Classical and Mediterranean Studies hosts international colloquium on Latin philology
Oct. 13, 2025—The Vanderbilt Department of Classical and Mediterranean Studies hosted an international colloquium on September 29 and 30, with scholars visiting from the U.S. and Europe to share work on Latin philology, textual criticism, and commentary-writing. Supported by a grant from Vanderbilt’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation, Prof. James Zainaldin organized the colloquium, building on the success of...
Yelena Baraz, Princeton University. “Ovid’s Bystanders. From Trauma to Complicity”
Apr. 8, 2025—Tuesday, April 8th, 2025. 4:10 pm. Cohen 203. This talk will examine Roman ideas about the ethically and emotionally fraught position of the bystander as explored by Ovid in the Metamorphoses. The figure of the bystander raises questions about responsibility, identification, trauma, and complicity. Ovid’s treatment implicates the reader by creating a parallel between the...
Nicola Di Cosmo, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. “Visions and Frictions: Venice, the Mongols, and the New World Order (13th-14th centuries)
Apr. 8, 2025—Wednesday, March 26th, 2025. 4:10 pm. Cohen 203. What role did Mediterranean powers, particularly Venice, play in the new world order created by the Mongols? This talk will explore the motivations, challenges, and achievements of the Venetians who lived, traded and died in Mongol lands. The Mongol conquest offered unprecedented opportunities for new markets, safe...
Assistant Professor James Zainaldin publishes Cambridge monograph on Roman “arts and sciences”
Feb. 21, 2025—The Department congratulates James Zainaldin on the publication in the past week of his monograph The artes and the Emergence of a Scientific Culture in the Early Roman Empire with Cambridge University Press! Zainaldin’s book reconsiders ancient Latin writings on disciplines including medicine, architecture, agriculture, land-surveying, and the art of war to make a new argument for the...
Assistant Professor James Zainaldin wins international research scholarship
Jan. 13, 2025—Professor James Zainaldin has received a junior research scholarship from the Fondation Hardt pour l’étude de l’antiquité classique in Geneva, Switzerland, to support a scholarly stay at the the Fondation’s world-renowned research library. Professor Zainaldin will be visiting the Fondation Hardt later in 2025 to advance his research on the ancient Greek and Roman traditions...
Senior Lecturer Jason Harris receives the Harriet S. Gilliam Award for Excellence in Teaching
Dec. 13, 2024—Jason Harris has received the 2024 Harriet S. Gilliam Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Lecturer or Senior Lecturer. The award recognizes a continuing-track faculty member on a full-time, multi-year contract who has achieved excellence in teaching undergraduates. The Department congratulates and thanks Prof. Harris for his many years of mentoring students, increasing enrollments, and...
2024/2025 Lecture Series Event – A History of Air: The First Centuries
Nov. 11, 2024—The Vanderbilt Department of Classical and Mediterranean Studies is excited to Benjamin Folit-Weinberg, Associate Professor in the Department of Classics at The Ohio State University, to present A History of Air: The First Centuries as part of the Department of Classical and Mediterranean Studies 2024/2025 Lecture Series. This lecture will be held on Wednesday, November...
Undergrad Eleanor Vander Laan ’24 wins the 2024 Cooley Prize
Apr. 23, 2024—On April 22, 2024, the Department of Classical and Mediterranean studies presented Eleanor Vander Laan with a new award to recognize academic excellence and extraordinary service by a graduating senior major. They are a graduating senior majoring in Classical and Mediterranean Studies, as well as Educational Studies and History. Eleanor maintained a perfect GPA across...