Classics newsletter Fall 2021

Last year, Augustana was successful in its approach to teaching during the pandemic. Throughout the year, most faculty taught classes as hybrid remote/in-person classes in order to accommodate distance learners as well as in-person students, along with those who needed to isolate or quarantine.

Thanks to rigorous COVID protocols, we succeeded in maintaining in-person classes throughout a year when many colleges had to revert to fully remote learning. Enormous credit goes to our students, who were overwhelmingly conscientious, caring and community-minded.

This year, Augustana returns to in-person teaching. Due to continuing concerns with the Delta variant, the year has begun with required masking. While we are hopeful that by spring we will be able to safely unmask and return more fully to normalcy, we are thrilled to be back in the class with our students.

Faculty and staff news

Dr. Emil Kramer:

In December 2020 at a virtual meeting of the Illinois Classical Conference, Dr. Emil Kramer was honored as the recipient of the ICC’s Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of Classics in the state of Illinois. Dr. Kramer served as vice president and president of the ICC from 2006-2010 and as director of its executive board for years afterwards. Dr. Kramer also brought the annual meeting of the ICC to Augustana in 2008 and again in 2019.

Dr. Kramer retired at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. He started at Augustana in 2002, and had a long and illustrious career teaching courses in Greek, Latin, history, historiography, first-year inquiry, philosophy, and more, and serving as department chair from 2006-2015. While we were not able to honor Dr. Kramer’s service in the high style he deserves due to pandemic restrictions, we did manage to celebrate him with a modest, COVID-safe outdoor gathering at the end of the spring 2021 term. Thanks to so many current and former students who came from near and far to honor Dr. Kramer. Vale, Magister!

In light of Dr. Kramer’s In retirement, Dr. Nicholas Dobson, a classicist who has for the past few years taught courses in German and Linguistics courses for Augustana, will be taking on a larger role in the Classics department. This year, he’ll be teaching the beginning Greek language sequence, the Greek and Latin Roots for Science course, and a course in upper level Greek. Welcome Dr. Dobson! We are happy to have you with us!

We would also like to welcome our new administrative assistants: Bonnie Jessee will be serving Old Main faculty in a full-time capacity while Andrea Wanek will be our part-time support. Jessee has been with Augustana in a number of roles since 2002, most recently serving as Associate Director of Admissions and Transfer Enrollment. Wanek brings to her role experience in a number of private sector positions, including several leadership roles at organizations serving individuals with developmental disabilities. We are glad to have you both with us!

Lectures

Last year, we were pleased to offer two Archaeological Institute of America lectures:

• Dr. Douglas Bamforth: “The Lynch Site and 13th and 14th Century Ethnogenesis on the Central Plains”: Feb. 17, 2021

• Dr. Hilary Becker: “The Etruscan Helmets from Vetulonia: New Evidence for the Life of an Etruscan Soldier”: March 30, 2021

as well as two lectures as part of our “Antiquity in the New Millennium” series:

• Dr. Yurie Hong: “Birthing Ideas in Ancient Greece and the Modern World”: Nov. 17, 2020
• Dr. Sinclair Bell: “Beyond Black vs. White: Africans in the Visual Imagination of the Roman Empire”: March 10, 2021

Due to continuing issues with the pandemic, all these lectures were presented virtually. While we were saddened that we were unable to come together in person, the virtual format allowed us to welcome a wider audience, with attendees joining in from as far away as New York and New Orleans.

This academic year, we are once again pleased to be able to offer four lectures:

• On Sept. 22 at 4:30 p.m. in Hanson 102, we offered our first in-person lecture in nearly two years. Dr. Robert Morley spoke on “Poverty and Social Inequity in the Ancient Mediterranean: What is the Evidence?” Dr. Morley graduated from Augustana in 2011 with majors in Classics and Philosophy; he is back at Augie this year teaching First Year Inquiry after obtaining his MA and PhD in Classics at the University of Iowa. Dr. Morley’s lecture was also offered virtually: while this was a first attempt at a hybrid format, we are hopeful as we go forward that we will be able to continue to provide this flexibility!

• Our “Antiquity in the New Millennium” lecturer this year will be Dr. Jinyu Liu of DePauw University. Dr. Liu will be speaking on “Cross-Cultural Translation of Exile Literature: How Would Ovid Lament in Mandarin?” This will be a virtual lecture on Oct. 27 at 4:30 p.m.

• On March 3, 2022, at 4:30 p.m. in Hanson 102, Dr. Rachel Horner Brackett, a Visiting Assistant Professor in Augustana’s Anthropology department, will present a lecture entitled “Etruscans at the Crossroads”, which will draw on her experience studying Etruscan archaeology in Tuscany in 2015 through a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellowship. This lecture is free and open to the public. For information about joining virtually, please contact Dr. Kirsten Day (kirstenday@augustana.edu).

• Dr. Susan Rotroff, professor emerita from Princeton University, is this year’s AIA lecturer. On Tuesday April 26, 2022 she will present a talk entitled “Dreams, Drugs, Fumigations: Doctoring in Ancient Athens”. Please join us in Hanson 102 at 7:30 p.m.! For information about joining virtually, please contact Dr. Kirsten Day (kirstenday@augustana.edu).

Other activities and events

In August of 2020, Dr. Mischa Hooker hosted a virtual event entitled “Antigone (born against)”, a reading by actors from a Quad Cities theater group of a 2017 adaptation of Sophocles’ play by Griff Bludworth. Bludworth’s version shifts the focus of Sophocles’ play to focus on events of the 21st century. Hosted by the Augustana Classics department, Hooker’s event was held in support of the Black Lives Matter movement’s protests following the death of George Floyd in May of 2020.

Faculty/student research partnership

A note from senior Jameshia Walls

This past spring, Kellis Montgomery (Classics/Biology) and I received a Freistat Grant for our interest in participating in a fellowship with Dr. Mischa Hooker. Our fellowship focused on the enigmatic figure Jean Bodin, a 16th century French political theorist, known for several works including the one we worked on this summer, Colloquium Heptaplomeres de rerum sublimium arcanis abditis (“Colloquium of the Seven about Secrets of the Sublime”).

Our tasks for the project consisted of first getting to know Jean Bodin through introductory material and additional scholarly sources, and then reading an English version of the Colloquium. Personally, throughout the reading portion I focused on specific passages of the text that I liked from Egyptian mummies, to witches and magic, and even to emperors that Bodin wrote about. After reading the text, my final and longest step of the fellowship consisted of working on the Latin passages that I selected and adding vocabulary and annotative/interpretive notes with the mindset that other students would be able to use and look into the material on an online accessible website.

Though work continues on the text this fall, I was fortunate enough to meet with Dr. Hooker on a weekly basis throughout the summer to ask questions about Latin, and just become more familiar with Jean Bodin himself and all the fascinating things he wrote about in his time.

-Jameshia Walls ('22: Classical Studies – Latin/Pre-Med)

Walls and Montgomery will present a report on this project at Augustana’s spring term Celebration of Learning on Wednesday May 4, 2022. I hope you can join us to hear more about their exciting work! 

COLLEGIA CLASSICA!

After more than a year of inactivity as a result of the pandemic, our Classics club Collegia Classica is working to reboot. Our current student leaders have been busy gathering new members, applying for funding from the SGA and through external grants, improving the club's media presence, and planning activities, such as an outing to the 2021 Classics Day events at nearby Monmouth College. Thanks to our fearless leaders for working hard to help reenergize this club! 
 

A note from Co-Consul Kellis Montgomery

Collegia Classica strives to promote appreciation for the study of Greek and Roman civilizations and cultures through events and activities that seek to educate and promote interest in other students. This group is meant to help grow an interest in Classics, whether it is an interest in mythology, ancient civilizations, religion, war history, or maybe you just really like the Percy Jackson series and want to learn more! Collegia Classica organizes events for everyone, including group dinner outings, and movie events for the whole campus. Meeting times for 2021-2022 academic year are Sundays from 2-3 p.m. in Old Main 28. The executive board this year includes Co-Consuls (Co-presidents) Kellis Montgomery and Jameshia Walls, Praetor (Secretary) Henry Webb, Oracle (Media Liaison) Jameshia Walls and Pluton (Treasurer) Ezekiel Aurelius. Come join us for all things Classics!

-Kellis Montgomery (’22 – Classics/Biology)

If you are interested in donating to Collegia Classica in order to help support club activities and events, contact Kirsten Day (kirstenday@augustana.edu).

Classics banquet

One of our most cherished traditions in Classics has been the spring banquet, held annually since 2008 in April (around the time of Rome’s birthday), where we come together to welcome new majors and minors; to recognize our Eta Sigma Phi and Glaux-Aquila honorees; to laud our graduating seniors; and to learn from a speaker who offers a presentation on a Classics-related topic.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from coming together in the spring of 2020 and 2021, but we are planning to reboot this coming spring (Apollo willing!). The banquet is tentatively planned for Tuesday, April 19 from 6-8 p.m. and will feature our traditional Mediterranean buffet and a talk by Classics alumnae April Ladenberger (’08) and Katelyn Farrell (’19) on how Classics has benefitted them in their lives beyond the classroom.

We welcome current and prospective majors and minors, as well as former faculty, supporters, and any alumni who will be in the area. We issue a special invitation to our 2020 and 2021 graduates, who were deprived of the event their senior year! If you are interested in coming, please contact Dr. Kirsten Day (kirstenday@augustana.edu) and I will be sure to keep you informed as plans develop!

Greece program returns

We are happy to announce that the Greece program is scheduled again this spring. The Greece program kicked off in 2012, running in alternate years through 2018. While the pandemic made travel difficult in 2020, Dr. Kirsten Day will partner with former Augie instructor and local educator Sean Chapman to take students to Greece. We will once again travel to Athens, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Olympia, Delphi, Crete, Paros, and Delos. Tune into the next newsletter for an update!

OUR STUDENTS!

WELCOME to our newest majors and minors!

• Allie Anderson: majoring in Classics and Political Science
• Mina Garner: majoring in Multimedia Journalism and Mass Communication with a minor in Classical Studies with a Greek emphasis
• Via Montgomery: majoring in Classical Studies with a Greek emphasis and minoring in Geology
• Laurence Pavlik: majoring in Classics and Geology with an Interdisciplinary Honors minor

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2021 GRADUATES! They are a small but mighty group. Please join us in congratulating the following students:

• Shawn Geison: BA in Classics and History. Shawn is now pursuing a graduate degree in Classics at the University of Iowa. 
• Isabella Koutsopanagos: BA in Classical Studies with a Greek Emphasis and Pre-Medicine. Isabella is currently working as a medical assistant for St. Louis telehealth company SteadyMD. She plans to attend medical school in the near future. 
• Vladislav Novikov: BA in Classics. After a hiatus from Augustana during which he worked as a cocktail and bar specialist in Chicago, Vlad took the opportunity for remote enrollment last year to complete his undergraduate degree in Classics. Vlad recently accepted a position as General Manager for Silverlyan, a renowned cocktail bar in the Riggs Hotel in Washington D.C.
• Jessica Manly: BA in English and Communication Studies with minors in Classical Studies with a Greek Emphasis and Multimedia Journalism and Mass Communication. She is now in the Disney College Program where she works as a custodian and focuses on guest interaction.
 

We would also like to recognize this year’s honorees:

• In 2021, we inducted four students into Augustana’s Epsilon Sigma chapter of Eta Sigma Phi, the national honor society for Classics: congratulations to Morgan Rostamian, Henry Webb, Madeline Young, and Jessica Zabala! While the cancellation of our banquet means that these students were inducted without fanfare, we hope to offer you belated adulation at our 2022 banquet. 

• This year two students also gained entry into Glaux-Aquila, Augustana’s own honor society for those souls who brave both Latin and Greek. Congratulations again to Henry Webb and Jessica Zabala!

• Shawn Geison received this year’s CAMWS award for Outstanding Achievement in Classical Studies. We are proud of you, Shawn!

ALUMNI UPDATES

Danielle (Anderson) Earl ('14: BA in English and Religion; Minor in Classics) is a librarian - with some Latin teaching duties! - at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York, where her husband is pursuing his Master of Divinity.

Steven Mondloch ('17: BA in Classics; minor in Music): After finishing up his MAT in Latin at Amherst, Steven began teaching Latin I-III at Boston Prep in Boston.

Cassidy Potter (’20: BA in Biology and Psychology; minor in Classical Studies-Latin) is working as an HIV Health Educator at Hillcreast Family Services, a non-profit organization where she educates and tests community members for various infections, such as HIV, Hepatitis C, and STDs, free of charge via state funding. She is also pursuing a Master’s degree in Counseling at Loras College.

Ellie Sharp (’20: BA in Classics, Biochemistry, and Physics) is working towards a PhD in Physical Biochemistry at Loyola University Chicago. In a research lab that looks at quantum mechanical properties of antibodies to examine how the rigidity changes as the antibody matures, Ellie is working on the biochemical aspect of this project in creating the antibodies both by traditional mammalian expression and through the use of splenic organoids.

Please send your updates to Kirsten Day (kirstenday@augustana.edu) to be included in the next newsletter!

Acknowledgements

As always, we would like to acknowledge friends of the Classics department for their continuing support. Major funding comes from the Harry S.B. Johnson Fund, established by family and friends in honor of Harry S.B. Johnson, who was Dean of Men and Professor of Greek at Augustana from 1942-1964, and from the Terence Fund for Classics, established by former Augustana professor of Classics Jane Borelli. Thanks also go to our alumni donors, Chris Saladin (’17) and Carolyn Wahlmark (’86).

Gifts like these help support events and initiatives highlighted in this newsletter, and much, much more. Multas gratias vobis agimus!