13 Apr 2010
Contrary to earlier announcements, please note that Professor Fronda will not be on sabbatical leave in 2010-11. His course offerings are available under the teaching tab.
12 Apr 2010
Hirundo Launch and End of Year Party!
6:00 to 8:00 pm, Arts Council Room.
This year's event includes a student performance of selected scenes from Sophocles' Antigone, directed by Mrs. Palczynski. All welcome!
2 Apr 2010
Professor Beck has been awarded a Standard Research Grant by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, to support his research on federalism in the ancient Greek world. The project is geared towards the publication of an edited volume "Greek Federal States" (CUP 2013), which includes 25 contributions by some of the world's leading authorities on ancient federalism.
29 Mar 2010
Classical Revolutions!
Professor Maggie Kilgour: "It’s About Time: Ovid’s Fasti in the English Renaissance"
4:00 to 5:00 pm, LEA 808
Classical Revolutions is designed to bring scholars together from throughout the McGill academic community in order to discuss issues pertaining to Classical reception, broadly speaking. The aim is to facilitate conversation among departments at McGill and provide students and faculty an informal forum to discuss texts and ideas. The title of the event invites one to think of Classics and the act of Classical reception as performative events that alter the textual and artistic landscape of literary worlds, creating something new and exciting, while acknowledging that every act of reception looks back to prior texts and models, anchored in the tradition of the past. Textual revolution honors the potential iconoclasm of reception and the inescapable circularity reception entails. The event is open to any and all participants who are interested in either learning about the current state of Classical Receptions or those who wish to present works in progress. Classical Revolutions is sponsored by Classical Studies and the Department of English.
29 Mar 2010
Dr. Burges Watson will present a paper at the Montreal Interuniversity Workshop in the History of Philosophy entitled
"Tragedy or Transcendence? Plato and Aeschylus on ‘Orpheus and Friends’"
6:00 to 8:00 pm, LEA 927
All welcome!
25 Mar 2010
The Classics Student Association is hosting a roast! Lamb will be roasted outside of McConnell Engineering all day Tuesday, 25 March. The roast will start at 8:00 am, and be ready for lunch around noon!
Also this day:
The Classics Student Association will be sponsoring this week's Bar Des Arts in the Arts Lounge on Thursday, 25 March, for our annual Toga Party! Grab your toga and laurel wreath and spend some quality time with some Classicists!
22 Mar 2010
Classical Studies is delighted to announce a public guest lecture by Professor Kurt Raaflaub (Brown). The topic of his presentation will be:
"The Quest for Peace in the Ancient World: why Greece?"
Redpath Auditorium, 3:30 to 5:00 pm
17 Mar 2010
And here is another award for Professor Fronda! He has earned an "Honorable Mention" during this year's "Excellence in Teaching" competition, organized by the Arts Undergraduate Society. The award ceremony will be held on Tuesday, 23 March, 6:30 pm, in the Arts Building Lobby.
Congratulations, Professor Fronda.
17 Mar 2010
Professor Fronda has won a most prestigious fellowship by the Humboldt Foundation. He will use this fellowship to spend the academic year 2010-11 at Dresden University, Germany, to embark on his new research project on "The Performance of Power in Roman Italy".
Congratulations, Professor Fronda.
16 Mar 2010
HOODIES SALE! The Classics Students Association runs a hoodies sale. To get your slick Classics sweater, contact sarah.binns [at] mail.mcgill.ca. Hoddies are priced at $34 and they have an awesome laurel wreath on the hat. It's a must have!
15 Mar 2010
We are delighted to announce that Dr. Lynn Kozak (Nottingham and Chicago) has accepted the offer for a position of Assistant Professor in Ancient Greek Language and Literature. She will join our department in summer. Her office will be in LEA 625.
12 Mar 2010
Public guest lecture by Dr Jason Aftosmis (Harvard). The title of his presentation is
"Syntax and Suffering in Homeric Poetry"
Trottier 2110, 12:00 to 13:30 pm, all welcome!
12-13 Mar 2010
McGill-Queen’s Conference: Making Networks - Making History
The Classics Panel will be on Friday, 12 March, from 2:00 to 4:15 pm in Room 403, Thomson House. The topic is "Reformers and Revolutionaries: Political Interactions in the Greco-Roman World." The presenters shall be:
Eric Brousseau, McGill University
Kleisthenes: Athenian Networker
Paul Vadan, McGill University
Sociopolitical interaction and interdependence between Ephesos and the Successors of Alexander the Great
Andrew Swidzinski, McGill University
Competition and Cooperation in the lower magistracies of the Roman Republic
Sarah Limoges, McGill University
Incorporating the Barbarians: the Emperor Claudius and the Gauls
Come and support your fellow students!
5 Mar 2010
Ancient History undergraduate student Michele Smith was named the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship. Graduating this spring, she will begin her studies in jurisprudence at Pembroke College, Oxford, in the fall. Congratulations, Michele!
4 Mar 2010
The McGill Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies (IGSF) announces a public guest lecture by Dr. Sebastian Matzner (Department of Classics, King's College, London):
"The Myth is Out There. Diachronicity and Synchronicity in Essentialist Models of 'Homosexual' Identity: Plato, Ulrichs - and Us"
LEA 232, 5:30 to 7:00 pm. All welcome!
17 Feb 2010
Classical Revolutions!
Professor Matteo Soranzo: "Poetry and Society in Aragonese Naples Giovanni Pontano’s Elegies of Married Love"
4:00 to 5:00 pm, Arts 350
Classical Revolutions is designed to bring scholars together from throughout the McGill academic community in order to discuss issues pertaining to Classical reception, broadly speaking. The aim is to facilitate conversation among departments at McGill and provide students and faculty an informal forum to discuss texts and ideas. The title of the event invites one to think of Classics and the act of Classical reception as performative events that alter the textual and artistic landscape of literary worlds, creating something new and exciting, while acknowledging that every act of reception looks back to prior texts and models, anchored in the tradition of the past. Textual revolution honors the potential iconoclasm of reception and the inescapable circularity reception entails. The event is open to any and all participants who are interested in either learning about the current state of Classical Receptions or those who wish to present works in progress. Classical Revolutions is sponsored by Classical Studies and the Department of English.
10 Feb 2010
We are delighted to announce a public guest lecture by Professor Stephen Miller (Berkeley):
"How do we know what we think we know about ancient Olympic competitions?"
February 10, 8:30 am, STBIO N 2/2
The event is sponsored by Modern Greek Studies. All welcome!
Later in the day, Professor Miller delivers a lecture on "The Ancient Stadium at Nemea and the new Olympic Revival."
The event will be held at the Faculty Club, 3450 McTavish, at 6:00 pm, to be followed by a reception at 7:15 pm. It is co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Greece in Montreal and Modern Greek Studies. The presentation is by invitation only, but open to advanced and graduate students (students, please indicate your interest to Professors Poulopoulos or Beck).
8 Feb 2010
The Department of English, in conjunction with Classical Studies, presents a public lecture by Professor Stephen Hinds (University of Washington):
"Language, exile and the barbarian turn: two thousand years of Ovidian Tristia"
4:00 pm, Wendy Patrick Room, 3560 University Street
All welcome!
21/28 Jan 2010
Classical Association of Canada: The annual Sight Translation Competition will be held on January 21 for intermediate and advanced Latin students and on January 28 for intermediate and advanced Greek students. Students, please contact Professor Gladhill for further information.
19 Jan 2010
Professor Serrati appears on the History Channel series "Ancients Behaving Badly" at 8:00 pm. The episode is on Julius Caesar and sees Professor Serrati appear as an expert consultant. The show is to be repeating on Friday 22 Jan at 7:00 pm and Saturday 23 Jan, 6:00 pm. Also, look for Professor Serrati in the series again in a subsequent episode on Alexander the Great!
15 Jan 2010
Professor Christina Tarnopolsky (Political Science) holds an open mini conference on "Persuasion, Politics, Law" from 9:00 am to 12:15 pm. The place of the venue is ARTS 160. Program:
8:30 Coffee and pastries
9:00 to 10:30 Professor Robert Howse (NYU Law School), "On Leo Strauss' Philosophy and Law"
10:45 to 12:15 Professor Jill Frank (U of South Carolina), "The Power of Persuasion in Plato"
For further information or a copy of the papers please e-mail christina.tarnopolsky [at] mcgill.ca
10 Dec 2009
John Abbott Classics students reunion at McGill! Professor Serrati, Derek Tyrrell and Erin Crochetière hold a holiday reunion party in LEA 817. The event is a great opportunity not only for friends to talk about their first semesters at McGill, but for John Abbott graduates from different years to meet and interact for the first time.
23 Nov 2009
Professor Nikos Poulopoulos, Phrixos B. Papachristidis Chair in Modern Greek Studies, hosts a public lecture by Her Excellency Renata Elisabeth Wielgosz, Ambassador of Canada to the Hellenic Republic.
The topic of her presentation is "Revitalizing Canada-Greece Relations"
Faculty Club, 3450 McTavish Street, 2:30 to 4:00 pm.
17 Nov 2009
The Classical Association of Canada has announced the winners of its 2009-10 student competitions. We are delighted to note that our students have once again performed very well in various competitions. Prize winners include
Warren Huard, Honorable Mention: National Sight Translation Competition, Senior Level Greek
Samantha Perera, Third Prize: National Sight Translation Competition, Senior Level Latin
Margherita Devine, Honorable Mention: National Sight Translation Competition, Senior Level Latin
Alexandre Turner, First Prize: National Undergraduate Essay Competition, Senior Level (essay title: Plato's late style: a case study).
Congratulations to all!
17 Nov 2009
"Classical Revolutions!"
Martin Dawes, Deptartment of English: "Milton and the Myth of Orpheus"
Leacock 808, 1:00 to 2:00 pm
See vision statement on "Classical Revolutions!" below, under Oct. 27.
17 Nov 2009
This year's public lecture sponsored by the Classical Association of Canada will be delivered by Professor Mark Lawall (Manitoba):
"So there are prices and markets, so what? Archaeological efforts to advance debates over ancient economies"
4:30 pm, BURN 1 B 39
12 Nov 2009
The first session of this year's CLASSICS CHATS - LES CAUSERIES CLASSIQUES series will be held at McGill, Thomson House, room 406, at 5:30 pm. Professor Dorion, Director of the Centre d'études classiques at UdM will present.
All graduate and advanced undergraduate students are invited to participate.
26-31 Oct 2009
Professor Beck delivers a series of Onassis Distinguished Lectures at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Presentations include
"Pitfalls of Integration: the Case of Ancient Greece" (webcast)
"The Experience of Greek Government: Rationality and the Politics of Equality"
"Athenian Democrats and Boiotian Pigs"
27 Oct 2009
"Classical Revolutions!" - Inauguration of a new lecture series in Classical Studies
"Classical Revolutions" is designed to bring scholars together from throughout the McGill academic community in order to discuss issues pertaining to Classical reception. The aim is to facilitate conversation between departments and provide students and faculty an informal forum to discuss texts and ideas. The title of the event entices one to think of Classics and the act of Classical reception as performative events that alter the textual and artistic landscape of a literary worlds, creating something new and exciting, while acknowledging that every act of reception rewinds to prior texts and models, anchored in the tradition of the past. Textual revolution honors the potential iconoclasm of reception and the inescapable circularity reception entails. Lectures are open to any and all participants who are interested in either learning about the current state of Classical receptions or those who wish to present works in progress.
The inaugural lecture will be held on 27 October, 1:00 pm, by Professor Gladhill on
"What is a Poet? Or: Ovid and the Limits of Vatic Vision" (Leacock 817)
22 Oct 2009
The Classics Students Association will have a book sale in the lobby of the Leacock Building. We will sell a variety of books on ancient history and Classical languages, which will be of both academic and general interest. The proceeds will go to the CSA to support the annual Montreal Classics Colloquium, which McGill hosts in the spring.
22 Oct 2009
Public Beatty Lecture by Professor Barry Strauss (Cornell University) on
"Counterinsurgency, Genocide and Terrorism: How Modern is Ancient Warfare?"
Redpath Lecture Theatre, 5:00 pm. Reception to follow.
Professor Strauss is a leading authority on ancient warfare whose work has been published in many books, scholalry journals as well as the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.
20 Oct 2009
Public guest lecture by Professor Jörg Rüpke (Erfurt University) on
"Religious individualisation in the Roman Empire"
6:00 pm, location tba.
Professor Rüpke is one of the leading authorities on Roman religions in the Republican and Imperial periods. His three volume edition of "Fasti Sacerdotum" has become an indispensible research tool that sheds exciting new light on religious practices at Rome. His visit is co-sponsored by the Faculty of Religious Studies, CREOR and Classical Studies.
13-16 Oct 2009
Classical Studies is proud to welcome Professor Ian Morris (Stanford) as Onassis Senior Visiting Scholar.
On 15 October, he will deliver a public lecture in Redpath Lecture Theatre, 5:00 pm, entitled
"What is Ancient History?"
The series of his presentations also includes seminar papers in Professor Beck's HIST 369 class (14 October, 1:30 pm) on Early Greece and in Professor Gladhill's Arts Legacy module on ancient worlds (16 October, 10:00 am).
9 Oct 2009
GODS IN COLOR!
Based on the famous traveling exhibit "Gods in Color", Professor Vinzenz Brinkmann (Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung, Frankfurt) presents a multi-media public lecture on ancient painted statuary.
Over the past two decades, an international research team is scrutinizing the dazzling fact that ancient sculpture usually was painted in bright colors, mostly red and blue. The results of their research are truly groundbreaking and, actually, slightly unsettling. The Department of Modern Languages and Literature at UdM, the Centre d'études classiques and McGill Classical Studies are proud to present Professor Brinkmann, who is one of the leading specialists of the Gods in Color research team.
Come and attend his public lecture, which will alter your visual perceptions of the 'Classical ideal'.
4:00 pm, Salle B - 0215, Pavillon 3200, av. Jean Brillant
7 Oct 2009
Public Guest Lecture by Professor Annette Teffeteller, Concordia University, on:
"Mycenaeans and Anatolians: Interactions in the Bronze Age, Ramifications for the Iron Age"
1:30 pm, STBIO N 2/2
The lecture is co-sponsored by Classical Studies and the Classics Students Association, CSA. All welcome!
6 Oct 2009
The Classics Students Association will have a bake sale on Tuesday, October 6th, from 9 to 4 in the lobby of the Leacock building. Stop by, have something to eat, and help support the association!
30 Sep 2009
Classical Studies and the McGill Department of English present a public lecture by Professor Charles Martindale (University of Bristol):
"Performance, Reception, Aesthetics - or: Why Reception Studies Need Kant"
4:00 pm, Wendy Patrick Room, Wilson Hall
Professor Martindale is the author of Redeeming the Text, on reception theory and the classics, which helped to set the agenda for what has become the fastest growing area of the discipline; he has recently co-edited with Richard Thomas of Harvard University a collection of essays designed to carry the debate forward (Classics and the Uses of Reception). He was awarded a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship to write a monograph Latin Poetry and the Judgement of Taste arguing for the importance of beauty and the aesthetic in our response to the arts. Martindale's work thus covers Classics, English, Comparative Literature, Critical Theory, and Aesthetics; other concerns include translation and translation theory, autobiographical writing and the personal voice, and theories of reading and criticism.
22 Sep 2009
Professor John Serrati will deliver a lecture for the graduate students in History and Classics entitled 'Navigating the Collegiate and CEGEP Job Market in Quebec'. The lecture forms part of Professor Lüthi's series on graduate student employment. The talk shall take place in LEA 109 at 4:00 pm.
20 Sep 2009
Faculty Lecturer Margaret Palczynski and Margherita Devine, President of the CSA, feature in a CBC radio show on the rising prominence of Latin, at universities and beyond. The show will be aired at 8:00 am. Tune in!
17-18 Sep 2009
Professor Michael Fronda delivers two invited presentations at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND. The first talk, "Anarchy, Rivalry and the beginnings of the Roman empire," will be the inaugural Cyprus Research Fund Lecture. The second is a seminar presenation, "Romanization and the epigraphic record."
The short series of talks reflects the ongoing cooperation between Classical Studies at McGill University and the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Survey (Cyprus), whose director is based at UND.
15 Sep 2009
The Classics Students Association will host a Beginning of Year Party in the Arts Council Room, 5:30 to 8:00 pm. Students, come and meet the profs. All welcome!
12 Sep 2009
Professor Beck takes students on a guided tour to the Metropolitian Museum of Art in New York City. We will visit the museum's permanent collection as well as the temporary exhibit on "Afghanistan. Hidden Treasure from the National Museum, Kabul". Students should get in touch with Professor Bewck to learn more about the details of this outing.
2 Sep 2009
The new undergraduate curricula in Classics are in place! Among other major changes, the revised programs allow students to put more emphasis either on the ancient languages or on a the culture of the ancient Mediterranean. The new requirements are mandatory for all students who enter Classics beginning September 2009. See the Teaching section and contact the Classical Studies Advisor, Professor Gladhill.
1 Sep 2009
Students, please note that the library's 'Classics Subject Guide' (link unter Teaching) has been tremendously improved. Most notably, two new comprehensive reference works have been added: the Cambridge Ancient History and Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World series.
Thanks are due to librarian Kendall Wallis, who works persistently towards the improvement of this important Classics gateway to referencing!
1 Sep 2009
Sarah Burges Watson, Visiting Lecturer in 2009-10, has arrived at McGill. She comes to us from Harvard where she completed her Ph.D. in Classical Philology. The subject of her research is the mythical singer Orpheus, who was also known as the founder of the mysteries and the author of texts used in mystical rites. She has been investigating the relationship between the mystical and musical sides of his identity. Originally from the UK, Dr. Burges Watson studied Classics at Cambridge and singing at the Royal Academy of Music before moving to the USA to complete a Master’s at the University of Pennsylvania. Her office is located in LEA 625. Welcome, Dr Burges Watson!
26 Aug 2009
Incoming and returning students: an orientation session in Classical Studies will be held in LEA 808 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.
10 Aug 2009
Professor Serrati will be participating in two episodes of the BBC and History Channel series "Ancients Behaving Badly". The first episode focusses on the life of Julius Caesar and contains an analysis of the power of the Roman pilum, while the subsequent show examines the workings, range, and effectiveness of a Greek ballista. Serrati will appear as an on camera consultant in both episodes. The series will air in North America on the History Channel and in the United Kingdom on the BBC beginning this fall and concluding in early 2010.
6 Aug 2009
The Department of History and Classics program invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor in Ancient Greek language and literature, effective 1 August 2010. A primary research specialization in Greek Epic, Lyric or Drama is preferred. The successful candidate should hold a PhD and show promise of excellence in teaching and scholarly research. The ability to teach undergraduate and graduate courses is required.
A letter of application, curriculum vitae, one-page statement of teaching philosophy, and three confidential letters of reference should be sent to Professor John Zucchi, Chair, Department of History, McGill University, Lea 608, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 2T7. The application deadline is 15 November 2009. We will conduct interviews at the January 2010 meeting of the American Philological Association in Orange County, CA in early January.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however, in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. McGill University is committed to equity in employment and diversity. It welcomes applications from indigenous peoples, visible minorities, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, women, persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, and others who may contribute to further diversification. McGill University is an English language institution, but knowledge of French would be considered an asset.
1 Aug 2009
The Classics Advisor in 2009/10 is Professor Gladhill. Students should contact him to discuss their course selections as soon as they can. His office is located in Leacock Bldg, room 825.