NOTA BENE: A paper copy of this newsletter is being sent out to all alumni for whom we have addresses. If you do not receive a copy and would like one, please e-mail chardy@carleton.edu and we'll put you on our mailing list.
Four students graduated last June with majors in Classics:
Classical Studies
Josh Brandt
Leif Jensen
Classical Languages:
Anthony Marcus Miles
Justin Norwood
In addition, four students graduated with a concentration in Archaeology:
Josh Brandt
Rachel Davis
Patrick Gilroy
Josh Houser
Josh Brandt is planning to pursue a career in architecture, although he was unsure about whether he could engineer a come-back for the impluvium. Leif is currently living in Minneapolis, where he is working and taking courses in preparation for a Masters in Public Health and then an MD. He took time out to visit with us at the annual meeting of the Classical Association of Minnesota, which took place on the Macalester campus in October.
Marcus and Justin both began graduate work this past fall: Justin in the Ph.D. program at the University of Pennsylvania (where he joins other alums Andy Fenton '95, also in the Ph.D. program, as well as Catharine Platt '96 and Dave Fundinglsand '98, who are in the Post-Baccalaureate program). Marcus is trying to keep warm at St. Andrews in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he is working on an MA.
Several distinguished alumni will be presenting papers at this year's meeting of the American Philological Association: Keyne Cheshire '94 will speak on Callimachus; Andy Fenton '95 on Cratinus, and Nate Powers '96 on Apollonius. Sorry if I've missed anyone: let us know so we can print corrections in the next edition! If you're going to be in Dallas, Texas for the meetings you could also hear papers from past professors John Dugan (now teaching at SUNY Buffalo) and Dan Hooley (at University of Missouri, Columbia).
Jackson Bryce starts his 3-year term this year as the David and Marian Adams Bryn-Jones Distinguished Teaching Professor of the Humanities. The professorship honors distinguished teaching and promotes cross-disciplinary dialogue on campus. We are confident that the Humanities can have no finer advocate than Jackson. Watch this space for updates on his activities as Bryn-Jones Professor! Jackson is still wading through the fan mail generated by the publication of his book Letters from England. If you haven't yet read it call about ordering a copy! His bibliography of Lactantius is now available on our website. He will be presenting a paper on Lactantius' Poetics at a conference he is helping to organize entitled "The First Christian Humanist: Lactantius in Late Antiquity and the Renaissance" to be held March 3 and 4 2000 at the University of Minnesota. If you're interested in the full program, you can take a look at it here, via the U's website.
Nancy Wilkie is keeping herself busy with her obligations as president of the Archaeological Institute of America. In January she will be leading a world tour sponsored by UNESCO and the AIA called Archaeological Wonders Around the World. The tour includes sites in Mali, Tunisa, Jordan, Syria, India, and Thailand. As if that weren't enough, in October 2000 she will be a Study Tour Leader for another AIA tour: Journey of Odysseus. This one, as you can imagine, includes much of the Eastern Mediterranean, with stops from Istanbul to Tunis, as well as Sicily (home of the Laestrygonians), Italy (the Cyclops!) and of course Ithaca itself. The rest of the department isn't at all jealous. If you're interested, check out the AIA's website with more information about these tours.
Depending on your vintage, you may not know the two newer members of the department. Chico Zimmerman joined the faculty in 1989 to replace the irreplaceable David Porter. David had moved on to be president of Skidmore College, has since retired from that position, and is now teaching at Williams. This last summer Chico completed his 10th (and, he claims, last) stint as beloved and respected instructor in Carleton's Summer Writing Program. He has been very active in Carleton's Learning and Teaching Center, as well as in the venerable IGS program. Clara Hardy came to Carleton in 1990 to replace the irreplaceable Linda Clader, who now teaches homiletics at the Churc Divinity School of the Pacific, the Episcopal seminary within the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. Clara spent this last summer (with a solar-powered laptop on an island in Lake Huron) working on a set of computerized drills for students in baby Greek. She is also preparing a new course on the production of Greek drama, which she will team-teach with Ruth Weiner in Theater Studies this Spring term. The course will involve all its students in the Carleton Players' production of the Iphigeneia at Aulis, to take place in May. Watch your next newsletter for ticket information!
With the retirement last year of Mansoor Alyeshmerni, Carleton decided to create a full-time appointment in modern Hebrew. This position has been housed in the Classics Department, so as of this year we have a new colleague teaching yet another difficult Mediterranean language! Her name is Stacy Beckwith, and she has been a great pleasure so far. Her energy and enthusiasm have had their effects, and she has a full section of Hebrew to teach this coming Winter term. Stacy also teaches courses in Israeli literature and culture.
In January we will welcome Professor Cecil Wooten of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Professor Wooten is a specialist in rhetoric and oratory, as well as the ancient novel. He will be Benedict Distinguished Visiting Professor at Carleton during the Winter Term, joining the ranks of our previous Benedicts N.G.L. Hammond, Carmella Franklin, and Eugene Borza. He is anticipating with relish (!) a good Minnesota winter. Perhaps we'll introduce him to the joys of broomball. He will be teaching courses in Ancient Literary Theory, as well as the Greek Orators. On Thursday, January 6 2000 Professor Wooten will give a lecture called "Varieties of Enchantment: Some Views of Cleopatra in Western Literature." If any of you are in the area please come!
On Thursday, February 17 we will host a briefer visit from Jeffrey Henderson, Professor of Classical Studies at Boston University. Professor Henderson is a specialist in Old Comedy, particularly its social and historical background (not to mention the nuances of its obscenity). His talk is entitled "Lost Ladies-- Women in the Fragments of Old Comedy."
A funny thing happened on the way to the new dining hall here at Carleton. Just as the final plans were being presented to the Board of Trustees for approval, a light bulb went on. The Board suggested that the structure would utilize its precious building site more efficiently if it could be made to serve a dual purpose. After some thought, President Lewis approached the modern language faculty to see whether they were interested in becoming co-habitators with the dining hall. The need for more space for the Modern Language Center, as well as the desire to bring all the lanuguage faculty under one roof, seemed possible in this venue.
Classics was asked to decide whether or not we wished to throw in our lot with this tower of Babel. While our space in Leighton has served us well for a long time, we decided that the increase in the quality and quantity of office and lounge space made the move hard to resist. Consequently, our department has been active in helping to plan the academic portion of the new building. In addition to office suites and departmental gathering spaces, the new building will offer many new (and desperately needed) classrooms. The rooms have been primarily designed with the teaching needs of languages in mind, although there will be several seminar rooms and one large lecture hall in the building as well.
The building will be situated between the Myers and Nourse dormitories on the hill overlooking Lyman Lakes. The dining hall will take up the bottom floor while the academic spaces will constitute the top two floors. Work has already begun this Fall and the hope is that the dining portion will open in January of 2001, with the academic spaces becoming available in the spring term of that same year.
We are very excited about the enhanced space that our department will have and the opportunity to create an environment that will be attractive to students and faculty for both work and informal interaction. The Classics lounge will have room to house our growing departmental library as well as display cases for some of our antiquities.
On April 11, 1998 Frances Raiment died in Northfield. Fran was the widow of Charles Raiment, who taught Classics at Carleton from 1947 until his retirement in 1972 (and again in 1976-7). Charles died on December 30, 1990. Frances generously left his books to the Classics department, where they will be used as the beginning of a small library for the student reading room that will be part of our new facilities (see above).
We are also very sorry to report the death of Laura Winkel '94 from cancer on December 3, 1998. Her family has also generously donated her Classics books to the department.
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Last modified 10 February 2000 by the Classics Department.