News in the Department of Classics
Dr Martin Dinter awared grant
Dr Martin Dinter (Lecturer in Classics) has been awarded a first tranche of BRL 160 000 for his project "Reconsidering Cato - Images of Cato from Antiquity to Modernity" by FAPESP (Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo) to collaborate with Prof. Marcos Martinho dos Santos at the University of Sao Paulo (USP). Dr. Dinter will be visiting researcher at the University of Sao Paulo. His project will examine the image and influence of the Roman statesman and writer Cato the Elder in western literature and thought.
Dr Hugh Bowden appears on Radio 4's 'The History of the Future'
Dr Hugh Bowden appeared on BBC Radio 4's The History of the Future with to discuss the Oracle of Delphi on 12 September 2012.
The programme argues that a history of the future is really a history of anxiety, and begins it examination of how the futurologists of their day foretold what was to come, and what these visions says about the pre-occupations of the time. How different were prophesies about the future at different points in history? What can ideas about the future tell us about the past? The series begins looking at the Oracle of Delphi, the place where the Ancient Greeks went to consult the Oracle and hear what the future held for them.
For more information and listen to the programme again, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mhx6v
Professor Edith Hall appears on BBC Radio 4's Things Ain't What They Used To Be
May 2012 Edith Hall, Professor of Classics, appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme Things Ain't What They Used To Be on 15 May 2012 commenting on the classical origins of 'declinism' - the idea that individuals and society are not as good as they used to be. Professor Hall emphasised that declinism was already a powerful perspective in Ancient Greece, pointing to the work of Hesiod, and the also the persistance of the lapsarian myths - myths of the fall of man - across times and cultures.
To listen to the programme, see BBC Radio 4.
World-leading expert on Greek drama Professor Edith Hall joins Department
April 2012 The Department of Classics and the Centre for Hellenic Studies are delighted to welcome as a new colleague Professor Edith Hall, a world-leading expert on Greek drama and its modern reception. Her ground-breaking work in this field has earned her an international reputation as an original and radical scholar and she has now extended her innovative approach to other classical subjects, including the reception and understanding of slavery, as well as to modern performance studies. The arrival of Professor Hall significantly enhances our already strong profile in these areas and we look forward to developing new research projects with her.
2012 Greek Play Euripides' Hecuba a 'tremendous production in the very best tradition of Kings'
February 2012 The 2012 Greek Play was Euripides' Hecuba directed by Roseanna Long was performed Wednesday 8 Februrary - Friday 10 February at the Greenwood Theatre. In a review of of the play, Cathy Mercer of the Open University commented: ' This was once again a tremendous production in the very best tradition of King’s Greek plays in the original Greek. The audience sat rapt throughout the passionate tragedy as it unfolded in its ghastly inevitability which, nevertheless, still managed to surprise.'
For the complete review see here.
Appointment of Leverhulme Research Assistant
September 2011 The Classics Department are delighted to announce the arrival of Dr Ben Russell as a Research Assistant on the new Leverhulme Trust funded project The Art of Making in Antiquity . Ben’s research covers various aspects of classical archaeology, but in particular the production and supply of materials for construction and artistic production in the Roman period. On the project he will work as the main researcher on Roman stone-carving tools and techniques. He took a BA in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History, followed by the MSt and DPhil in Classical Archaeology at the University of Oxford. His doctoral work, completed in 2009, was on the Roman stone trade and was undertaken as part of the Oxford Roman Economy Project. Between 2009 and 2010 he worked on a post-doctoral project in Rome, also funded by the Leverhulme Trust, on the Roman sarcophagus trade; in 2010-2011 he was a Teaching Assistant in classical archaeology at St John’s College in the University of Oxford and lectured both there and at Birkbeck on Roman and Hellenistic art, architecture and archaeology. He has been involved with fieldwork.
New lecturer in Classical Greek Art
September 2011 The Classics Department are delighted to welcome a new lecturer in Classical Greek Art, Dr Michael Squire , whose research and teaching cover a variety of fields within classics, art history and visual culture. Michael read classics at Trinity College, Cambridge; after a year studying comparative literature at Harvard, he returned to Cambridge and completed his PhD in 2006; since then, he has held fellowships at Christ's College in Cambridge, and (via the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich and the Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin. His doctoral thesis was concerned with the interaction between visual and literary cultures in Graeco-Roman antiquity and was awarded the Hellenic Society prize in 2007; an expanded version was published in 2009 (Image and Text in Graeco-Roman Antiquity ). Other book projects include Panorama of the Classical World (with Nigel Spivey, 2004; 2nd edition 2008); The Art of the Body: Antiquity and its Legacy (2011) and The Iliad in a Nutshell: Visualizing Epic on the Tabulae Iliacae (2011); he has also edited (with V. Platt) The Art of Art History in the Graeco-Roman World (2010) and Framing the Visual in Greece and Rome (forthcoming).
Annual Fund grant for Classics Society
August 2011 Congratulations to The Classics Society, who have been successful in their application for a grant from the King’s Annual Fund. For the academic year 2011-12 the Society has been awarded £500 for travel abroad, £450 for printing Satyrica and £340 for 4 students from state schools to attend the London Summer School in Classics.
97% student satisfaction in National Student Survey
August 2011 The Department of Classics is delighted to announce that in this year's National Student Survery (NSS) our final year BA students have given overwhelming positive feedback, with 97% being satisfied overall with the quality of the course, making it one of the highest scores for Classics in the country. King's Classics undergraduate students rated teaching particularly highly, with 98% agreeing that staff are good at explaining things, 95% agreeing that staff made the subject interesting and 94% agreeing that staff are enthusiastic about the subject. The Department was also highly rated in terms of academic support, with students rating highly the advice and support they are given throughout their studies.
Leverhulme Trust funded research project
July 2011 The Department of Classics is delighted to announce the commencement of a two-year Leverhulme Trust funded research project The Art of Making in Antiquity: Stone Carving & Carvers in the Roman World. The Principle Investigator is Dr Will Wootton (Department of Classics), the Co-Investigator John Bradley (Department of Digital Humanities), and there are two researchers, Dr Ben Russell on the Classical aspects and Dr Michele Pasin on the digital. The project develops an innovative approach to Roman sculpture by interpreting carving techniques through the lens of practical craft expertise. It will build a web resource around an unpublished photographic collection assembled by Peter Rockwell, a sculptor and expert on stone carving. Read more about the project.
Greek Play 2012: director & play announced
June 2011 The 2012 Greek Play will be Euripides' Hecuba, directed by Roseanna Long (pictured, left). In Roseanna's own words, 'I have been involved with the Greek Play since my first year of university, as part of the cast and as assistant director. The friends I have made throughout my involvement in both productions have made life at university an even more rewarding experience. The long standing tradition of performing a Greek Play in the original language was part of the attraction for me to study here at the King’s College London Classics Department and I am thrilled at being given the opportunity to direct this year’s production. I have chosen to stage Euripides’ Hecuba because I feel it will appeal to a contemporary audience as it focuses on human moral dilemmas rather than the influences of the Olympian Gods. Euripides raises the issue of whether revenge in extreme circumstances is a justifiable act which is a question humanity continually battles with today. I hope to present the audience with an unforgettable thought provoking theatrical experience.' The Greek Play 2012 team are looking for performers and a backstage crew - read more about getting involved.
Classics blossoms through the Iris Project
June 2011 On 16 June 2011 Boris Johnson delivered a lecture at King's on the importance of Classics in schools. Students in the Department of Classics are actively doing their bit to promote Classics teaching in the state sector through their outreach work with the Iris Project, of which Mr Johnson is a patron. As part of the Inner London Latin Project, the Department of Classics places students into disadvantaged primary schools to teach Latin. Lorna Robinson, Director of the Iris Project, says the key is making learning ancient languages and culture enjoyable. She said: “Volunteer students have worked with thousands of pupils in large, mixed-ability classes, providing them with the opportunity to learn about Latin in fun, accessible and relevant ways." Read the full press release.
Postgraduate conference success
June 2011 On Saturday 4June 2011, the King's Department of Classics hosted its first Classics Postgraduate Conference. The event, which was funded by an award from the Graduate School Open Competition, was organised by three first-year PhD students from the department. Around fifty delegates attended the conference, where twenty-two speakers presented papers on the theme of ‘Identity and Representation’. Speakers approached the theme from a variety of angles, including literary, epigraphic, numismatic and linguistic, with papers covering topics from Athenian democracy through to late antique social discourse. Delegates came from institutions as far afield as Canada, Poland, Italy and France, as well as many from within London and, of course, from King’s itself. We were also pleased to welcome Dr Joseph Skinner from the University of Liverpool, who delivered an excellent keynote address on ‘Hybrid Identities and the Practices of Representation’. It was a busy and enjoyable day, providing students with a valuable opportunity to meet their peers from other institutions, exchange ideas, and gain an insight into alternative approaches. Students also had the chance to present their work in a friendly and supportive environment, developing important presentation skills, and raising their profile as researchers. The organisers would like to thank everyone who participated in the conference and everyone who helped to make it possible, either in advance or on the day, for making it such an interesting and successful event.
FAPESP funding bid success
May 2011 The Department's Dr Martin T Dinter, together with Professor MM McCabe (Philosophy) and Professor Peter Adamson (Philosophy), has made a successful bid for a FAPESP-King's Exchange Award. This award will fund a series of events on ancient philosophy (Plato, Aristotle and Cicero in particular) in 2012-13 with Professor Marco Zingano and Professor Roberto Bolzani from the University of Sao Paulo. The FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) - King's cooperation agreement aims to support the development of joint research projects in all areas of knowledge in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.
Dr Martin Dinter meets Prince Philip
March 2011 Dr Martin T Dinter was selected to lunch at the table of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Kurt Hahn Trust. Prince Philip serves as patron of the trust, which was set up to commemorate the German born founder of the schools of Gordonstoun and Salem whose former pupils include members of the Royal family. The Trust provides funds for German scholars studying in the UK and British scholars in Germany. In Dr Dinter's own words, 'Prince Philip entertained his guests with several anecdotes from his school days and vivid descriptions of his term in Salem in the 1930s.'
£6,000 MA Ancient History scholarship
February 2011 The School of Arts and Humanities is pleased to offer 3 scholarships to the value of £6,000 each to students studying for a Masters degree in one of the following: MA Medieval Studies; MA Ancient History; MA Medieval History; MA Medieval English; MA Late Antique and Byzantine Studies. The studentships are open to all students who have made an admissions application before 17:00GMT on 15 June 2011. Further details and how to apply.
Greek Play 2011: Helen by Euripides
February 2011 The 2011 Greek Play Helen by Euripides was performed from Wednesday 9 - Friday 11 February 2011. The Wednesday evening performance was preceded by a stimulating discussion of the play between historian, author and broadcaster Bettany Hughes and the Department's Professor Michael Trapp, followed by questions from the audience. The play was previewed by Dr Freida Klotz, a former member of the Department, in the US Chronicle of Higher Education (read the article), and was reviewed by Cathy Mercer (Open University), who described it as "an outstanding production. The play ebbed and flowed extremely smoothly thanks to an exceptional cast and very well trained chorus. The production also brought out the subtler nuances of Euripides’ drama and this is clearly not an easy thing to do when most of the audience don’t understand the language of the play." Read the full review.
New PhD programme in Digital Classical Studies
January 2011 The Department of Classics, in collaboration with the Department of Digital Humanities at King's, is pleased to announce a new postgraduate research PhD programme in Digital Classical Studies, which is now open for applications and will be available from September 2011.
Summer School in Classics
January 2011 The London Summer School in Classics will be hosted from 5-14 July in 2011 by UCL. Classes cover all ability levels from absolute beginners to readers of original texts by classical authors. Read more about the London Summer School in Classics.