News

  • Join the Department’s Latin Table (Mensa Latina)

    In winter term 2022, the first gathering of the Mensa Latina was held in the department; now two years later, the Mensa Latina (Latin Table) is still going strong! Once a month, a group of undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning more about the Roman world and Latin and expanding their knowledge beyond the classroom meet with professors Sarah Parker and Fanny Dolansky to explore a wide range of topics. Previous sessions have focused on Roman humour; petkeeping; manuscripts and paleography; medicine and the body; and the poetry of Catullus and Martial. We’ve also tried our hands at playing Roman games and our tongues at speaking conversational Latin. On January 25, students learned about Roman satire; February 26 participants examine the calendar and Roman festivals. In the final meeting of the term on March 25, Dr. Katharine von Stackelberg introduces Roman cuisine and authentic Roman recipes from Apicius’ nearly two-thousand-year-old cookbook. No knowledge of Latin is required and everyone is welcome.

    Mensa Latina – Winter 2024 dates

    Students and faculty participate in the Mensa Latina.

    Categories: Events

  • Humanities Graduate Student Symposium, “Narratives of Identity

    Kudos to Daniel Belanger, Miranda King, and Cassidy Robertson for their roles in the 2024 Humanities Graduate Student Symposium, “Narratives of Identity,” which took place on Saturday, February 10th. King spoke about “The Small Finds from the Sanctuary of Venus at Pompeii” in Panel 2: Voicing the Visual. Belanger presented, “Hepatitis Bee: The influence of Roman culture on their understanding of bee disease” in Panel 4: Negotiating Nature. Robertson served as Administrative Coordinator for the conference. Click here for more information about the papers and presenters in this celebration of Brock Humanities graduate student research.

    Humanities Graduate Student Symposium poster

    Categories: Events, News

  • Classics Minor James Moen to publish in Philomathes

    Congratulations to Classics minor, James Moen, whose paper, “Agroeconomic Policy: Re-evaluating the Agricultural Decline of the Later Roman Empire” was accepted for publication in the undergraduate Classics journal Philomathes. The essay was written last year for CLAS / HIST 3P09 (History of the Later Roman Empire), taught by Dr. Michael Carter.

    Roman Country Life Mosaic

    2nd century AD mosaic from the House of the Laberii at Uthina, Tunisia (https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/527318/view/roman-country-life-mosaic)

    Categories: News

  • Rachel Fawcett recipient of the Brock Badgers Academic Excellence Award

    On Wednesday, January 17th, 2024, the Department of Classics and Archaeology’s graduate student, Rachel Fawcett, was awarded the 2022-23 Brock Badgers Academic Excellence Award. This award honours student-athletes who achieve an average of 80 percent or higher within their program of study. Rachel is a member of Brock’s Women’s Figure Skating while completing her Master of Arts in Classics (Art and Archaeology).

     

    I was surprised by the chorus of congratulations I received upon the announcement of this award. From previous experience, I am used to accepting such awards with little recognition and the response not only from Brock University Athletics, but both the Department of Classics and Archaeology and the Faculty of Humanities has been humbling.

    Since I began my post-secondary career, I have enjoyed being able to participate in varsity figure skating. It helped keep me centered during my studies and when I first started my Masters program, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to maintain the level of academic and athletic achievement I had during my undergraduate career. Fortunately, with the warm welcome and continuing support of both the Department and Brock Figure Skating I have been able to excel in both activities and look forward to completing my final season of skating and my program hand-in-hand.

    – Rachel Fawcett

    Categories: News

  • Madelyn Huston recipient of the Brock Badgers Academic Excellence Award

    On Wednesday, January 17th, 2024, the Department of Classics and Archaeology’s graduate student, Madelyn Huston, was awarded the 2022-23 Brock Badgers Academic Excellence Award. This award honours student-athletes who achieve an average of 80 percent or higher within their program of study. Madelyn is a member of Brock’s Women’s Track and Field while completing her Master of Arts in Classics (Text and Culture).

     

    I really appreciate that Brock recognizes the work that it takes to balance academics and athletics. In my experience, competing in cross country and track has made me a more successful student. Having goals outside of academics is really important for my mental health, and I find that the two pursuits build similar skills, particularly in working towards a long-term goal. However, this is really only possible because the department has enthusiastically encouraged my athletic goals and allowed me to find that balance, particularly through consistent accommodations when I have to travel for meets. Overall, I consider myself very lucky to have my graduate experience enriched by both my athletic and academic communities.
    – Madelyn Huston

    Categories: News

  • Alumna Francesca Patten (MA ’18) participates in Humanities career event

    Classics alumna (MA 2018) Francesca Patten was one of two inspiring speakers at the recent online event “Life After Grad School: Careers for MA students in Humanities,” hosted by the Faculty of Humanities and co-organized by Classics alumna Alison Innes (MA 2009). Francesca followed her studies in Classics with a Master’s in Public Administration, specializing in economic policy. She has worked for the Department of National Defence, Newfoundland and Labrador Housing, and the Canadian Transportation Agency, as well as with non-profit organizations in policy development, capacity building, and program evaluation. She is currently a PhD candidate in Educational Research at the University of Calgary where her research has brought her back to the ancient world with a focus on museums and public communication. Francesca highlighted the many skills gained during an MA degree, and especially during work on a Major Research Paper or Thesis. She noted that students shouldn’t underestimate the value of this work to future employers including time and project management, communication and analytical skills, resourcefulness, and creativity. She also encouraged students to pursue their passions and not to worry if their career path doesn’t end up being linear.

    Here’s a flashback photo to Patten’s Brock days, working with fellow alumna Sydney Bryk on the Venus Pompeiana Project, a collaboration between the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Mount Allison University and the University of Missouri

    Categories: News

  • Graduate Student Presents at AIA Conference

    On January 5th, 2024, the Department of Classics and Archaeology’s graduate student, Miranda King, presented her undergraduate thesis at the Archaeological Institute of America’s (AIA) annual meeting in Chicago. Her undergraduate thesis focused on the cataloguing and analysis of the small finds from the Venus Pompeiana Project which excavated at the Sanctuary of Venus at Pompeii. Her poster discussed the artefacts as a whole, but also focused on the collection of slingshot bullets linked to the Sullan siege of the city.

    Congratulations, Miranda!

    Categories: News

  • Prof. Carter featured on ToldinStone podcast

    ToldinStone” is a YouTube channel run by Dr. Garrett Ryan, that explores the history, culture, and legacy of ancient Greece and Rome. His specialty channel, “ToldinStone Footnotes”, hosts episodes of the ToldinStone podcasts, interviewing scholars on their research. In December, the Department of Classics and Archaeology’s Prof. Michael Carter was featured on an episode about his research on the rules that governed gladiatorial combats in the Roman world.

    To listen to this episode, see below. To listen to the podcast, click here.

    Categories: News

  • A busy fall for department faculty

    Brock Classics and Archaeology faculty have been busy this fall speaking about their work at national and international venues:

    Allison Glazebrook participated in the Greek History and Political Theory Colloquium at Western University in September, delivering a paper titled, “Community, Women, and Place in the Speeches of Isaeus.” In October she delivered a Brock Talk at the St Catharines library, “Women and Community in Classical Athens.” And in November she spoke on “Enslaved Labour, Sexual Labour, and Enslaved People” in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa.

    Elizabeth Greene gave six lectures in September as the Classical Association of Canada’s Western Tour Speaker. At the University of Manitoba and the University of British Columbia she delivered a talk titled, “The Many Voices of the Mediterranean: Archaeologies of Trade, Fishing, and Displacement in Southeast Sicily;” at the University of Alberta and Simon Fraser University she spoke on, ““Exchange in the Age of Lyric Poetry: The 6th-century BCE Shipwreck at Pabuç Burnu, Turkey;” at the University of Winnipeg her talk was titled, “The Late Antique “Church Wreck” at Marzamemi, Sicily,” and she delivered, “Ephemeral Heritage: Boats, Migration, and the Central Mediterranean Passage” at the University of Victoria.

    In October, Adam Rappold presented his research on “Homer’s Interactive Iliad: Adapting Classical Texts In a Digital World” at the Department of Classics and Archaeology’s Research Seminar Series.

    Along with with Rodney Fitzsimons (Trent University), Brock alumnus D. Matthew Buell, and Jane Francis (both at Concordia University), Angus Smith delivered a paper titled, “Visualizing Unseen Landscapes: Report of the Khavania Archaeological Project, 2022,” at the 29th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists in Belfast, Northern Ireland in September.

    Department faculty are also making good use of funding through Brock’s Humanities Research Institute. Michael Carter and Nadine Brundrett were awarded funds for their joint project on “The Games of Aulus Clodius Flaccus.” Carrie Ann Murray obtained funding for the Brock University Archaeological Project at Pantelleria, and Angus Smith received funds for “Ceramic Analysis of Prehistoric Pottery, Khavania Archaeological Project in Crete Greece.”

    Categories: News

  • Daniel Belanger awarded the Governor General’s Silver Medal

    At the Fall convocation ceremony, Daniel Belanger, who graduated this spring with a Bachelor of Arts in Classics and a specialization in Greek and Roman Studies, was honoured with the Governor General’s Silver Medal. The Medal recognizes the two undergraduate students with the highest academic average of the class of 2023. Daniel is currently continuing his studies as an M.A. student in the Department of Classics and Archaeology, and we are proud to celebrate his achievement!

    For more information on the Fall Convocation ceremony and the Governor General’s Silver Medal, follow this link.

    Categories: News