OBERLIN COLLEGE, SUMMER 2016, NUMBER 21 Oberlin Classics DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS FROM THE EDITOR’S ZIP-PHONE By Kirk Ormand Oberlin College 10 North Professor Street ello, and welcome to another edition of the classics department newsletter. You’ll Oberlin, OH 44074-1095 USA notice that this publication has a new editor; with Drew Wilburn now chair of the P: 440-775-8390 H department, I have wrested the coveted position of editor from his busy hands. I’m http://new.oberlin.edu/classics trying hard not to let all this power go to my head. Drew Wilburn (Chair) As always, this has been a busy year for our department. The major event of the spring of Kirk Ormand 2015, as most of you must know, was the celebration we held in honor of Tom Van Nortwick Chris Trinacty as he ambles into retirement. The day was marked by a mini-symposium, in which eight Tom Van Nortwick of Tom’s former students gave talks about their work, the study of classics, and the ways in Ben Lee which both of those things have had an impact on their lives. You’ll find an article and lots Naomi Campa of pictures from the celebratory dinner in the pages of this newsletter. Karen Barnes: Administrative Since then, we’ve had a typically busy fall and spring. (I meant to get the newsletter out in Assistant March, but as I wrap it up we’re closing in on graduation). We’re joined this year by Naomi Campa, a recent PhD from the U-Washington, as a Mellon post-doc. Naomi works in ancient political theory, with a particular focus on the idea of personal freedom in the Athenian democracy. This spring Naomi is teaching a new course on Athenian ideas of citizenship. TABLE OF CONTENTS Our Martin Lecturer this fall was Ruby Blondell of the U.-Washington (who, coinci- 1 Editor’s Note dentally, was Naomi’s dissertation advisor). Ruby gave a scintillating set of lectures on the 2 Faculty Notes topic of Helen (of Troy) on the small and large screen. We also hosted the annual Winkler 3 Martin Lectures 4 Congrats New Grads Lecture, this year delivered by John Wein of the U.-California Berkeley, who spoke on 4 Nate Greenberg Ovid’s story of Philomela and the rape-revenge film. 5 Lord Award It has been a strongly multimedia year for us; this spring the classics department 6 TVN Scholarship Fund cosponsored (with Africana studies and comparative American studies) a showing of 8 Alumni News Spike Lee’s Chiraq—a modern reimagining of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. Over 200 students, faculty, and community members came to the screening and brief pre-film discussion. We also cosponsored (with archaeological studies) a talk from Katherine Hanson speaking Editor: Kirk Ormand about the destruction of cultural property (especially archaeological sites) in modern- day war zones. And as I write this, we are anticipating the arrival next week of Denise Masthead image: Kylix with Palmette- Eye Motif, 520-510 BC, earthenware, McCoskey, who spoke about the construction of race in antiquity with a talk titled “Race 4 15/16 x 12 5/16 in., Allen Memorial Before Whiteness.” Finally, in April, Chris Trinacty put together the first instantiation of Art Museum, General Acquisitions the Midwest Classics Literary Conference, which took place at Oberlin. We hope this will Fund, 1967 be an annual event that will cycle around to a different college each year. continued on page 2 EDITOR’S NOTE, CONT. This spring’s Bardic Reading saw a first: in a surprise move, the we have strong groups coming up in the sophomore and junior students chose to read Lucan’s De Bello Civili (aka the Pharsalia). classes. As always, our courses in the Civilization sequence draw The poem proved to be gory, dramatic, rhetorically bombastic, strong numbers, and we’re pleased to see the study of the ancient and at times inscrutable. Our sincere hope is that, having now Mediterranean continuing to thrive here. heard the DBC read aloud, Kirk will stop nattering on about it be- By the time you get this newsletter, commencement for 2016 ing “our finest Latin Epic”. will have passed (note the use of the future perfect.) We hope In between these stellar events, we continue to teach our full you came by to visit us in the department; we’re always happy to slate of classes. We graduated 12 majors and minors this year, and see you! FACULTY NOTES DREW WILBURN: “I have been busy at work and with the mischie- vous scamps at home. In July, I took over as chair of the classics department from Ben and began my service on a major college com- mittee, all testament to the fun new adventures that tenure can hold. Over the summer and past year, I continued working on a digital reconstruction of the ancient site of Karanis with Olivia Fountain ’17, Aaron Henry ’19, and Susanna Faas Bush ’19. We launched the project website (karanishousingproject.org) and are adding data. When complete, the project will allow access to digital maps and plans of the site as well as records of the more than 30,000 artifacts and papyri excavated by the University of Michigan between 1924 and 1935. I also began a new collaboration with Ben Kuperman in Drew Wilburn’s Ancient Egypt class at the Kelsey Museum at the computer science that will create a toolkit to quickly digitize old University of Michigan archaeological data. Over the past year, I gave a talk on magic and ritual personnel about the Star Wars universe and instructing my son on the beauty at the Early Christian Cyprus conference at Harvard and reported of watching Tottenham Hotspur soccer.” on his work on the Karanis Housing Project at the Archaeological Institute of America annual meeting in San Francisco, coauthor- KIRK ORMAND: “I enjoyed a sabbatical in 2014-15, during which I ing the paper with Ryan Reynolds ’14, Miranda Rutherford ’15, traveled to Greece, Berlin, and Paris to a) lead an alumni tour; b) Sam Mater ’15 (in computer science), and Olivia Fountain ’17. My work with David Halperin ’73 on a joint project, and c) give a paper book, Materia Magica, came out in paperback and is sure to be a on Foucault, in that order. My volume, Ancient Sex: New Essays, co- favorite gift for Dads and Grads this June. On the home front, the edited with Ruby Blondell, came out over the summer, and I’m now excitement continues. Patrick is in the same first-grade class as Ada working on the revised edition of Controlling Desires. (With two new Trinacty, and Claire (now 4!) spends her days palling around with chapters!) It’s good to be back in the classroom—I enjoyed teaching Ada’s brother Mick at the Early Childhood Center in town. Patrick Age of Nero in the fall and was excited to get back to Homer this and Claire are both very excited to spend spring 2017 in London, spring. I’ve heard rumors that this book of his—The Iliad—is even where Maureen Peters (my spouse and a professor in biology) and better than the movie, and I’m keen to find out for myself.” I will be leading a Medical Mystery Tour (also known as the OC London Program). We’ll be sure to post lots of pictures of the fam- BEN LEE: “The spring semester is off to a great start. I am re- ily at Stonehenge and Hogwarts!” ally enjoying teaching the introductory Latin course, as well as a 300-level course on Rome’s premier epigrammitist, Martial. We CHRIS TRINACTY: “I have been busy working on my next book, a will dedicate a week to studying Oberlin’s most recently acquired commentary on Seneca’s Naturales Quaestiones, and putting the fin- classical manuscript, known as the Oberlin Martial—a 15th- ishing touches on a couple articles. The articles will appear in edited century humanist manuscript executed in Venice. My students are volumes on the Reception of Seneca Tragedy as well as a collection fantastic, and teaching at Oberlin continues to be a genuine plea- on Roman Drama in Context. They will be hot off the presses this sure. As for scholarship, I am working on a text and translation of spring! I’ve been enjoying teaching Latin at all levels at Oberlin, nine Latin essays written in the year 1741 for a prize competition and I’m excited to teach a new class on Greek and Roman theater. at the University of Bordeaux on “the causes of Blackness among Outside of the classroom, I’ve been busy teaching my daughter all the Ethiopians.” This will be published by the W.E.B. Du Bois 2 FACULTY NOTES, CONT. Research Institute institute at Harvard. I am also working on a On a final note, the official initiation into the department via par- paper and lecture concerning Lucian and Apuleius to be delivered ticipation in the Bardic Reading has been successfully completed.” at an international conference on Apuleius in Lyons, France, in the October of 2016. I would love to hear from any and all of you, at KAREN BARNES: “I am keeping busy in my 34th year at Oberlin. [email protected]. Valete!” My first three years were with the economics and government de- partments (yes, it was called the government department in 1982), NAOMI CAMPA: “I joined the Department of Classics last fall for and since 1985 I have been with classics, philosophy, and the a two-year appointment as a Mellon postdoctoral fellow, and I’m London Program.