happy hour, 4:30 pm, Classics department hallway, Trotter
Friday, February 28 Happy hour, 4:30 pm, Classics department hallway, Trotter
Wednesday, March 18 CANCELED: Curtis Dozier, Vassar, "The Big One: The Fall of Rome and Contemporary Hate Groups", 4:30 Trotter 203. "PHAROS: Doing Justice to the Classics", 6:00 pm, Trotter 203. Refreshments will be served from 5:30-6.
Tuesday, March 24 CANCELED: Mira Seo lecture, "Troubling Trans-species Relationships in Homer and Valmiki: Why Are We Friends?", Trotter 115, noon
Friday, March 27 CANCELED: Happy hour, 4:30 pm, Classics department hallway, Trotter
Monday, April 20 CANCELED: Helen North lecture, 4:30 pm, Science Center 199 presented by Catherine Conybeare, Bryn Mawr College
Monday, May 4 CANCELED: Classics department end of year dinner, 5:00 pm, location to be determined
Monday, November 9 Ostwald Memorial Lecture, "Quid est ergo tempus? Augustine, Music, and Time", Catherine Conybeare, Bryn Mawr, 5:00pm SC199
Academic Year 2018-2019
Friday, September 21 Happy hour, 4:30, Classics department hallway
Thursday, October 4 Welcome back dinner, 5:30 pm, Scheuer Room
Friday, October 26 Trotter Hall crawl, Classics department hallway
Monday, October 29 Martin Ostwald lecture, 4:30 pm, Science Center 199
Friday, November 9 Happy hour, 4:30, Classics department hallway
Friday, December 7 Happy hour, 4:30, Classics department hallway
Friday, February 1 Happy hour, 4:30, Classics department hallway
Friday, March 1 Happy hour, 4:30, Classics department hallway
Wednesday, April 3 Helen North lecture, 4:30 pm, Science Center 199
Friday, April 12 Happy hour, 4:30, Classics department hallway
Wednesday, May 1 End of year dinner, 5:30, Wister Center
Academic Year 2017-2018
Friday, September 8 Welcome back dinner, 5:30, Wister Center
Friday, September 22 Happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Monday, October 2 Martin Ostwald lecture, 4:30 SC199
Friday, October 27 Happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Friday, December 8 Happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Friday, February 2 Happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Friday, March 2 Happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Monday, March 26 Helen North lecture, 4:30pm SC199
Friday, April 27 Happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Monday, May 7 End of year dinner, Wister Center, 5:30
Saturday, May 26 Senior celebration, 4pm, Classics hallway
Saturday, June 2 Alumni celebration, 3:00pm, Classics hallway
Academic Year 2016-2017
Tuesday, September 6 Classics Department dinner, Wister Center, 5:30
Friday, September 23 Classics happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Wednesday, October 5 Annual Martin Ostwald lecture, SC 199, 4:30
Friday, October 21 Classics happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Friday, November 11 Classics happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Friday, December 9 Classics happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Friday, February 3 Classics happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Thursday, March 16 Classics happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Wednesday, March 22 Annual Helen North lecture, SC199, 4:30
Tuesday, April 4 Dante lecture, 4:30, Bond Hall
Thursday, April 13 Classics happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30
Tuesday, 5/2 End of year dinner, Wister Center, 5:30
Academic Year 2015-2016
Friday, September 4 Classics Department welcome back dinner, Wister Center, 6:30 pm
Friday, September 11 Happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30 pm
Friday, September 25 Happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30 pm
Tuesday, October 20 Annual Martin Ostwald Lecture, SC199, 4:30pm
Friday, November 6 Happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30 pm
Friday, November 20 Happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30 pm
Friday, December 11 Happy hour, Classics hallway, 4:30 pm
Friday, January 29 Happy hour Classics hallway, 4:30 pm
Friday, February 26 Happy hour Classics hallway, 4:30 pm
Thursday, March 3 Lisa Forman, Exploding the Classical Tradition, 4:30 pm, Scheuer
Tuesday, March 15 Annual Helen North Lecture, SC199, 4:30 pm
Friday, April 8 Happy hour Classics hallway, 4:30 pm
Tuesday, May 3 End of year dinner, 5 pm, Wister Center
Academic Year 2014-15
| September 7 | Classics Department welcome back dinner, Wister Center, 4:30 pm |
| September 12 | Classics Department Happy Hour, Trotter 115, 4:30 - all are welcome! |
| October 3 | Classics Department Happy Hour, Trotter 115, 4:30 - all are welcome! |
| October 4 | Classics Department trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City - 8:30 am departure |
| January 30 | Classics Department Happy Hour, Trotter 115 hallway, 4:30 -6; all are welcome! |
| February 3 |
Classics lecture, Mick Hunter '00, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale University will present "Homer Meets the Chinese Classics: Prince Chong'er in Qi and Other Tales of Reluctant Wandering Heroes," 4:30 pm, Trotter 301
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| February 24 | Classics lecture, Sydnor Roy '02, will speak at 4:30 pm in Trotter 301 |
| February 27 | Classics Department Happy Hour, Trotter 115 hallway, 4:30-6; all are welcome! |
| March 20 | Classics Department Happy Hour, Trotter 115 hallway, 4:30-6; all are welcome! |
| April 10 | Annual Helen North lecture by Jas' Elsner, Humfrey Payne Senior Research Fellow in Classical Archaeology and Art at Oxford University, "Visual Ontologies: Style, Archaism and the Construction of the Sacred in the Western Tradition, 4:30 pm, Science Center 101 |
| April 21 | Classics lecture, Scott Gilbert, Senior Research Associate, Howard A. Schneiderman Professor Emeritus of Biology at Swarthmore, will present "The Mythic Traditions in Biology" at 4:30 in Trotter 301. All are welcome. |
| April 24 | Classics Department Happy Hour, Trotter 115 hallway, 4:30-6; all are welcome! |
| May 3 | Classics Department End of Year dinner, Wister Center, 5:00 pm - all are welcome! |
Academic Year 2013-14
| September 6 | Classics Department Happy Hour, Trotter 115, 4:30-6 pm - all are welcome! |
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October 11-12, 2013 |
"Plato and the Power of Images" Conference, Bryn Mawr College. See http://repository.brynmawr.edu/plato/ for details |
| October 24 | Annual Martin Ostwald lecture by Carol Dougherty, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Classical Studies, Wellesley, Science Center 101, 5:30 pm |
| March 18 | Annual Helen North lecture by Christopher Pelling, Regius Professor of Greek, Christ Church Oxford, Scheuer Room, 4:30 pm: "Parallel Nostalgias: Plutarch on the Greek and Roman Past" |
| May 6 | End of year picnic, 5 pm, 507 Harvard Avenue |
Other Past Events
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| January 25, 2007 | The annual Helen F. North Lecture was given by Glenn W. Most. His lecture was entitled "The Child is the Father of the Man: From Rushdie to Homer, and Back." |
| March, 2007 | Lawrence Nees, University of Delaware, "Reception and Invention of Illustrated Clssical Manuscripts in the Carolingian Age." |
| December 2006 | Robin Mitchell-Boyask, Temple University, "Oedipus and the Plague: Why the Best Tragedy Finished Second" |
| November 2006 | Radcliffe Edmonds, "Extra-ordinary People: Mystai and Magai, Magicians and Orphics in the Derveni Papyrus." |
| November 2006 | Joel Yurdin, USC Berkeley, "Aristotle on Imagination in Behavior and in Thought," |
| June 3, 2006 | Swarthmore College Department of Classics held alumni reception |
| March 29, 2006 | Swarthmore hosted Ancient Historians' Colloquium of the Atlantic States. Robert A. Kaster of Princeton University presented a paper entitled "Self-aggrandizement and praise of others in Cicero." |
