Eta Sigma Phi joins High School Latin students and Grex Ludouicopolitanus for a Classical Afternoon
On Saturday, November 19, Eta Sigma Phi hosted another Classics Competition. The society hosted eight teams this year, with two new schools. The newcomer MICDS took the title this year, defeating runner up University City, who were the reigning champions.
Welcome to WashU: A Q&A with Zoe Stamatopoulou
This year, we welcomed our new Associate Professor, Zoe Stamatopoulou. Her research and teaching encompass several aspects of ancient Greek literature and culture, but her work focuses primarily on archaic and classical poetry (Homer, Hesiod, lyric poetry, drama). She is also interested in the symposium, in ancient biographies of poets, and in the reception of archaic Greece in Imperial Greek literature (esp. Plutarch).
Zoe Stamatopoulou’s article appears in the Center for Hellenic Studies Research Bulletin
"Constructing Periander in Plutarch’s Symposium of the Seven Sages”, by Washington University associate professor of Classics Zoe Stamatopoulou, has appeared in the Research Bulletin of the Center for Hellenic Studies.
The Department of Classics Welcomes Assistant Professor Nicola Aravecchia
The Department of Classics, along with the Department of Art History & Archaeology, are happy to welcome Nicola Aravecchia to our faculty teams! Professor Aravecchia holds a Ph.D. in Art History and an M.A. in Ancient and Medieval Art & Archaeology, both from the University of Minnesota, and a B.A. in Classical Studies from the University of Bologna.
Joe MacDonald's paper accepted for 'The Making of the Humanities VI' conference
lassics PhD Student, Joe MacDonald, has recently had his paper accepted by the Society for the History of Humanities for 'The Making of the Humanities VI' conference at the University of Oxford in September.
John Biggs Given Search Award by Eliot Society
Washington University’s Eliot Society has awarded to John Biggs, a great friend of the Classics Department, its Search Award for a member of the society "whose outstanding contributions have advanced excellence in teaching, research and service to society.”
Tyler Kirby competes in Hack The Lou
The Hack The Lou hackathon was hosted by Label Insight at the T-Rex center on Saturday, Oct. 21st. It was an all-day event where teams of software engineers competed to build fully featured products using Label Insight’s product nutrients data API.
Washington University in St. Louis to host 2018 American Society of Papyrologists' Summer Institute in Papyrology
The American Society of Papyrologists and Washington University are sponsoring a summer institute in papyrology for advanced graduate students and junior faculty in ancient studies (classics, history, religious studies, Egyptology, archaeology, and related disciplines).
Tim Moore to be a Faculty Fellow at the Washington University Center for the Humanities.
In Fall 2018, Professor Tim Moore will be a Faculty Fellow at the Washington University Center for the Humanities. During that time, he will research ancient music in order to begin two major projects: an open-access website charting musical changes in ancient Greek and Roman plays (to be constructed with help from Washington University’s Humanities Digital Workshop), and a book titled Music and Meaning in Ancient Greek and Roman Theater.
Tim Moore awarded Center for Hellenic Studies fellowship
We are delighted to announce that Professor Moore has been awarded a second fellowship for his sabbatical next year. After spending the fall at the Center for Humanities at Washington University, he will continue his research on music in ancient drama in an eight-week residential fellowship at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC during the spring semester. Congratulations, Professor Moore!
Tom Keeline wins Summer Seed Grant from the Center for the Humanities
Professor Tom Keeline has been awarded an Arts & Sciences Summer Research Seed Grant from the Center for the Humanities. Professor Keeline will use the funds to support his preparation of larger grant applications for his next research leave, when he will work on his digital critical edition of Ovid's Ibis. Congratulations, Professor Keeline!
Classics Undergrads Present at Research Colloquium
Six Washington University Classics Students presented their research on May 1st at an Undergraduate Research Symposium sponsored by the Washington University Classics Club and the Alpha Xi chapter of Eta Sigma Phi.
Junior Classics major shares his research on video promoting undergraduate research in humanities
Josiah Foster, Department of Classics, "Archimedes made geometry a heck of a lot more interesting and useful!"
Senior Classics major explains his honors thesis for Center for the Humanities video series
Russell Clark, Class of 2018, can be seen explaining his thesis project on ancient purple dyes in this video from the series produced to publicize undergraduate research in the humanities. Thanks to the Merle Kling Undergraduate Honors Fellowship and the Center for the Humanities for making these videos about our great students, and congratulations to Russell on his hard work and imminent graduation!
Undergrad Research
create knowledge in any discipline with the office of undergrad research
Rebecca Sears joins department faculty as Lecturer
The department is delighted to announce that Dr. Rebecca Sears is our newest Lecturer and will be with us in 2018-19. Dr. Sears holds a PhD from the University of Michigan, and her research interests include ancient music, papyrology, Latin poetry, particularly Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and ancient magic.
Pascale Stain's BA thesis to be published
The Honors Thesis of Pascale Stain, BA '18, has been accepted (in an abridged format) for publication in Persephone, the undergraduate Classics journal at Harvard University. Pascale also gave a presentation on her thesis, "Tracking the Trickster: Examining the Pre-Eminent Figure of Myth," at the Classics Undergraduate Research Symposium this spring (pictured). Congratulations, Pascale!
Opening for Postdoctoral Fellow with Numismatics expertise
Washington University in St. Louis has been authorized to appoint a full-time Postdoctoral Fellow to catalogue the John Max Wulfing Collection of Ancient Coins.
Thinking of graduate school?
Thinking of graduate school?
Your undergraduate Classics or Ancient Studies degree will help you in any number of professions or pursuits, because it combines key skill development and deep engagement with perennially relevant human questions.
A graduate degree in Classics or a related field is one path. Graduate school is a long and a challenging experience – most PhD programs take six years, and MA programs two densely packed years – but it can be a highly rewarding experience as well. If you wish to continue in academia, be aware of the following facts, and plan ahead:
Professor Bubelis gives talks at two conferences in Greece
Will Bubelis recently spoke at two conferences in Greece.
Research Resources
Biggs Residency Reunion 2018
On April 11-13, 2018, a nearly thirty-year tradition of community engagement with Classical scholarship at Washington University was honored in a three-day public symposium
John Camp, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Professor of Classics, Randolph-Macon College; American School of Classical Studies at Athens
The Aristocratic Democracy: Cult and Art in Classical Athens
Tom Keeline wins prestigious book award from CAMWS
Professor Tom Keeline’s 2018 book has just been selected to win the 2019 First Book Award from the Classical Association of the Middle West and South.
Tom Keeline awarded two major fellowships for work on digital text
The department congratulates Professor Tom Keeline for winning two prestigious fellowships to support his research.
Nicola Aravecchia’s book on Egyptian excavations is published
Professor Nicola Aravecchia is celebrating the appearance of his book on an important site in the early history of Egyptian Christianity.
'Ain el-Gedida: 2006-2008 Excavations of a Late Antique Site in Egypt's Western Desert
- By:Nicola Aravecchia
The George R. Throop Endowment
Awards for The George R. Throop Endowment are made under the following endowment guidelines: “The purpose of this endowment is to promote studies of Western Classics and Archaeology. The income from this endowed fund is to be awarded annually to a student(s) or academic for preparation of an accepted Classics study or participation in a recognized archaeological project. Copies of the work are to be furnished to the donors.”
Kayla Zoschg wins Lamberton-Rotroff Award
The 2019 graduate recipient of the Lamberton-Rotroff Award is Classics MA student Kayla Zoschg.
More supported student travels anticipated for Summer 2019
Many of our students are planning travels this summer! The department is pleased to be contributing to several exciting experiences from its travel fund.
Susan I. Rotroff named the 2020 recipient of the Aristeia Award for Distinguished Alumni/ae of the ASCSA
Jarvis Thurston & Mona Van Duyn Professor Emerita Susan Rotroff has been named the 2020 recipient of the Aristeia Award for Distinguished Alumni/ae of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
Resources for antiracism and inclusivity in Classics
Some resources for antiracism and inclusivity in Classics
There are many efforts under way across the field of Classics to confront the longtime and damaging exclusion of underrepresented groups, especially Black and other people of color, from the field. The department is eager to support all our students and to be part of the long-overdue remedy for historical wrongs. We list here some resources that can help our students pursue their goals, and that can help unite our entire community in a commitment to justice and principled scholarship.
Classics Announces Annual Funding Opportunities for Students
The 2021 Kevin Herbert Memorial Fund and the Robert Lamberton and Susan Rotroff Fund
Joint Computational Linguistics search launched
Search is part of Dean's Digital Transformations cluster hire initiative
2021 Ursus Newsletter
Senior Project
Suggested for all majors in Classics or Ancient Studies who have not completed their college 'capstone' experience in another major, or who are not satisfying this requirement by means of a Senior Honors Thesis in Classics, Greek, or Latin, or in some other way. A structured research assignment or independent project under the supervision of one of the department's faculty is required. Prerequisites: Senior standing and permission of the Chair of the Department.
Race and Identity in Greco-Roman Antiquity
This seminar will start from one big question: Were the ancient Greeks and Romans white? We will examine this question -- and the questions that spring from it -- from two angles. First, using literary and archaeological evidence and informed by modern critical race theory, we will investigate how people living in the ancient Mediterranean understood difference: between themselves and others as well as among their own citizens. Did they have a concept of race at all? If not, how did they theorize difference? Second, we will study how and why the modern race system in the United States uses antiquity and racializes the premodern past. Students will write several short responses to sources over the semester and complete a research paper on a topic of their choice.
Hesiod
In this course, we will read substantial passages from the works attributed to Hesiod, an archaic period Greek poet whose style and subject matter are often contrasted to Homer, and whose influence on Greek literary culture was second only to Homer's. Hesiod's two major poems, "Theogony" and "Works and Days" form important evidence for the Greek rhapsodic tradition, and the mythological content and compressed styles of these mini-epics strongly influenced later Hellenistic Greek and Roman poets. Through discussion of readings from recent scholarship, we will consider topics including the authorship and dating of the Hesiodic corpus, Hesiod's Near-Eastern influences, oral poetics, mythography, genre studies, and narratology. Preparation of substantial Greek reading assignments will be supplemented with frequent practice of scansion (both written and oral) and the parallel development of sight translation skills. Students will be responsible for the development of a portfolio consisting of written translations, creative and interpretive mini-projects, a commentary, and an original research project.
Our Research
The Women of Greek Tragedy
This course examines the role of women in Athenian drama. You will read English translations of the works of the three major tragedians, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and their near contemporary, the comedian Aristophanes. Direct engagement with ancient texts will encourage you to develop your own interpretations of, and written responses to, the political, social, and ethical manipulation that these mythological women were compelled to endure, and the subtle ways in which they appear to exercise power themselves. Selected scholarly articles and book chapters will help you contextualize these ancient dramas in their culture of origin. Because such issues continue to preoccupy both sexes today, you will see how Greek tragedy addresses perennial historical and cultural concerns through the examination of adaptations of Greek tragedies ranging from Seneca in ancient Rome to Spike Lee's Chi-raq. Your final research paper will encourage you to consider how a specific female character from antiquity is transformed for a 'modern' dramatic audience.
Survey of Roman Literature II: The Empire
An overview of the literature of the Roman imperial period, for graduate students. We will read substantial excerpts from major texts and authors beginning with the Augustan era and extending at least two centuries. By encountering a range of genres and styles, students will develop important reading strategies, cover a substantial amount of the graduate Latin Reading Lists, learn about the history and contexts of literary production in the empire, and become confident users of the relevant bibliography and research tools. PREREQ: GRADUATE STANDING IN CLASSICS, OR IN ANOTHER DEPARTMENT WITH PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
Ovid
In this course, we will read selections from the monumental and multifaceted "Metamorphoses of Ovid," which was composed before the poet´s exile from Rome in 8 CE. Supplementary readings from Ovid's elegiac verse will give us a fuller picture of the poet's career and cultural context. Substantial daily Latin readings will be supplemented with practice of scansion, additional readings from related ancient works, and readings from modern scholarship on the poem. There will be regular translation quizzes, a final exam, student presentations, and a final research and writing project. Prerequisites: Latin 3171, Latin 3181 (or equivalent, and sophomore standing or above.
Horace
Who would write satire while the world was falling apart? For one, a young Horace, who was many years away from presiding over the Roman poetic scene as author of the famed Odes. From 36 to 30 BCE, Horace was watching the republic disintegrate and his own prospects hang in the balance; in this climate, he chose to enter the poetic scene with the hexameter Sermones ("Chats"). With striking energy, learning, and talent, Horace playfully explores human character flaws, the ethics of free speech and satire, and poetic and social competition in Rome; he also throws in personal revelations, fables, gastronomical lectures, sexual gossip, and fart jokes. Together, we will read most of the eighteen Sermones in Latin. We will discuss them from our own perspectives while also learning from scholars who examine their poetic, ethical, and political commentary. Assessments will include short translation-and-commentary tests, stints leading discussion of passages or articles, and at least one paper project utilizing research skills. Senior Classics majors may choose to use this course as a capstone experience by completing additional work (consult the instructor at the beginning of the semester). PREREQS: LATIN 3171 and LATIN 3181 (OR EQUIVALENT) AND SOPHOMORE STANDING OR ABOVE.
Horace
Who would write satire while the world was falling apart? For one, a young Horace, who was many years away from presiding over the Roman poetic scene as author of the famed Odes. From 36 to 30 BCE, Horace was watching the republic disintegrate and his own prospects hang in the balance; in this climate, he chose to enter the poetic scene with the hexameter Sermones ("Chats"). With striking energy, learning, and talent, Horace playfully explores human character flaws, the ethics of free speech and satire, and poetic and social competition in Rome; he also throws in personal revelations, fables, gastronomical lectures, sexual gossip, and fart jokes. Together, we will read most of the eighteen Sermones in Latin. We will discuss them from our own perspectives while also learning from scholars who examine their poetic, ethical, and political commentary. Assessments will include short translation-and-commentary tests, stints leading discussion of passages or articles, and at least one paper project utilizing research skills. Senior Classics majors may choose to use this course as a capstone experience by completing additional work (consult the instructor at the beginning of the semester). PREREQS: LATIN 3171 and LATIN 3181 (OR EQUIVALENT) AND SOPHOMORE STANDING OR ABOVE.
MA Student Phillip Register visits American Numismatic Society
Donations to the WashU Classics Department allowed MA student Philip Register to carry our research for his MA thesis on coins of the Hellenistic rulers the Lysimachi at the American Numismatic Society in New York. Philip reports on the experience here.
Martial and Juvenal
This course examines the Epigrams of Martial and the Satires of Juvenal in their context (Rome and the Roman world of the 80s-120s CE). Near- contemporaries and acquaintances, these two poets have had a massive impact on modern perceptions of the state of Rome under Domitian, Nerva, Trajan, and Hadrian. The world they represent is actually as much a poetic world full of dramas and fictions as it is a real place. From our readings of the poets and from sources on their work and times, we will gain an understanding of their literary agendas. Topics of discussion and research will include imperial politics, the poetic career and literary tradition, Roman public spaces, amicitia and its rituals, private life, and sexual behavior. We will relentlessly practice accurate and clear Latin translation and scansion of the meters used by the epigrammatist and satirist, and every student will conduct and present original research. PREREQ: Graduate student status in Classics, or permission of the instructor.
Tim Moore's European Summer
From the Renaissance to Nazi Germany:Ancient Greece and Rome in German Nationalism
In 1943 the Nazi SS stormed the Italian Villa Fontedamo in search of a book: the "Germania" of the ancient Roman historian Tacitus. Storming the villa was just one example of a quest Germans had been undertaking since the Renaissance: to find German national identity with the help of Ancient Greece and Rome. In this course, we will study the impact that Greece and Rome had on German national identity starting in the 16th century, when a group of poet-scholars transformed ancient Roman texts into central components of German national identity. We will trace it through the Enlightenment in the 17th-18th centuries and the age of imperialism in the 19th century , ending with how the Nazis reinterpreted the culture of Ancient Greece and Rome as a justification for fascism and violent nationalism. We will debate extensively and write in detail about questions of authority, identity, tolerance, and intolerance. Our goals are to understand classical culture's potential for use and abuse, and to develop tools for historical thought and insight that help us understand the past and present.
Hesiod
In this course, we will read substantial passages from the works attributed to Hesiod, an archaic period Greek poet whose style and subject matter are often contrasted to Homer, and whose influence on Greek literary culture was second only to Homer's. Hesiod's two major poems, "Theogony" and "Works and Days" form important evidence for the Greek rhapsodic tradition, and the mythological content and compressed styles of these mini-epics strongly influenced later Hellenistic Greek and Roman poets. Through discussion of readings from recent scholarship, we will consider topics including the authorship and dating of the Hesiodic corpus, Hesiod's Near-Eastern influences, oral poetics, mythography, genre studies, and narratology. Preparation of substantial Greek reading assignments will be supplemented with frequent practice of scansion (both written and oral) and the parallel development of sight translation skills. Students will be responsible for the development of a portfolio consisting of written translations, creative and interpretive mini-projects, a commentary, and an original research project.
Hundred-Gated Thebes: Ancient Egypt as told by the Greeks and Romans
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Spotlight: Tori Lee
MA Washington University 2016 (Thesis: “Catullan Obscenity and Modern English Translation”)
Mizera-Risch Fund
Call for Proposals
The Suzanne Mizera and James Risch Fund for Student Research and Resources in Classics will support the following projects and expenses for Classics students.
Lamberton-Rotroff Fund
The Robert Lamberton and Susan Rotroff Fund in Classics supports any form of summer study by undergraduate or graduate students in the Department of Classics, or by undergraduate or graduate students in the Department of Art History and Archaeology whose primary interest is in ancient Greece and/or Rome. Activities to be supported by this fund include but are not limited to the following:
Spotlight: Constantine Karathanasis
MA Washington University 2017; PhD Washington University 2022
David Armstrong, MA 2020
Upper School Latin Teacher, Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School
I arrived at Wash U for the MA in Classics program fresh off the heels of having completed another graduate program in Religious Studies at Missouri State University. At my alma mater, I had minored in Classical Greek, taken additional courses in Hebrew and Latin, and my original plan in coming to do the MA was simply to round out my knowledge of the ancient world in preparation to apply for a PhD program in New Testament.
While my love of Religious Studies has not declined, I found so much more than I set out looking for in Umrath Hall. First, I finally had the chance to really sit with the languages, histories, philosophies, poetry, and oratory of the Greeks and Romans in a way that I had not had the opportunity to do previously. Through surveys in Greek and Latin literature and seminars in specialized topics related to the research interests of a dazzlingly talented faculty, I felt for the first time like I had really become a classicist. Four years after graduation, I teach full-time Latin (& someday, Deo volente, Greek) at a local St. Louis independent high school.
Second, I was not just taught to read Greek and Latin: I was taught to connect classics to the human experience. It is not possible to read Homer, Hesiod, Plato, Callimachus, Horace, Vergil, Ovid, and the like and not come away with some really good material for the big questions. And the MA program centered those questions in big ways, both in our classrooms and in extracurricular discussion.
But third, and most important: the grad program gave me great relationships with amazing professors and a wonderful cohort of friends. The best part of humanism is surely the humans you share it with, and I promise you’ll find that to be true here. I know I did.
Guided Research Experiences in Field Archaeology
This course code will allow WashU students to earn credits for training in archaeology through fieldwork at archaeological digs and field schools. We define archaeological training broadly as encompassing at least two of the following: (a) work in the trenches, (b) photographing, cataloguing, and/or curating findings, (c) conducting lab work, (d) assisting the director(s) in other fieldwork-related tasks, such as project management and logistics, research and publication (scholarly and/or public-facing), and digital content creation.
Call for Proposals: George R. Throop Endowment Supports Research in Classics and Archaeology
Now accepting proposals for its 2025 funding cycle