News

  • Congratulations to Jazz Demetrioff for her recent publications!

    Congratulations to Jazz Demetrioff, a second-year MA student in Classics at Brock, for her two recent publications.

    In Past Imperfect, her paper explores how malarial stricken landscapes in ancient Rome, both the city and the marshland, were negatively affected by the parasite, and how it became a problematic infestation in both ecological environments. Jazz’s article originated as a research paper while she was an undergraduate student at the University of Winnipeg. The concept behind this study is related to Jazz’s overall research interests that encompass the study of health, pharmacology and archaeology in Rome. The Past Imperfect journal is a peer-reviewed, graduate student journal based at the Department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta.

    Demetrioff, J. 2020 “Miasma: Malaria’s Breeding Grounds and its Effects on Rome.” Past Imperfect 22: 3-32.

    Jazz continues to pursue an interest in health in the ancient world for her current MA research here at Brock with a study of the snake and its association with health in antiquity. Related to this, she has just published a second piece in Electra, a journal published by the Department of Philology at the University of Patras, Greece. Here, she investigates the varied roles that the snake has played in ancient literary sources and material culture with a focus on its role in health.

    Demetrioff, J. 2020 “Ambiguous Snake Manipulations: The ‘Powers’ and Entity of Health in Antiquity.” Electra 5.

    Well done to Jazz on both of these publications and continuing her research for the MA and beyond.

     

    Categories: News

  • Dr Angus Smith Wins Publication Award

    Congratulations to Dr Angus Smith for winning the Archaeological Institute of America, Anna Marguerite McCann Award for Fieldwork Reports for the 2017 publication of Ayia Sotira: A Mycenaean Chamber Tomb Cemetery in the Nemea Valley, Greece. Prehistory Monographs 56 (R. Angus K. Smith, Mary K. Dabney, Evangelia Pappi, Sevasti Triantaphyllou, James C. Wright).

    AIA 2020 Award Announcement

    This volume is the final publication of the results of excavation of six Mycenaean chamber tombs in the Late Bronze Age cemetery of Ayia Sotira within the Nemea Valley of the Argolid region of Greece. The work presented includes artifactual and ecofactual remains such as pottery, jewelry, figurines, metal objects, human skeletons, and botanical remains. The volume represents a tremendous amount of work including three excavation seasons, two study seasons, and an additional seven years for the team to complete the write-up. The excavation was an important one because the site was in the process of being looted. It was not a wealthy group of tombs, but instead belonged to the small farming community of nearby Tsoungiza in the Nemea Valley. Dr Smith explained “it’s demonstrative of the mortuary traditions of a small farming community in the shadow of the much larger and wealthier site of Mycenae.”

    The Ayia Sotira team also includes Mary K. Dabney, a Research Associate at Bryn Mawr College; Evangelia Pappi, from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture Ephorate of Antiquities for the Argolid; Sevasti Triantaphyllou, an Associate Professor in Prehistoric Archaeology and Osteoarchaeology at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki; James Wright, a Professor Emeritus of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology at Bryn Mawr, and a former Director of ASCSA.

    See the Brock News for the full story!


    R. Angus K. Smith, Mary K. Dabney, Evangelia Pappi, Sevasti Triantaphyllou, James C. Wright (2017) Ayia Sotira: A Mycenaean Chamber Tomb Cemetery in the Nemea Valley, Greece. Prehistory Monographs 56.

    Categories: News

  • What might the Romans have thought of a virtual Saturnalia festival?

    The Brock News covers the upcoming virtual Saturnalia gathering, the annual celebration thrown by the Department of Classics. Alison Innes explores the idea of what might the Romans have thought of a virtual Saturnalia festival?

    Brock News Dec 1st 2020

    Join the Department of Classics for Saturnalia VIII on Wed Dec 2nd at 5pm. Please RSVP for the MSTeams link in order to attend.

     

    Categories: Events

  • Saturnalia Party on Wed Dec 2nd!

    Join us for our 8th Annual SATURNALIA gathering online for 2020!

    Celebrate the end of term with virtual fun, games and prizes.

    Wed Dec 2, 2020 at 5 pm

    • Wear your finest ugly, festive sweater for a chance at winning a prize!
    • Bring a special festive snack and drink.
    • Try your luck with our Candy Guess.
    • Make a Classics-related meme and share with the Brock Department of Classics Facebook page for a prize!
    • Join us for a Latin reading.

    We look forward to seeing you there, all are welcome!

    ** This event will take place via MS Teams**

    Click here for how to get the MSTeams event link!

    Contact Barb Chatwin if you have any questions!

    bchatwin@brocku.ca

     

    SATURNALIA

    An Ancient Roman festival for Saturn in December just before the Winter solstice.

    the festival of Saturn started with sacrifices to the god, but the highlight was the banqueting and drinking with family and friends.  they often shared small gifts, such as wax or clay figurines, but others exchanged gag gifts for a chuckle.

    Saturnalia offered a carnival-like atmosphere in Rome as the traditional order to things was turned upside down.  Masters often waited on their slaves, gambling was permitted, and a “King of Saturnalia” could be declared to preside over general merrymaking, rather like a “Lord of Misrule”. The poet Catullus, who loved this festival, called it “the best of days.”

    Merrymakers greeted each other with “Io Saturnalia’!

    Categories: Events

  • Info Sessions for the Archaeological Practicum at Pantelleria

    Interested in joining an archaeological practicum this spring?

    Dr Carrie Murray will be holding information sessions via MS Teams for CLAS 3F75 (1.0 credit) the Brock University Archaeological Project at Pantelleria.

    Register for the meetings online in order to attend by clicking on a link below. The registration form will produce a link for attending the meeting; please copy and save this link to use on the day.

     

    Tuesday, November 24th @ 12:00pm

    or

    Wednesday, November 25th @ 12:00pm

     

    Regards,
    Dr Murray
    cmurray@brocku.ca

    Categories: Events, News

  • Dr Carrie Murray featured in Brock News

    The Department of Classics’ professor of Roman archaeology, Dr Carrie Murray, is the Faculty Focus in Brock News! Find out how she got her start in archaeology and why she thinks the Brock Pantelleria Project at the Lago di Venere is so fascinating.

    Brock News Faculty Focus– Carrie Murray

    Categories: News

  • AIA Niagara Online Lecture Series

    The 2020-21 AIA Niagara Peninsula Society lecture series is being conducted virtually. Fall lectures will be held online using MS Teams. Over the course of the year, a link will be added to each of the events on our AIA Niagara webpage.

    If you would like to join us for an event, please visit the AIA Niagara webpage and click on the link associated with that event. This link will take you to a registration form that will give you the MS Teams link needed in order to join the event. Please save the link in order to use on the day to join us. You will need to register for each AIA event that you want to attend.

    Lectures are free and open to the public. All are welcome to attend!

    Categories: Events

  • Welcome message from Dr Smith and Classics Open House online Sept 17

    Welcome to Brock Classics fall 2020!

    The Chair of the Classics Department, Dr Angus Smith, has recorded a welcome video with information for Classics majors, minors, and others interested in Classics to help get started with the fall term.

    Click here for the Welcome Video

    In particular, we would like to bring to your attention to the Classics Fall Open House which will be held online via MS Teams on Thursday, September 17 from 3:00-4:00.

    Please email the Classics Department Administrator, Barb Chatwin to sign up for the mailing list (classics@brocku.ca).

    Click here for the direct ExperienceBU link for registering for the MS Teams Classics Open House event. 

     

    Categories: Events, News

  • Congratulations to Brock Classics Alumna on earning her PhD!

    A huge congratulations to Ally Dawson (Brock Classics Alumna, Class of 2008) after just earning her doctorate in Classical Studies at Western University with her thesis entitled: Euripides’ Andromache and Athenian Hegemonic Ideology.
    We are all so proud of you, Dr. Dawson!

    Categories: News

  • Classics Course Delivery Information Fall 2020

    Course delivery information is available here. Find out which aspects are synchronous and a-synchronous in your Classics courses.

    Classics Course Offerings Delivery Info

     

    Categories: News