Commencement 2011
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Nota Bene Vol. 16 No. 2 NEWS FROM THE HARVARD DEPARTMENT OF THE CLASSICS Commencement 2011 Notes from the Chair by John Duffy he end of another busy academic year finds the Department a little weather- beaten, but proud of its successes, and united in spirit to confront the staffing challenges that have piled up at an alarming rate in the last two years. As things stand,T we are in need of new faculty members in the areas of Latin, Greek, Ancient Philoso- phy, and Byzantine Greek will soon be added to the list. The summer is almost upon us and we are still waiting to hear from the administration about search authorizations for next year. Closing the gaps in the Department’s faculty roster will be the major focus of our ef- forts for the foreseeable future. On the positive side we can rejoice that Paul Kosmin will begin his professional career with us in the Fall, as Assistant Professor of Greek History. Brad Inwood (U. of Toronto) ushered in the Spring with a lively and excellent set of four Jackson Lectures on the topic of “Ethics after Aristotle.” It is anticipated that these will be published as a book, in the near future, by Harvard University Press. The Class of 2011, numbering a robust seventeen students, happily includes the first three graduates of the recently installed concentration track in Classical Civilizations. It was also a record- breaking year for senior theses, with thirteen submitted. One of them, by Raquel Begleiter, was deservedly awarded a Hoopes prize, though the tally should have been higher, as there were three other outstanding nominees from the Department. Gisela Striker, after many years of fostering the study of Ancient Philosophy at Harvard, most recently as the Walter C. Klein Professor, has begun her retirement. Her contributions to the departments of Philosophy and the Classics were fittingly celebrated at a special colloquium on “Ancient Logic, Epistemology, and Ethics” held on May 6–7. Finally, signing off after four years as Chair of the Department, I wish to put the fol- lowing on record: my immense pride at having been entrusted with leading a truly out- standing community of colleagues, staff, and students; heartfelt gratitude to the series of devoted Directors of Undergraduate and Graduate studies who are the lynchpins of our academic programs; and, as ever, unbounded admiration for the superb work of Teresa Wu, Alyson Lynch, and Ivy Livingston, without whose expertise and common sense in all matters practical it would have been impossible for me to keep one foot correctly in front of the other. Contents Class of 2011.................2 Department Events.........6 Senior Reflections.......4 Salvete..............................9 News and Awards........5 Valete..............................10 Senior Concentrators Future Plans Senior Honors Theses Benjamin Bayley hopes to spend the next year at a New England Benjamin Bayley: “Reading Between the Lines: The prep school, teaching Latin and coaching rowing, while he waits to Interaction of Text and Space in Roman Epigraphy,” attend the Naval Officers Candidate School, where he will be com- advised by Kathleen Coleman missioned as either an Intelligence Officer or a Naval Flight Officer. Raquel Begleiter: “Who Wishes to Speak? Freedom Raquel Begleiter will spend next year at Oxford completing an MSt of Speech and Classes of Speakers in Classical Athens,” in Classics on the Knox Fellowship. Afterward, she plans to apply to advised by Albert Henrichs PhD programs in Classics, although she may sneak in one year off from Patrick Brennan: “Quid stemmata faciunt? The Chang- academia before diving back in. ing Roles of the Roman Nobility from the Late Republic Patrick Brennan will be writing and editing for the National Review in to the Principate,” advised by Kathleen Coleman New York as the William F. Buckley Fellow. He will be making liberal Charlie Bridge: “Ars Admirabilis: Transcendent and use of Classical allusions. Transgressive Artists in Ovid’s Metamorphoses,” advised Charlie Bridge is moving to New York to work for Tower Research, a by Richard Tarrant job which may bring him back to Cambridge from time to time. In a Jordan Bryant: “Russia’s Appian Way: How the Clas- few years, he hopes to attend graduate school. sics Shaped Imperial Identity from Peter I to Alexander Jordan Bryant, having received the 2011-12 Stowe-Harvard Fellow- I,” advised by Emma Dench and Michael Flier ship, will spend the next year in Buckinghamshire, England teaching Signe Conway: “When Opposites Attract: Reading and proctoring at the well-known Stowe School. After this, she hopes Plato’s Symposium as an Instruction in the Power of to head off for a year to Russia in order to teach English in Vladimir, Paradox,” advised by Mark Schiefsky utilizing the teaching experience gained at Stowe and her love for all Felice Ford: “Euripides’ Bakkhai: a New Translation in things Slavic! Finally, she plans to come back to the States to engage Verse and Prose,” advised by Albert Henrichs in post-graduate studies, hopefully a JD/PhD in Slavic studies. Ann Forman: “Deviant Diners: An Examination of Signe Conway will be working in finance in New York. She hopes to Guests and Hosts in Roman Literature,” advised by maybe return to Classics after her two-year stint is through! Richard Tarrant Felice Ford plans to go wherever her passions take her, be it medicine, Iya Megre: “Sealed With a Kiss: Mediated Communica- philology, or burlesque. More likely than not, it will be a combination tion in Chariton’s Callirhoe,” advised by David Elmer of the three—and she’s perfectly happy with that. Sara Mills: “For Better, for Worse: Marriage and Citi- Ann Forman will be working for The Advisory Board Company in zenship as Compensating Mechanisms in Roman Washington, D.C. After that, she intends to find out if a Classics degree Society,” advised by Kathleen Coleman really does give you an advantage in medical school. Nicholas Nehamas: “Μανία Μουσῶν,” advised by Brian Hill hopes to pursue an MPhil in the Classics at Trinity College Mark Schiefsky Dublin, and eventually work toward a PhD to one day become a teacher William Newell: “Visual Power: The Colosseum as a or professor of the Classics. Political Tool in Rome,” advised by Kathleen Coleman Iya Megre will attend Yale Law School in the fall. Kyle Ralston: “Inventing the Roman City,” advised by Sara Mills will begin her (attempted) transition into adulthood im- Emma Dench mediately by working at the Emergency Medicine Network of MGH for six months, before moving to the Eternal City to work as an assistant English teacher at a liceo scientifico. Medical school is on the horizon after that, but she thinks that’s enough planning for now. Nicholas Nehamas will be a proctor at the Harvard Summer School Prizes and Fellowships this July and August. He is thinking about applying to graduate schools Arthur Deloraine Corey Fellowship: Brian Hill and in Classics. Kyle Ralston William Newell will be moving out to Oklahoma City to train with the Department Prizes: U.S. National Rowing team, trying to make the Olympics in 2012. Raquel Begleiter, Jordan Bryant, Ann Forman, Sara Andrew Parchman will be an analyst at UBS Investment Bank in Mills Chicago next year. Hoopes Prizes: Raquel Begleiter Kyle Ralston will spend this summer working as an intern on the Oral Louis Curtis Prize (Latin): Kyle Ralston History Project at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC before depart- ing in the fall for Oxford, where he will spend a year pursuing his MSt William King Richardson Scholarship (Greek and in Greek and/or Roman History. He then intends to return to the U.S. Latin): Iya Megre and apply for further graduate study in philology. Pease Thesis Prize (Latin): Charlie Bridge Michael Wang will be living and working in the Boston area, with his Smyth Thesis Prize (Greek): Signe Conway, Felice sights set on moving to the West Coast in the near future. Ford, Nicholas Nehamas 2 Patrick Brennan Charlie Bridge Benjamin Bailey Raquel Begleiter Ann Forman Jordan Bryant Signe Conway Felice Ford Nicholas Nehamas Brian Hill Iya Megre Sara Mills Michael Wang William Newell Andrew Parchman Winifred Garet Kyle Ralston (not pictured) 3 Senior Reflections recently undertook a personal archaeological project and dug up my statement for college. To quote 17-year-old Raquel, “Part of me hates that most people think Latin is just a boring dead language; part of me is selfishly happy that not everyone gets it.” Aside from being slightly mortified to discover the expressionI “super cool” elsewhere in the essay, I am struck by how familiar the voice is. I still wonder why everyone isn’t beating down the door of Boylston to study Classics. Here exist those vague and hard to ar- ticulate qualities that colleges boast of offering, but often fail to deliver, such as the intriguing “intellectual curiosity,” and the cherished but elusive “real” sense of community. These are things that we students on some level knew we wanted, but did not recognize until we encountered them. To put it simply, this Department is a treasure hiding in plain sight. It may be overlooked by many, but it is shared generously with anyone who shows an interest. It took me a little while to figure out that you only have to ask, and what you need will likely materialize. You want a meeting to talk about writing a thesis or applying to graduate school? Done. And with pizza too! Maybe you’d like individual attention? It’s yours for the taking. I have contacted nearly every professor and graduate student in this Department at least once for help or advice, and I can’t count the times I have dropped by to consult Ivy, Teresa, and Alyson.