Accents

Dr. Day, far right, has been doing archaeology in Crete since the 1970s.

During the first full week of summer after graduation, people wanted to hang out, go swimming, and relax.  A number of people at Wabash College, however, had other ideas.  They gathered for a reception to honor two great Classicists for research they have recently published.  Dr. Hartnett began his remarks by recapping the major events in the department this past year, such as lectures by guest speakers Professors Cohen and Barchiesi.  He then delved into the accomplishments of Dr. Leslie Day.

Dr. Day recently authored two volumes.  Her first book re-examines the excavation of the site at Karphi in Crete, one of the major archaeological locations in the Mediterranean, re-dating much of the area’s pottery.  Dr. Day’s monograph also discusses what scholars can learn about the social history of Crete from her findings.  The now-retired Wabash professor’s second volume, Kavousi IIB: The Late Minoan IIIC Settlement at Vronda. The Buildings on the Periphery, covers a portion of the work she has done at the Kavousi site in Crete since the 1970s, often with Wabash student interns along to assist her.  This particular book covers a series of buildings on a ridge in Vronda and represents only the third in what is expected to become an 11-volume series.  According to Dr. Hartnett, Dr. Day’s work will stand as a landmark achievement in the field of Greek archaeology.

Dr. Matt Sears’s book, Athens, Thrace, and the Shaping of Athenian Leadership, finds its

Professor Sears and his family will be heading for New Brunswick in the fall, where he take up his new teaching post.

foundation in Dr. Sears’s dissertational research.    It discusses the relationship of Classical Athenian leaders to Thracian society, which offered them a sort of old-fashioned, romantic view of life.  As Dr. Hartnett assured his audience that Sears’s research will prove invaluable to the field of Classics, he also took the opportunity to recognize that Professor Sears will be leaving the College this fall for New Brunswick.  Hartnett thanked him for committing himself wholeheartedly to the “life” of Wabash, creating such adventurous and exciting experiences for his students as a mock ancient battle on the college mall.  The Classics department thanks this great teacher and wishes him and his family well in their future.

Finally, Dr. Hartnett pointed out that the cake at the reception bore a Greek phrase meaning, “Beautiful are the difficult things.”  Dr. Day and Dr. Sears have put a tremendous amount of hard work into improving both their professional fields and Wabash College.  As Dr. Hartnett noticed, “We recognize with a short party a long and arduous process.”  While the party may have been short-lived, the gratitude for such great teachers at this college and in this department goes on, just like the work for which we thank them.

Professor Hartnett begins the festivities with a picnic lunch on the grounds of the IMA.

Recently I had the pleasure of traveling with the five Classics majors of the class of 2013 to the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  Will Kline, Zach Thompson, Michael Carper, John Streiff, and Alex Gillham all presented some of the research they had done this past semester in their Classics capstone course on the statue of Flavius Agricola at the IMA itself, the story of which I have been following since one of my blogs earlier this year (http://blogs.wabash.edu/accents/2013/02/02/the-many-faces-of-classics-senior-seminar-approaches-the-topic-from-varying-backgrounds/) .  Dr. Hartnett then drove us all to the museum, where the activities, sponsored by the Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men, began with a nice, outside picnic lunch with some alumni and other friends of the college.  Following this feast, we all migrated into the museum to listen to the presentations.

Dr. Hartnett first explained to us that, since each student had a special area of interest in Classics, each one would speak about a different aspect of the Agricola monument.  The statue itself has an interesting history: it was discovered by workers in Rome in the 1600s as they constructed St. Peter’s Basilica.  The monument’s scandalous inscription about wine and “pretty girls” caused quite a stir in the city at the time and provided much of the material for the Classics majors’ research.

John Streiff discussed the inscription’s mention of mixing wine and how the ancient Roman

Seniors John Streiff, Alex Gillham, Michael Carper, and Zachary Thompson await their chance to discuss their research on the statue of Flavius Agricola.

populace often viewed binging on alcohol negatively.  Alex Gillham, taking the philosophical perspective, made the argument that the inscription does not represent Epicurean thought, which promoted a less physical kind of pleasure than the kind described on the funerary monument.  Will Kline’s talk made sense of the disparity between the young body of Flavius and his older-looking head by explaining that such incoherence was common in ancient thought, resulting in myths about such creatures as satyrs and centaurs.  In fact, the idea of the idol, youthful body came from the ancient Greeks while such Romans as the great thinker Cicero often praised the wisdom of old age.   Michael Carper gave a fascinating description of the contrast in how Romans would have viewed such a monument as Flavius’s.  Many Roman families feasted near these monuments while some great writers criticized those who acted too frivolously in their presence.  Thus, the statue of Flavius Agricola would have produced mixed feelings in the close relatives of Flavius Agricola.  Finally, Zachary Thompson lectured on the oft-neglected wife of Flavius who is mentioned briefly in the inscription.  He delved into the different religious traditions to which each one held and concluded that Flavius’s tolerance of his wife’s beliefs might say quite a bit about the nature of this marriage.

All in all, it was a pleasure, as always, to listen to my fellow students take such a small sample of primary material and tease out a plethora of information on ancient Rome.  I am certain that the alumni must have been impressed with the kind of minds the Classics Department breeds here at Wabash.  Congratulations guys!

(To see the Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men’s blog post on this event, see http://www.wabash.edu/alumni/home.cfm?pages_id=251.  Some scrolling is required.)

As another academic year wraps up here at Wabash, the Classics Department turns its attention toward the future.  Taking pride in recognizing all kinds of students who have shown an interest in Classics, the department last Wednesday invited any student who had declared a major or minor in the subject or who had committed himself to intermediate Latin or Greek to its second annual Investiture ceremony.  The event took place in Detchon as Professor Hartnett began by listing the reasons we had been gathered, not the least of which was his desire to tell some of his infamous corny Classics jokes (e.g. Q: How did Diocletian divide the Roman Empire in half? A:With a pair of Caesars).

Professor Hartnett explains the meaning of WABASH SEMPER PUGNAT.

Next, Dr. Hartnett explained the first side of the t-shirt which all invested students were to be given.  It reads “WABASH SEMPER PUGNAT” and is the Latin translation of the College’s slogan “Wabash Always Fights.”  This mixture of Classics and Wabash is meant to identify us Classics students to each other and provide us with an opportunity to advertise our special interest across campus.  The back of the shirt, as explained by Professor Sears, reads ΜΩΝΟΝ ΛΑΒΈ (Monon la-bay) and is a spin on the Classical statement of King Leonidas to the Persian emperor Xerxes at the Battle of Thermopylae.  The shirt’s phrase means, “Seize the Monon Bell”, and is again a mix of Classics and Wabash tradition.

After an official swearing in, Dr. Hartnett then proceeded to make us Classics students feel even more special and granted us the password to the highly-guarded Classics library before conducting us downstairs for an Italian dinner of lasagna, Caesar salad, and a delicious meat dish prepared by Professor Kubiak.

If a theme existed in this day of activities, it was that the Wabash College Classics Department cares about its students.  They welcome all and are excited about what they do.  Whether it’s a meal, a joke, or a secret password, they do a really excellent job of appreciating the Wabash men who take an interest in their work.

The amphitheatre at Epidaurus, about whose cult of the Greek god Asklepios Dr. Wickkiser gave a talk at Wabash earlier this year

Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of speaking with the Classics Department’s latest hire, Bronwen Wickkiser.  Currently a professor of Classics at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Wickkiser first discovered Wabash through Professors Joe and Leslie Day, whom she met during her studies in Greece.  When I inquired as to what brought her to the college, Dr. Wickkiser responded that the Days had introduced her to the “long and great tradition of Classics at Wabash.”  In fact, Leslie Day actually invited Dr. Wickkiser to lecture to some of her students back in 2006.  In our interview, the Oberlin College alumna stated that her own educational experience had endeared her to the liberal arts.  Wabash thus seemed like a natural fit.  Interestingly, Dr. Wickkiser also cited Wabash’s emphasis on athletics as a factor in her attraction to the college, noting that we share our ideas about caring for the mind and body with the Ancient Greeks whom she studies.

Dr. Bronwen Wickkiser, currently of Vanderbilt University, will be teaching Classics at Wabash this fall.

The Classics Department brought Dr. Wickkiser to the college earlier this semester so that she could teach a class and give a lecture.  Discussing this visit, Professor Wickkiser said that she was “really impressed” by the students, whom she described as highly engaged and interested in her talk.  Furthermore, she appreciated the attitude of Wabash men and noted that they seem grateful for their opportunities and lack a sense of entitlement.  Appropriately for this part of the conversation, I asked the Classicist about her views on the all-male atmosphere.  Dr. Wickkiser admitted that she had been unsure what to expect from men-only classes and that she thought she would feel as though something were missing from the school.  Instead, she went away “feeling very comfortable” with this place, as so many prospective students, faculty, and staff have done in the college’s history.

When Professor Wickkiser first received word of her selection to teach at Wabash, she was pleasantly surprised.  Now, looking forward to next year, she says she is excited to take advantage of the many opportunities Wabash will afford her.  In particular, she mentioned the possibility of taking a class abroad one day.  Whatever she ultimately decides to do, many of the Classics Department’s students will be in good hands next year.  I, for one, am taking both Latin 201 and Greek 101 with Professor Wickkiser, and I cannot wait to see what she has to contribute to the “long and great tradition of Classics at Wabash.”  Utinam fortunam habeas, Professor!

Professor Kubiak has an axiom, well-known by Classics majors at Wabash, that, “It is not a matter of if you go to Rome, but when.”   Junior Sebastian Garren affirmed the value of Dr. Kubiak’s wisdom in a recent interview I conducted with him about his study abroad experience last semester in Rome.  Garren studied at the CENTRO, the intercollegiate center for Classical studies.  The school itself is located about fifteen minutes south of the Vatican and teaches American students from a wide range of educational backgrounds.  Garren mentioned that his classmates actually surprised him with their attention to their studies and forced him, with regard to his own academic pursuits to, “kick it up a notch.”

Sebastian Garren travels to Sicily with his CENTRO peers.

While in Rome, Garren read advanced Latin texts by such figures as the Roman poet Lucan and about such people as Caesar and Pompey.  He also observed many ancient artifacts and acquired an appreciation for physical spaces within the city.  When I asked how his foreign experience had influenced his perspective on his research, Garren noted that he is now better able to visualize the places about which he reads.  In fact, the TKE Classics major told me that studying in Rome forced him to find balance between, “school and exploration.”   Describing the Italian culture as more laid-back than America’s, Garren mentioned the lack of intense advertising as one noticeable difference between life in Italy and life in the states.   His advice to prospective visitors to the Eternal City is to, “get lost!”

Garren owes a great deal to the Classics Department, who made his overseas experience possible.  In fact, when I asked why he had decided to go abroad, Garren jokingly responded, “Because Professor Hartnett told me to.”  As it happens, Dr. Hartnett, the Department chair, is a former CENTRO instructor.  Therefore, he provides his students with a special connection to the program.  Professor Hartnett even begins to identify those students he believes would succeed in the Classics program as early as their freshman year.

Wabash men benefit from a great emphasis on overseas, experiential learning.  Sebastian Garren’s example illustrates  how the Classics Department plays an integral role in this effort.  Its students really learn what to do, “when in Rome.”

It’s that time of year again: pre-registration is here Wabash!  Fortunately, the Classics Department has an excellent array of course offerings for the fall of 2013.  Be sure to read through this overview of next year’s Classics classes.  Remember that the college was founded on this subject, and taking care of some distribution requirements with Homer, Caesar, or Cicero is always fun.

100 Level Latin and Greek: These two classes, taught by Professor Hartnett and the Classics Department’s newest hire, Professor Wickkiser, introduce students to the basics of the classical languages.  Not only do they take care of foreign language requirements, but they also can become a gateway to reading some of the most interesting texts ever written, such as Vergil’s Aeneid or Homer’s Iliad.  Note, too, that speaking these languages is not a requirement, for those who are easily tongue-tied.  Finally, for all those science students and pre-med guys out there: no other courses at Wabash could prepare you better to learn terminology.

Intermediate Latin and Greek: Delving into “real” Latin and Greek, students will study epic texts such as Petronius’s Satyricon and Ovid’s Metamorphoses with Dr. Wickkiser.   Greek students will examine the Apology of Plato under the tutelage of Dr. Kubiak.

CLA 103: This class will cover Greek art and archaeology and be cross-listed as an art class.  As Professor Wickkiser herself puts it, “In this course we will “travel” (albeit virtually) to the ancient Mediterranean to study major sites and monuments of the ancient Greeks, from the remains of Bronze Age citadels like Mycenae to the massive marble temples of the Acropolis in Athens to the lavish tombs and burial remains of the family of Alexander the Great.   Join us for an epic journey that will dazzle your senses!”

CLA 211: Dr. Kubiak here offers an exciting opportunity to study one of the most significant

Horace, the leading Latin lyricist of the Augustan Era.

of the Latin poets, Horace, in translation.  Reading his Odes on such topics as nature, love, and politics, Dr. Kubiak will guide his students as they tease out different aspects of Augustan history from Horace’s writings.  Furthermore, this course provides a rare chance to read an entire body of work by an ancient author.

Aside from this excellent selection, Professor Hartnett will be teaching a Freshman tutorial on an as yet undecided topic.  Furthermore, Professors Kubiak and Hartnett will afford die-hard classicists the opportunity to take advanced Greek and Latin next semester.  However, for all those “barbarians” out there, the above listings provide interesting topics with great professors.  The fantastic thing about this department is the number of classes that fulfill other requirements.  A Classics minor is not very difficult, and it never hurts to have a true liberal arts background.  Scientiae et virtuti!