News and announcements of the Department of Classics, Columbia University
On October 11, 2024, our very own Carina de Klerk successfully defended their dissertation to earn their doctoral degree!
Dissertation Title: Where’s Xanthias? Visualizing the Fifth-Century Comic Male Slave
Advisor: Helene Foley
Wishing you all the best on your new journey, Dr. de Klerk!
The Department of Classics at Columbia mourns the recent death of Suzanne Saïd (1939-2024), A specialist of Greek literature, and notably of tragedy, Homer, myth, and ancient gender, she taught at the University of Paris-X Nanterre and Columbia (1990-2010) and enjoyed the wide professional contacts afforded by this international career. She leaves behind the memory of a charismatic teacher and powerful personality, as well as a prolific scholarly production.
The Department of Classics mourns the passing away of David Konstan (1940-2024), an
alumnus of Columbia— BA Mathematics ’61, MA Classics 63, PhD Classics ’67, and a much
admired and beloved friend of the Department. David taught at Wesleyan (1967-87); at, Brown
(1987-2010), where he retired as John Rowe Workman Distinguished Professor of Classics and
as a Professor of Comparative Literature; , and at NYU from 2010 onwards. His work spanned
multiple fields and genres, many authors and periods: Greek and Latin, philosophy (notably
Epicureanism) and literature, tragedy, comedy, the novel. David played a pioneering role in the
study of emotion in ancient Greek culture, a subject on which he published widely and lastingly.
His latest book, The origin of sin: Greece and Rome, early Judaism and Christianity, came out in
2022. He was a friend to so many, a scholar of the highest attainment, and beloved by all: the
best of Columbia.
On May 17, 2024, our very own John Izzo successfully defended his dissertation to earn his doctoral degree!
Dissertation Title: Tironian Notes: Literary and Historical Studies on Marcus Tullius Tiro
Advisor: Katharina Volk
Wishing you all the best on your new journey, Dr. Izzo !
On April 26, 2024, our very own Emma Ianni successfully defended her dissertation to earn her doctoral degree!
Dissertation Title: When Language Fails: Tragedy and Thucydides
Advisor: Nancy Worman
Wishing you all the best on your new journey, Dr. Ianni !
We are excited to announce the publication of Historical Studies in Late Roman Art and Archaeology by Professor Alan Cameron (1938–2017). This book is a collection of articles, book chapters, and review articles that Professor Cameron wrote between the 1980s and 2017 about late Roman artifacts. In this book, Professor Cameron shares his developing views on silver plates, luxury manuscripts, gold glass, sarcophagi and more. Copies of the book are available on the Peeters Publishing website.
The Department mourns the passing of Marvin Deckoff, long-time friend and donor to Columbia Classics. Marvin first started taking Classics courses as part of the Lifelong Learners program in the 1990s after retiring from his printing business. Over many years, he audited dozens of Latin and civilization classes; attended countless Departmental events; and struck up lasting friendships with numerous students and faculty members. He donated generously to the Department, for example, by co-sponsoring the 2008 conference “Forgotten Stars: Rediscovering Manilius’ Astronomica” and by underwriting for many years graduate student travel to the annual meeting of the Society for Classical Studies. We fondly and gratefully remember his unfailing good cheer and unwavering commitment to the Classics.
Greetings!
Columbia University Classics Department is super excited & proud to announce Dr. Cristina Pérez Díaz's book Antígona by José Watanabe A Bilingual Edition with Critical Essays has won two awards!
In 2023, Antigona, by José Watanabe: A bilingual edition with critical essays, was awarded the Translation Prize of the American Society for Theater Research, and Dr. Perez Diaz also won the 2024 Bolchazy Pedagogy Book Award, awarded by CAMWS.
We are so proud of you, Dr. Pérez Díaz!
May 16, 2024
After deliberation and consultation, the following statement was voted on by the whole faculty in the Department of Classics at Columbia University. It was passed by the Department (18 votes in favor, 2 against, 1 abstention, 1 ballot not cast) and hence may be considered as issued in the name of the Department.
As members of the Department of Classics, we are disheartened by the events unfolding on campus. We believe in freedom of speech and academic freedom; we condemn incitement to violence, hate speech, and violence on and around campus. We condemn the university’s decision to bring armed police onto campus without meaningful consultation with the University Senate. We protest the lack of transparency in communications with faculty and students. We call on the university administration to remove the NYPD officers from the campus, and to exercise restraint in disciplinary measures against students. We condemn the lack of legal representation for students during disciplinary proceedings before the recently created "Center for Student Success and Intervention". We deplore recent measures amounting to the locking out of many Columbia students from the libraries and facilities on campus. We note with dismay the administration’s lack of understanding of the academic and practical workings of our community. Finally, we support the Senate's decision to conduct an investigation of recent events, especially as concerns the administration’s actions and decisions. These have led to damaging outcomes and to the widespread breakdown of trust in the university’s administration
Professor Katharina Volk wishes it known that she is not a signatory to this statement.
Dr. Karen Van Dyck will be giving a lecture in Crete on May 17, 2024, entitled “Wherever I go, Greece wounds me: Exile, the Nation and Translation.”
Here is the link for Dr. Van Dyck’s talk in Crete
New York Classical Club Greek and Latin Reading Contest - *** Video Edition ***
To enter, e-mail Katharina Volk (kv2018@columbia.edu) by April 12th. Send either a video file or provide a link to your posted video.
We are excited to share this great news from the American Academy in Rome:
“The American Academy in Rome is pleased to announce that Evan Jewell (2023 Fellow) has been selected as the new director of the Classical Summer School. He will immediately step in and oversee the upcoming 2024 Classical Summer School.”
Congratulations Evan!
Photo Credit: The American Academy in Rome
We are delighted to announce that Ph.D. candidate John Izzo has accepted a position of Assistant Professor for 2024–25 at the Intercollegiate Center in Rome.
Read more about the Intercollegiate Center in Rome
Congratulations John!
Edited by Katharina Volk and based on a 2022 CAM conference, this volume is the first collection of academic articles on Publius Nigidius Figulus, the mysterious senator, scholar, and alleged “Pythagorean and magus” of the late Roman Republic, offering perspectives on his politics, philosophy, mythography, biology, religious studies, linguistic thought, divinatory activities, and reception.
Contributors: Katharina Volk, Philip Thibodeau, Daniele F. Maras, Duncan E. MacRae, Jay Reed, Phillip Sidney Horky, Alessandro Garcea, Fabio Tutrone, and Giulio Celotto.
Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition 47, Leiden: Brill, 2024.
Professor Karen Van Dyck beautifully translated All Alone by Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke (1939-2020) for World Literature Today.
Image from World Literature Today via Voyagerixon - stock.adobe.com
Event link: https://sofheyman.org/events/celebrating-recent-work-by-ellen-morris
Join us for our New Book Series event honoring Famine and Feast in Ancient Egypt by Ellen Morris. Famine and Feast in Ancient Egypt covers the creation and curation of social memory in pharaonic and Greco-Roman Egypt.
Professor Morris will be joined by panelists Zoë Crossland, John Ma, Joseph Manning, and Nancy Worman.
Tuesday, October 10, 2023, 6:15 pm EST | In person at the Heyman Center and online via Zoom
Registration required
We are so excited to announce that our very own Izzy Levy has won the 2023 Winkler Prize for their essay "Poetic World-Building, Queer Ephemerality, and Sapphic Memory Work: Fragment 94 and Eloise Klein Healy’s The Islands Project: Poems for Sappho."
“The graduate winner of the 2022 Winkler Memorial Prize is Izzy Levy, Ph.D. candidate in Classics from Columbia University, for their essay, "Poetic World-Building, Queer Ephemerality, and Sapphic Memory Work: Fragment 94 and Eloise Klein Healy’s The Islands Project: Poems for Sappho" Izzy's essay examines the importance of loss and rupture in Sappho's fr. 94, developed through an intertextual reading of Klein Healy's response to Sappho, mediated by the concept of "queer ephemerality" articulated by José Esteban Muñoz” (2023, Oberlin College and Conservatory)
The Department of Classics is delighted to announce a new BA/MA program in Classics. The BA/MA program in Classics is available to current Columbia undergraduates irrespective of major and allows students to complete an MA in Classics within one year of receiving their BA, with the possibility of transferring in up to three courses (9-12 credits) taken as undergraduates.
Intend to pursue graduate study in Classics, Classical Archaeology, History, Philosophy, Art History, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and related disciplines, in which the Classical tradition and Classical reception are central;
Are contemplating careers in which a Classical education provides beneficial preparation (education, law, medicine, international diplomacy, publishing, theater);
Wish to acquire advanced knowledge of ancient Greek and Latin literature and languages;
Are simply fascinated by antiquity and wish to study the subject beyond the undergraduate level.
For details, see https://www.gsas.columbia.edu/content/bama-option.
The BA/MA program in Classics has rolling admissions. However, applicants interested in the BA/MA option should apply at least two months prior to the semester in which they intend to begin taking courses that will count toward the MA. Ideally, students apply during their junior year or during the first semester of their senior year. Applicants who are admitted to the BA/MA program receive permission to commence MA coursework in Classics, with a promise of official admission to the MA program following the conferral of the undergraduate degree.
• 30 credits comprised of nine or ten courses at the 4000 level or above, seven of which must be taken for graded credit
• Of these courses, students are required either to attend two semesters of the Graduate Research Colloquium (CLCV GR5010; 2 credits each semester) or to write an M.A. thesis under the rubric of CLPH GR 5000 (4 credits).
• Of the remaining courses, all except two must be in Greek (GREK) and/or Latin (LATN). The other two may be civilization courses offered by the Department or courses on the ancient world in other departments.
For questions regarding the BA/MA program, contact the Director of Graduate Studies in Classics, Professor Gareth Williams at gdw5@columbia.edu
Questions regarding the BA programs in Classics, Classical Studies, and Ancient Studies, contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Classics, Professor Nikolas Kakkoufa: at nk2776@columbia.edu
Friday, September 1, 2023
1:00 PM 3:00 PM
Greek (Ancient), Latin Placement Exam - 616 Hamilton Hall
If students have questions please reach out to Professor Marcus Folch: mf2664@columbia.edu
**This is a sight exam; no dictionaries or grammatical aids may be used.**
The Department of Classics mourns the tragic death of Raffaella Cribiore— papyrologist, social historian, cultural historian of education, and wonderful friend. A native of Milan, Raffaella wrote her dissertation at Columbia with Roger Bagnall (1993); this formed the basis of her acclaimed Writing, Teachers, and Students in Graeco-Roman Egypt (1996). Her interest in education led to a further book, the Goodwin Prize-winning Gymnastics of the Mind (2004), and several more works on Libanius. Her expertise in papyrology is reflected in her long-standing curation of the extensive papyrological holdings at Columbia, At the time of her death, Raffaella was Professor of Classics at NYU. Her warmth, wit, and whole person will be immensely missed.
