Classics newsletter spring 2026

In this issue

Curricular revisions

In the spring of 2024, Classics welcomed Rebecca Futo Kennedy, associate professor of Classics, Women & Gender Studies, and Environmental Studies at Denison University, and John Gruber-Miller, the Edwin R. and Mary E. Mason Professor of Languages at Cornell College, as outside consultants for our 10-year departmental review.

During their visit, Kennedy and Gruber-Miller met with Classics faculty and students, administrators, and faculty from numerous cooperating departments, including history, philosophy, religion, women, gender & sexuality studies, the Augustana Prison Education Program, and more.

In response to their feedback, along with consideration of changes in the field and in higher education more broadly, we have revised our curriculum. Most notably, we have eliminated the Classical Studies majors, the Classics and Classical Studies minors, and the seldom-used Biblical Languages minor, along with the logistically problematic “categories” system, while also streamlining our upper-level language offerings.

We have retained our Classics major, which is geared towards students who are considering graduate school in Classics or Classics-related fields, or who are just interested in the ancient languages.

We also have introduced a new major and minor in Greek and Roman Studies, which primarily are aimed at students who are majoring in a “career-track” discipline, but who also love Classics and want to access the broad, interdisciplinary benefits that studying antiquity can bring.

Our new curriculum went into effect last fall, and I’m happy to report that we’ve had an uptick in declarations of majors and minors as a response. See “Spotlight on Students” below!

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Departmental merge

We also would like to report an important change that will take place at the end of this academic year. At the administration’s recommendation and as a means of consolidating and streamlining various tasks and responsibilities, the Classics Department will be merging with World Languages, Literatures & Cultures.

In anticipation of this merger, Classics and WLLC faculty participated in a retreat last summer at the Butterworth Center with external consultant Greg Kinzer, the Henry L. and Laura H. Shops Professor of English and Dean of Humanities at Austin College, while throughout this academic year, we have been working together to hammer out some of the details. I am happy to say that the WLLC faculty have been incredibly welcoming and collegial, and we look forward to being part of that community. 

For practical reasons, we will keep the departmental name “World Languages, Literatures & Cultures.” Classics as a program will function in much the same way as it has in the past, with Dr. Kirsten Day serving as program coordinator of Classics: Greek & Roman Studies, and with our offices still located in Old Main. We invite our alumni, donors, and friends to come visit us there the next time you are in town!

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Majors and minors

In response to the curricular revisions noted above, we have welcomed a number of new students to our ranks. In this first year, 11 students signed on with Classics for the first time: junior Spencer Allshouse; sophomores Keegan Weir and Joshua Whalen and first-year Lillian Frieh have declared our new Greek and Roman Studies major, while junior Pheonix Martin; sophomore Conor Phelan; and first-years Vanessa Burk, Eme Davis, Marcus Fielder, Ishaal Siddiqui, and Ethan Smith have declared Greek & Roman Studies minors. 

In addition, junior Elios Ballard and sophomores Molly McArdle and Collin Patinka have switched to the Greek & Roman Studies track from Classical Studies. First-year Cora Polderman has signed on as well as a new Classics major, and Brayden Moseley will be our last declared Classics minor. Welcome to all of our newest majors and minors!

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Honors and accolades

This year, we were delighted to bestow honor and glory once again on our very deserving students. At our spring banquet (see below), we initiated nine new students into our Epsilon Sigma Chapter of Eta Sigma Phi, the national honor society for Classics: junior Micah Bischoff, sophomores Lily Kirvan, Brayden Moseley, Ben Muñoz-Ripley, Collin Patinka, and Keegan Weir, and first-years Lillian Frieh, Cora Polderman, and Ethan Smtih. 

Micah, Lily, and Ethan, in addition, were honored with induction into Glaux-Aquila, our institutional honor society for those who commit to studying both Greek and Latin. Congratulations to our honorees!

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News from alumni

• Kira Banks ’23 is graduating this month with her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Illinois, Chicago. Congratulations, Kira! We can’t wait to see what’s next for you!
• Allan Daly ’18 is a Healthcare Analytics Developer at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
• Riley Ferguson ’18 stopped by the basement of Old Main last fall over Homecoming weekend. Riley lives just south of Madison, Wisconsin, and works as a Firefighter/EMT. He reports that he and his wife Carley just had their first child, Leo, last December. Congratulations, Riley and Carley!
• Victoria Karnes ’18, who continues as a Senior Library Specialist at the Governors State University Library in University Park, Illinois, passed through Rock Island after traveling to a wedding in Iowa City and stopped in for a cup of coffee with Dr. Day. Good to see you, Victoria!
• Chris Saladin ’17 is Assistant Professor of History at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., where, in collaboration with Rowan’s Center for Digital Humanities Research, he is developing his own grant-funded Digital Roman Carthage project. Check it out! (See more on Chris below under “Events”!)
• Jameisha Walls ’22 has been accepted into a master’s program and will be starting medical school at Western Michigan next year. (Jameisha notes that in her interview, she spoke a lot about Classics, which impressed the committee!) Congratulations, Meisha! She will continue as an ER scribe until she starts school in July.
• Madeline Young ’22 will be attending Northern Arizona University this fall in pursuit of her master’s degree in Sustainable Communities. Madeline also graced us with her presence at this year’s Classics Banquet – see below!

Thanks to Kira, Allen, and Chris for providing new blurbs for our revised Classics flyer!

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Classics events and activities

Illinois Classical Conference

From Oct. 17-19, senior Jules Fielder, Junior Xander Dennis, and sophomore Ethan Paxton-Ellis accompanied Dr. Kirsten Day to the Illinois Classical Conference annual meeting in Lincolnshire, Ill. In addition to Dr. Day’s presentation, entitled “Inside/Out: A Conversation Between Traditional and Incarcerated Students,” students heard papers on how to make Roman paint, Classical and Native American motifs in Chicago architecture, immigrants in ancient Athens, the marriage of Dido and Aeneas, and more. Students attended the reception and awards banquet, and met and mingled with scholars and students from institutions from all across Illinois.

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Western Illinois Society of the AIA Lecture

On Oct.1, Dr. Danielle Fatkin presented a lecture for our Western Illinois Society of the Archaeological Institute of America. Sophomore Ethan Paxton-Ellis introduced Dr. Fatkin, who is chair of Archaeology and Associate Professor of History at Knox College, as well as president of our Western Illinois chapter. 

Fatkin’s lecture, entitled “Understanding Baptism: Its Origins in Roman Judea and Why They Matter,” was well-attended, and of interest to students and faculty in Classics, Religion, Art History, and beyond.

Of related interest – our Western Illinois Society this year received the AIA’s Golden Trowel Award for exceptional growth! Thanks to students, faculty, and officers who make our branch of the AIA so exceptional.

Antiquity in the New Millennium Lectures

This year, thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to host two Antiquity in the New Millennium lectures. The ANM lecture series was established in the spring of 2019 in order to highlight new directions in classical scholarship.

In November, Dr. Sinclair Bell, Professor of Art History at Northern Illinois University, offered a lecture entitled “Visualizing Ethnic Diversity in the Roman Empire: Between ‘Barbarians’ and Neighbors.” 

In this talk, co-sponsored by Augustana’s Art History program, Professor Bell investigated depictions of race and ethnicity in art, including small finds, sculpted heads and statues, and mosaics and wall paintings, across the Roman Empire in order to understand how these works and the people they sought to depict were understood within the different parts of the vast imperial territories in which they surfaced. 

(Fun fact: Dr. Bell and Kirsten Day were classmates in the College Year in Athens program way back in 1993-94!)

Then in April, we welcomed Dr. Robert Holschuh Simmons for a second ANM lecture entitled, “Demagogues and Masses in Athens and the Athenian Theatre: Class Anxiety and Apprehensions About Insurgencies in Euripides’ Tragedies.” 

Sophomore Keegan Weir introduced Simmons, who is the Minnie Billings Capron Professor of Classical Languages and Chair of the School of Humanities and Civic Engagement at Monmouth College. 

In this talk, Simmons investigated how references in Euripides’ tragedies suggested fears about the demagogues who rose to power after the death of Pericles in 429 BCE and the rising power of the masses. 

Dr. Simmons was also kind enough to visit our LATN 216/316 course to talk with students further about the topic. Thank you, Dr. Simmons!

BONUS LECTURE!

This spring, alumnus Dr. Christopher Saladin, Assistant Professor of History at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., graciously offered us a bonus lecture when he was in nearby Iowa City for the Association of Ancient Historians conference at the University of Iowa. 

Drawing on his current book project, "Remembering Carthage: Mapping the Punic Past in the Roman Colony, c. 146 BCE – 200 CE," which examines the Roman colony built over the site of Carthage following the Punic city’s destruction by Rome in 146 BCE, Dr. Saladin’s April talk was entitled, "Hill of Dido: Constructing Memory of Carthage's Byrsa Hill."

Chris even managed to lure Professor Emeritus Dr. Emil Kramer back to campus to attend!

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Classics Banquet

This year, we once again celebrated our students, along with Rome’s birthday (Happy 2779th , Rome!) with a wonderful Mediterranean banquet. 

Along with welcoming our newest students and honorees, we recognized our Collegia officers and heard alumna Iratze Aceves '25 speak about her temporary layoff during the fall government shutdown in a short talk entitled, “Life After Graduation: I’m So Glad the Government Fired Me and This is Why!” 

A lovely time was had by all – including alumna Madeline Young, who graced us with her presence as well! Thanks to all for coming, and to our donors who make this event possible.

Collegia Classica

An update from secretary Xander Dennis:

In Collegia Classica this year we enjoyed presentations about ancient Greek and Roman culture. For example, we learned about curse tablets and made our own with clay, and we also learned about the ancient origins of traditional Halloween monsters.

We also had informal meetups where we played different games such as Greek mythology jeopardy. We also had our end of term dinner this semester at Huckleberry’s Pizza.

We’re planning some fun activities for next year, including attending the Classics Day event, so be on the lookout for future announcements!

Many thanks to this year’s officers, Molly McArdle, President; Mari Hanson, Vice President; Xander Dennis, Secretary, and Catherine Darragh, Treasurer.

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Celebration of Learning

Kirsten Day’s CLAS 240/340: Women in Classical Antiquity course this spring included a unit on the importance of weaving as a virtuous labor for women in Greece and Rome.

Along with stories that feature weaving and examination of material remains, we learned about the practicalities of weaving, from shearing the sheep to spinning the wool, to the mechanics of ancient looms, to the intricacies of the weaving process. 

At the same time, we tried our hand at it: students used small wooden looms to create tapestries of their own. These textiles were featured, alongside the students’ reflections on their work toillustrate what we can learn from communing a bit with the women of antiquity through weaving.

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Faculty updates

Dr. Kirsten Day has been busy with research presentations this year: She offered versions of a paper entitled “Inside/Out: A Conversation Between Traditional and Incarcerated Students,” at the Illinois Classical Conference in Lincolnshire in October, at the Illinois Junior Classical League meeting in Itasca IL in February, and as a virtual presentation at the “Teaching Philosophy and Antiquity in Prisons” conference at Durham University in March.

In February, she presented a paper entitled “Fallout, Age of Heroes: Reckoning with Trauma through Homer’s Odyssey” at a special event honoring the University of Mexico’s Dr. Monica Cyrino as part of the Australasian Society for Classical Studies conference in Auckland New Zealand; and she presented versions of a paper that developed into a project on Black gladiators in cinema at the October meeting of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States in Silver Spring Md., and at the March virtual EuGeStA conference focused on supporting characters in film. 

Each of these projects has been invited for eventual publication – stay tuned!

Dr. Nick Dobson continues to contribute important courses to Classics, as well as teaching beginning German.

Next year, Dr. Nick will add the introductory linguistics course upon which Augustana’s Linguistics Minor is based as well.

And though Kirsten Day integrates a weaving project into her Women’s class (see above), Dr. Nick is the one
with the textile skills: in the past few years, he has taken a number of classes in loom- weaving (and ceramics to boot – applied Classics!).

Dr. Mischa Hooker is currently working on a translation of Euripides' Heracles, with the intention of having it performed on stage in the near future.

 He has also been delving into Modern Greek creative writing, especially plays, about antiquity: He is working on a translation of Nikos Kazantzakis' play about the Roman Emperor Julian "the Apostate" (not previously translated into English).

He is also considering works by Angelos Sikelianos, a Greek poet who, with his wife Eva Palmer-Sikelianos, crossed paths in Greece with Quad Cities natives Susan Glaspell and George Cram Cook. 

(On a personal note: Dr. Hooker tied the knot with the lovely Kitty Israel last summer. Congratulations to the newlyweds!)

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Acknowledgements

We are immensely grateful to all our donors, but would like to acknowledge in particular the Harry S. B. Johnson Endowment and the Terence Fund for Classics, without whose support the majority of the activities and events highlighted in this newsletter would not be possible. 

Thanks for supporting our students and helping us to keep Greece and Rome, and the Latin and Greek languages, alive at Augie!

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Previous newsletters

Spring 2025

Spring 2024

Spring 2023

Spring 2022