CAAS NEWSLETTER
The Classical Association of the Atlantic States
http://www.caas-cw.org
Electronic Newsletter Issue 1.2 September 2009
 
welcomeThe Classical Association of the Atlantic States is pleased to present the second edition of its electronic Newsletter.  Immediately following David Murphy's President's Message, there are several important announcements pertaining specifically to the CAAS organization:  the notice of our Annual Meeting, an update on the Jerry Clack Lectureship Fund, Ann Raia's profile of Hahn recipient Jennifer Muslin, and several funding opportunities.  In addition, there are five feature articles by new and returning contributors: Jerry Heverly's Online Research Guides for Classical Studies, a spotlight on the new library of the American Numismatic Society, two Outreach articles on events from around the CAAS region, and a Pedagogy column by Alan Vollmann.

The next full issue should appear in December or January.  Also in the works is a late-October mailing with listings of Summer Study Programs for 2010.  As always, news and announcements, as well as ideas and suggestions, are welcome.

David J. Califf
dcaliff@ndapa.org
 
presidentPresident's Message
by David P. Murphy, Nightingale-Bamford School Emeritus

We all know the excitement and regret that mingle at the end of summer and the beginning of a new term.  What better place to steady oneself than at CAAS' conference at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown Wilmington, October 8-10!  This year's program is outstanding;  see information on the Meetings page of our website,  http://www.caas-cw.org/meetings.html.  If registration materials have not reached you, they may be printed from the website.  Also be sure to renew your membership.  On the Membership page of the CAAS website you will find a printable form, which can be mailed with a check, and the credit-card-friendly link to Philosophy Documentation Center, the manager of our memberships and subscriptions to Classical World.  Donations may be added via either mode.

New Officers of CAAS

As you will have seen on the ballot sent during the summer, we have a strong slate of candidates nominated for election by the membership at our Business Meeting at lunch on Saturday, October 10, at this year's Annual Conference in Wilmington.  I am pleased to announce the candidates proposed by the Nominations Committee, chaired by Ann Raia:

Second Vice-President:  Shelley P. Haley, Hamilton College

First Vice-President:  Sarolta Takács, Rutgers University

President:  Phyllis Culham, United States Naval Academy

Officer-at-Large:  David J. Murphy, The Nightingale-Bamford School, Emeritus

Director (District of Columbia):  Sarah Ferrario, Catholic University

Director (New York Eastern):  vacant as of September 14.

Director (New York Central & Western):  John H. Starks, Jr., Binghamton University

The candidate for Director, New York Eastern, has withdrawn.  In addition, the director's position representing Central and Western Pennsylvania has just become vacant.  Anyone volunteering to stand for nomination, please contact Ann Raia, Chair of the Nominations Committee, araia@cnr.edu.  Candidates must work or reside in that region and be members of CAAS.  I am also pleased to welcome those members who are stepping into appointive positions on our Board of Directors, whose terms begin at the close of the Business Meeting:

Program Coordinator (3-year renewable term):  Henry Bender, The Hill School

Archivist (3-year renewable term):  W. Gerald Heverly, New York University

Webmaster (3-year renewable term):  Barbara McManus, The College of New Rochelle, Emerita

Chair, Awards Committee (2-year renewable term):  Judith Hallett, University of Maryland

Chair, Grants Committee (2-year renewable term):  Maria Marsilio, Saint Joseph's University

National Committee for Latin and Greek Delegate (2-year renewable term):  Lillian Doherty, University of Maryland

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Delegate (2-year renewable term):  Karin Suzadail, Owen J. Roberts High School

It was with regret that I announced in the spring that Mary English of Montclair State University would be completing her term as CAAS's Executive Director.  Mary assumed her office during a true hour of need for the association.  We owe her a huge debt of gratitude for taking over our association's operations seamlessly, efficiently, and always with good humor.  As you know, Mary Brown of Valley Forge Military Academy & College has already picked up the reins.  

It is also with regret that I note that this year's conference is the last in Judy Hallett's final term as Program Coordinator.  We owe thanks to her for carefully blending research and pedagogical papers, for bringing thought-provoking keynote speakers, and for making our conferences timely and rewarding.  The longer I work with Judy, the more I respect her creativity, energy, tenacity, and kindness.  We are fortunate that she will continue on other CAAS committees.

Mite vobis sit caelum aequinoctiale,

David P. Murphy
newsCLASSICS NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS
CAAS BUSINESS AND THE ANNUAL MEETING
clackJerry Clack Lectureship Fund
At the Association's fall meeting in 2002, President Barbara Gold announced that CAAS had established the Jerry Clack Lectureship.  This lectureship was set up in honor of a man who served CAAS for some thirty years as president, editor of Classical World, and its first Executive Director.  Few people have given so much to this organization for so long.  The annual Clack Lecture will feature a distinguished speaker from outside the CAAS region, an appropriate honor for Jerry, who has traveled all over the world.  Lecturers will come from thoughout the United States, Europe, and beyond to share with us their work on the worlds of ancient Greece and Rome.  You may find more information about the Jerry Clack Lectureship Fund on CAAS's website (http://www.caas-cw.org/clackfund.html).Jerry Clack

To make this lectureship a reality, financial support is necessary.  The Clack Fund was created to build up principal, the income of which would be used to bring a speaker every year.  After a strong beginning, contributions tailed off.  We have now resumed active fundraising.  Our goal is to inaugurate the Clack Lectureship at the CAAS conference in October, 2010.  The first month of our renewed fund drive has brought in $2550, bringing the fund's total to $6890 as of this writing - more than halfway to the original goal of $10,000.  At today's prices, $15,000 will be a more realistic target.  Let's join together to make 2010 the first year of the Clack Lectureships.  Everybody in CAAS is urged to contribute.  A tax-deductible contribution may be made by sending a check made out to CAAS, with "Jerry Clack Lectureship Fund" written in the memo line, to our Treasurer,
 
                Professor Donald H. Mills
                203 Radcliffe Road
                Dewitt, New York  13214

Alternatively, you may click on the Clack Fund donation button when you renew your membership via Philosophy Documentation Center's website (see link on CAAS's website:  http://www.caas-cw.org/member.html.  Names of all contributors of $100 or more will be listed, except of those who request to remain anonymous.

caas_meetingCAAS Annual Meeting 2009, Wilmington, Delaware

The Classical Association of the Atlantic States will hold its Annual Meeting on October 8-10, 2009, at the Doubletree Hotel in Wilmington, Delaware.  This meeting will  combine scholarly papers on ancient literature, history, and archaeology with panels and presentations on the teaching of the Classics, providing a relaxed and enjoyable forum for all college and secondary school teachers who are interested in the Greco-Roman world.  Pennsylvania teachers can now earn Act 48 credit for attending CAAS meetings, and Maryland Latin teachers attending the CAAS meeting may request certificates of attendance that can be taken back to their school systems for inclusion in their Maryland State Department of Education professional development packets.  Program information and registration forms are available at: http://www.caas-cw.org/meetings.html.

hahnHahn Recipient Jennifer Muslin

 Hahn Recipient Jennifer MuslinCAAS Hahn recipient Jennifer Muslin (U. Buffalo), upon completing her session at the American Academy, rented a car and explored a number of sites in Italy on her own. One fellow American Academy participant who was also on the Vergilian Tour with me, with the approval of Vergilian Society Cumae Directors Ann Koloski-Ostrow and Steven Ostrow, invited Jen to join the Vergilians on our visits to Beneventum (Arch of Trajan) and  Saepinum  and for dinner later at the Villa Vergiliana on Sunday, August 9.  I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet and talk to Jennifer, who is an impressive young scholar who well deserved to have this opportunity to explore Roman sites.  At the CAAS Annual Meeting she will speak about her experiences.
-- Ann R. Raia, Professor Emerita of Classics, The College of New Rochelle

ACL Update

If your membership in the American Classical League is up, you should have received a membership renewal form in the mail.  Please renew your membership promptly. Elections for President and Secretary will take place soon after October 15, and you must be an ACL member in good standing in order to vote.  The development committee of the College Board's AP Latin exam is now at work deciding what the re-designed exam will look like.  Paul Properzio, editor of the ACL Newsletter, will use the winter issue to gather information about what schools are doing to get advanced standing or college credit besides the AP or IB programs.  If you are involved in any dual-enrollment programs or any other assessment of student achievement that accomplishes this goal, please e-mail Dr. Properzio at newsletter@aclclassics.org.

APA Coffin Fellowship

In 2010 the American Philological Association will again award the David D. and Rosemary H. Coffin Fellowship for study and travel in classical lands. The Fellowship was established in 2004 by the friends and students of David and Rosemary Coffin to honor the skill, devotion, learning, and kindness with which they educated students at Phillips Exeter Academy for more than thirty years.  The Fellowship is intended to recognize secondary-school teachers of Greek or Latin who are as dedicated to their students as the Coffins themselves by giving them the opportunity to enrich their teaching and their lives through direct acquaintance with the classical world. It will support study in classical lands (not limited to Greece and Italy); the recipient may use it to attend an educational program in (e.g. American Academy, American School) or to undertake an individual plan of study or research. It may be used either for summer study or during a sabbatical leave, and it may be used to supplement other awards or prizes.  Applications should consist of a) a curriculum vitae; b) a statement of how the Fellowship will be used and how it will further the applicant's teaching; c) three letters of recommendation, at least one of them from the applicant's chair or principal, and at least one from a former student. Applicants should send four copies of the c.v., the statement, and the letters of recommendation to the APA Office so that they arrive in the office no later than Monday, February 1, 2010.  American Philological Association, 292 Claudia Cohen Hall , University of Pennsylvania, 249 S. 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6304.  Telephone: 215.898.4975.  E-mail: apaclassics@sas.upenn.edu.  Website: http://www.apaclassics.org/education/coffin.html.

Membership Renewal

If you are not receiving Classical World, your membership needs to be renewed. As a public charity with members, CAAS needs your support. Membership entitles you to vote, be eligible for office, present papers at conferences and attend at a reduced rate, apply for grants and scholarships, and, of course, read Classical World. Renewal is easy via the CAAS website.
Website: http://www.caas-cw.org/member.html

Professional Development Grants

Money for a Classics teacher's professional development is often not easy to find.  Some of us are fortunate to teach in institutions that provide generous funding for conferences, courses, workshops, or even private study in our field.  For many of us, however, budgets are tight at our schools, and we must console ourselves with, at best, reporting on our income taxes the money we spend to improve our knowledge and skills.  Having received numerous queries about support for professional development, Grand Committee Tom Hayes proposed a pilot program for this year:  CAAS Professional Development Grants.  Awards of up to $500 are available.  The first deadline is May 31, and the second, September 30.  For more information, see the "Grants" section of CAAS' website or contact Tom at:  Thomas Hayes, Ward Melville High School, 380 Old Town Road, East Setauket, NY  11733-3499; or e-mail at HayesTK@aol.com.

Travel Grants

CAAS is again offering modest travel grants to enable members with demonstrated financial need to attend the 2009 meeting in Wilmington.  These grants will range from $200 to $500 depending on the number of applications and the level of each individual's need.  Only CAAS members are eligible for these grants.  Those wishing to apply for these grants should send the following information to the Program Coordinator, Judith P. Hallett (jeph@umd.edu) as soon as possible, but no later than August 30th: 1) name, employment and/or student status, institution (if any) connection with Classics; 2) a brief description of why this grant is needed (costs to attend the meeting, financial exigencies); 3) contact information.  Notification of grant awards will be sent out by September 9.  Successful applicants will receive their checks when they pick up their registration materials at the meeting.

LECTURES, CONFERENCES & COLLOQUIA

NYU Xenophon Conference

The New York University Center for Ancient Studies presents the annual Rose-Marie Lewent Conference on Ancient Studies, "Xenophon in a New Voice," on Wednesday, September 30, 2009, at 5:30 PM.  The conference will take place in Hemmerdinger Hall, Room 102, Silver Center for Arts and Science, 32 Waverly Place or 31 Washington Place (wheelchair accessible), New York, NY. The event is free of charge and open to the public, and seating is by general admission. Featured participants are Matthew Santirocco, Paul Cartledge, David Thomas, Robert B. Strassler, and Phil Terry.  Website: http://ancientstudies.fas.nyu.edu/page/events; telephone: 212.998.8100; e-mail: kenkidd@nyu.edu.

Athens Conference on Ancient and Modern History

The Athens Institute  for Education and Research will host its seventh annual conference "History: From Ancient to Modern" in Athens, Greece on December 28-31, 2009.   There will be panel sessions on various aspects of ancient Greek and Roman history, as well as world history and historiography.  The conference will also include archaeological tour around Attica with visits to Hadrian's Arch, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Panathenaic Stadium, the Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike, and the Erectheion.  There will also be a New Year's Eve Gala. Website: www.atiner.gr/docs/History.htm.

Berlin Conference on Antiquity in Film

The Freie Universität Berlin will host a conference on Antiquity in Film on December 10-12, 2009.  This conference will explore the reception(s) of antiquity in film from the silent era through to sound film and to present-day blockbusters.  Film adaptations of ancient figures and material and what they have to say about the present and about culture and society will be examined in light of the specific significance of gender.  Projects from the following fields are particularly welcome: History, Classics and Modern Languages and Literature, Cultural Studies, Religious Studies, Theatre, Film and Media Studies, Art History, Philosophy, Theology, and Political Science.  For more information, contact Prof. Dr. Almut-Barbara Renger, AntikfilmGender@gmx.de.

Bryn Mawr Classics Colloquium

Bryn Mawr College sponsors weekly classics colloquia featuring distinguished speakers on a variety of literary, archeological and historical subjects.  Fall speakers this year include "News from Abroad: Student Reports" (September 11); Aldo Setaioli, "Encolpius and Priapus" (September 25); Ann Suter, "Ancient Obscenity and its Relation to the Sacred" (October 2); Alessandro Barchiesi (October 23); Lee Pearcy, "Does Dying Hurt? Philodemus' De Morte and Asclepiades of Bithynia" (November 6); Carla Antonaccio, "The Argive Heraion, Revisited" (November 13); Annetta Alexandridis, "Men, Metamorphosis, and the Transforming Power of Wine" (November 20); Seventh Biennial Bryn Mawr College Graduate Group Symposium: Robert Nelson, "The Anxiety of Influence and Appropriation" (December 4); Janet Downie, "Philostratus' Heroicus: Paideia in the Local Landscape" (December 11).  Most colloquia take place at 4:30 p.m. in Room B21 of the Rhys Carpenter Library. Tea will be held at 4:00 p.m. before the lectures in the Quita Woodward Room, which is in Thomas Library. Telephone: (610) 526-5198.  Website: www.brynmawr.edu/classics/colloquia.html.

Penn Classical Studies Colloquium

The University of Pennsylvania hosts its Classical Studies Colloquium on Thursdays at 4:30 in Cohen Hall 337 or 402.  The full Fall schedule has not yet been announced, but Penn's Cynthia Damon will present "History's a Farce: Seneca and Tacitus on the Deification of Claudius" on September 10 in Cohen 337.  Website: www.classics.upenn.edu/colloquia.html for future presentations.

CALLS FOR PAPERS

AAHM Annual Meeting

The American Association for the History of Medicine invites submissions in any area of medical history for its 83rd annual meeting, to be held in Rochester, Minnesota, April 29 through May 2, 2010. The Association welcomes submissions on the history of health and healing; history of medical ideas, practices, and institutions; and histories of illness, disease, and public health. Submissions from all eras and regions of the world are welcome.  In addition to single-paper proposals, the Program Committee accepts abstracts for sessions and for luncheon workshops.  Deadline: September 15, 2009.  Website: http://histmed.org.  For more information, contact Keith Wailoo: kwailoo@rci.rutgers.edu.

APA Panel on Women and Ancient History in North America

The APA's Committee for Ancient History and the Women's Classical Caucus together invite proposals for a panel session on the status of women in the field of Ancient History to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Philological Association at San Antonio in 2011. The purpose of this panel is to provide an opportunity to take stock of the state of the study and teaching of ancient history in North America and to contemplate where the field is going.  We are particularly interested in papers that address the following questions:  What has changed since the 1970s that has encouraged more women to enter the field?  Why has the female presence in ancient history not been as robust as it is in literary studies? What does it mean that the proportion of women in ancient history is in keeping with the representation of women in the wider field of History, but is not in pace with the wider field of Classics?  Is there a difference in the circumstances faced by women educated in (and hired by) departments of History, departments of Classics, and independent graduate groups? How can the APA and the WCC assist in attracting more women to this endeavor?  Abstracts of 500 to 800 words, suitable for a 15-20 minute presentation, should be sent as an email attachment (Word doc or pdf) to Celia Schultz at celia.schultz@yale.edu, or by regular mail at the Department of Classics, Yale University, P.O. Box. 208266, New Haven, CT 06520-8266.  Deadline: February 1, 2010.

APA Panel on Women, Food, and Drink in the Classical World

Since the 1980s and 90s, customs surrounding food and drink have become central to our understanding of ancient Mediterranean societies and are now widely understood to have touched on aspects of ancient life as diverse as poetry, sexuality, religion, politics, and domestic life. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: women and food preparation; women's roles at ritual banquets; tropes or metaphors involving women, food, and drink; evidence for women's diets, both in daily life and at religious festivals; women and sacrifice; women's roles at banquets outside of the centers that have been the focus of study(Greece outside of Athens; the Roman provinces); women's involvement in meals other than the symposium and convivium.  Please send two copies of Form D and four copies of your abstract to: American Philological Association, University of Pennsylvania, 292 Logan Hall, 249 S. 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6304.  Deadline February 1, 2010. For more information, contact Kathryn Topper  at ktopper@u.washington.edu or Laurie Kilker at lkilker@ithaca.edu.

CAMWS

The 106th Annual Meeting of CAMWS will be held Wednesday-Saturday, March 24-27, 2010, at the Renaissance Convention Center Hotel, Oklahoma City, OK, at the invitation of the University of Oklahoma.  Individual paper proposals must be received by September 18, 2009.  Papers may be on any aspect of Graeco-Roman antiquity; especially welcome are panels likely to be of broad interest, including those concerned with pedagogy. Teachers and students of the Classics at any level of instruction (K-12, college, or university) may submit abstracts, but papers written by undergraduates will be evaluated separately from the rest and assigned to sessions designated for undergraduate papers.  Electronic submissions are preferred:  http://www.camws.org/membership/panelabstract.php.  To submit a proposal by mail, send 1 hard copy of the http://www.camws.org/meeting/2010/call2010.pdf submission form, 1 hard copy of the panel description, and 1 hard copy of each abstract.  Contact CAMWS, Dept. of Classics, St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Ave., Northfield, MN 55057-1098; 507.786.3387; fax 507.786.3732; groton@stolaf.edu.
 
Hawaii Conference on the Arts and Humanities

The 8th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities will be held from January 13-16, 2009 in Honolulu, Hawaii.  This multi-disciplinary conference is designed to promote dialogue and interaction among artists and scholars from all areas of the humanities.  Topic areas addressed include language and literature, art and architecture, history, religion, and philosophy, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches.  Abstracts will be accepted until September 12, 2009.  Website: www.hichumanities.org.  E-mail: humanities@hichumanities.org.

OVERSEAS SUMMER STUDY OPPORTUNITIES

University of Dallas: Latin in Rome

The University of Dallas will again host "Latin in Rome," its annual program for "eager and qualified" upper-level high school Latin students.  Participants will visit sites in Rome and Naples and study Latin passages from Cicero, Pliny, Vergil, and others that relate to their travels.  Dates for 2010 have not yet been set, but the program typically falls in late July and early August, and the estimated cost is $6,250.  Limited, need-based scholarship assistance is available.  Online applications are now being accepted. Information: udsummer@udallas.edu.
Website: http://www.udallas.edu/travel/latin.cfm

University of Dallas

The University of Dallas offers a variety of other study and travel programs in Rome for high school students, college students, adults, and families. Contact Rome and Summer Programs, University of Dallas, 1845 East Northgate Drive, Irving, TX 75062; telephone: 972-721-5181; e-mail: udsummer@udallas.edu.
Website: www.udallas.edu/travel

SUMMER INSTITUTES AND PROGRAMS

CUNY Latin/Greek Institute

The Latin/Greek Institute of The City University of New York offers basic and upper-level programs in Latin and Greek typically from early June to mid-August (2010 dates have not yet been set).  Contact Prof. Rita Fleischer, Director of the Latin/Greek Institute, Box 33G, City University Graduate School, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016; telephone: 212-817-2081; e-mail: rfleischer@gc.cuny.edu.
Website: web.gc.cuny.edu/provost/lginst/index.htm

Please send news items and event announcements to dcaliff@ndapa.org.
gerryELECTRONIC RESOURCES IN CLASSICS
Online Research Guides for Classical Studies
by W. Gerald Heverly
Classics Librarian, New York University
Many of us probably encountered this dilemma in grade school: you asked your teacher how to spell a complicated word, and s/he instead told you to look it up in the dictionary.

"How," you asked yourself, "will I know what to look for, when I'm not even sure what it looks like?"  People often find themselves in the same dilemma when they're trying to find books and other resources on a topic.  How do you know what to search for in a library's catalog or a database when you have no idea what the best books or web sites are for getting started on a classical subject?

Fortunately, there's a convenient solution, and it's free.  Large research libraries employ subject specialists, individuals well grounded in one or more academic fields, to purchase materials in those disciplines and answer reference questions pertaining to them.  Many subject specialists have exploited the internet to help educate people about reference tools in their fields.  The result is a multitude of research guides posted on library web sites and available at no cost.  Here are some examples for classics:

New York Public Library: http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/grd/resguides/classics/index.html

New York University:  http://library.nyu.edu/classics/

Princeton University: http://firestone.princeton.edu/classics/

You can find others by searching Google with the words "classics," "research," and "guide."  Entries on research guides often have annotations, which will tell you what a given source is or isn't good for.  Some guides even provide detailed tips for looking for sources not listed on the guides themselves.  In addition, research guides generally include a selection of both print and online reference tools.  But beware: some electronic resources are commercially licensed and won't be available to the general public.

Students and instructors alike will find research guides helpful.  People at institutions without a dedicated classics librarian will especially welcome these online overviews of the reference tools in classics.  Online research guides can also be useful for high school instructors teaching advanced students and for the students themselves.

Research guides in classics are updated routinely, as new reference sources become available, so check out your favorite one(s) often!

◊
archiveARCHIVES
The ANS Library: News and Resources
by Elizabeth Hahn, Librarian, American Numismatic Society
www.numismatics.org/Library/Library
With a collection of over 100,000 items and a history of more than 150 years, the Library of the American Numismatic Society is generally recognized as one of the foremost centers for numismatic research in the world. On any given day during the week, scholars, staff, and students, can be found actively using the non-circulating collections. At the same time, the minimal library staff -- which consist of a full-time librarian and a part-time cataloger, -- can be found responding to an abundance of reference questions that come from all over the world. Both the numismatic and library collections have a strong focus on the classical world and the library maintains resources to support this strength by acquiring not only relevant numismatic monographs, but also works on ancient history, ancient texts, excavation reports, auction catalogs, and more. There are no geographical or chronological limitations to the collections, making both a rich resource for any scholar.

In the summer of 2008, after a short period of transition to its new headquarters on 75 Varick Street, the ANS resumed its role in actively serving members and the general public with their numismatic inquiries. The advantage of the new space is that all of the collections are on the same floor, which facilitates use and access. The Society's Library houses one of the world's most comprehensive collections of numismatic literature and presently numbers some 100,000 items. These include books, periodicals, manuscripts, photographs, pamphlets, auction catalogs, and microforms, all of which are cataloged and available in the online library catalog. In addition to numismatic works, the library includes a strong reference collection and a wide selection of non-numismatic periodicals in the areas of archaeology, art history, economic history and other disciplines.

ANS Library

Another strength of the library and asset to all users is the active indexing of numismatic articles from journals and various chapters in multi-authored works. As a result, a simple search on any numismatic topic will elicit not just a record of the library holdings but a survey of numismatic research on the topic in question. Users that are unable to make a visit to the library can take advantage of the various library services, including use of the online library catalog, as well as requesting article photocopies or scans, and research services conducted on the user's behalf. The library also maintains a collection of rare books and uses a small exhibition space to display highlights from the collections, both in physical format and online.

From the first acquisition in 1859, the ANS Library collection has developed into the widely important resource that it is today. It has survived two major moves in less than a decade and has been in the care of 21 different librarians over its 150 year existence. More than a century ago, the librarians were addressing similar issues on cataloging that we face today. A librarian's report from 1880 helps to illustrate the state of the library at the turn of the 19th century and, in particular, the need for a catalog. Mr. Richard Hoe Lawrence, who served as the ANS Librarian from 1880-1886, reports that: "Our books are not catalogued, and a library without a cataloguer is, as Carlyle says, a Polyphemus without an eye in his head. It is hoped that our infant Cyclops will soon have this important member placed in his forehead..." This observation resulted in the single, thirty-page index listing items in the collection in 1883. Since that time, the collection has grown to encompass some 100,000 items.

The active involvement of the ANS Librarians has ultimately helped shape the collections, but it is the users that make these efforts worthwhile. With the library and numismatic collections coupled with the other events, lectures, exhibitions, and publications, there is much to be gained by utilizing the resources of the American Numismatic Society.
The ANS Library maintains non-circulating collections and is open to the public. Visiting hours are Monday - Friday, 9:30am - 4:30pm. Additional information, including monthly new acquisitions, can be found on the website at www.numismatics.org/Library/Library  or by sending an email to the Librarian at hahn@numismatics.org. ◊
outreachOutreach
Parilia:  An Upstate New York Collaboration
by Michael Arnush, Skidmore College
In the spring of 2005, the Classics faculty at four upstate New York institutions - Colgate University and Hamilton, Skidmore and Union Colleges - gathered at Skidmore in Saratoga Springs to discuss potential collaborations. We explored a variety of options - shared positions for adjunct faculty, joint sponsorship of visiting scholars, and the creation of an undergraduate conference. The last proposal quickly caught fire with the faculty, for all of us realized the rich opportunity such an event would provide to bring together the students and faculty from the four institutions for a day of scholarship and camaraderie. We were fortunate to benefit from the support of our respective administrations and the Mellon Foundation, which generously provided the seed money for inter-institutional collaboration. By unanimous consent we agreed to launch the conference - dubbed Parilia in honor of the annual Roman festival held on April 21st in honor of the city's founding - in the following spring of 2005. Union College congenially offered to host the first Parilia. We owe our collective appreciation to our colleagues in Sunoikisis, a "collaboration advancing teaching, curricular development and scholarship in Classical Studies" among faculty and students in the Associated Colleges of the South, for it was Sunoikisis (also funded initially by the Mellon Foundation and now under the auspices of NITLE - the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education) that developed (and still implements) a series of successful undergraduate Classics conferences.

Spring 2006 witnessed an extraordinary initial gathering at Nott Auditorium on the Union College campus, where Prof. Andrew Szegedy-Maszak of Wesleyan University kicked off the event with a keynote address before over 100 participants. From there, three sessions of undergraduate research presentations followed, each one populated by one student from each institution and moderated by the departments' faculty. As with any conference, the papers addressed topics across the breadth of our discipline, from film studies to close readings of texts, from philology to philosophy, from history to archaeology. Students showcased their work and the faculty looked on proudly at the results. The day closed with a bounteous feast and a rousing game of swapping Classics-inspired limericks.

This spring witnessed the fourth iteration of Parilia, this time at Colgate and once again reinforcing our collective commitment to helping our students develop their research skills and share the results. The faculty and students of the four participating institutions gratefully acknowledge and extend their thanks to the Grants Committee of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States for its generous support for Parilia 2009. The format remained largely the same and all of our students acquitted themselves superbly; the day included a visit to Colgate's visualization laboratory - a mini-planetarium - with a demonstration of the intersection of the natural sciences with the humanities. The show focused on the Ides of March, with narration by Prof. Robert Garland of Colgate and a performance of one scene from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Trailers of other shows included one on the Seven Wonders of antiquity, narrated by the British film actor Sean Bean.

Yet again, Parilia provided an opportunity for faculty and students from all four institutions to strengthen our upstate NY Classics community. Spring 2010 we will return to Union College with contingents from all four institutions and look forward to more exceptional work from our students. We have also begun to explore the possibility of broadening participation to more regional institutions and think we have fashioned an enduring model of an annual undergraduate Classics conference in upstate New York. ◊
Outreach
"Representing Our Ancestors" Returns
by Judith P. Hallett and Barbara F. McManus
On Saturday, 21 March 2009, five of the six ancestors from the CAAS Centennial plenary once again returned from the dead. This time they traveled to Columbia University for a session sponsored by the Columbia Classics Department and the New York Classical Club.  Moderator Judith P. Hallett (of the University of Maryland, College Park) introduced Anna Julia Cooper (portrayed by Shelley P. Haley of Hamilton College), Gonzalez Lodge (portrayed by Wayne Millan), Grace Harriet Macurdy (portrayed by Barbara F. McManus of The College of New Rochelle), Moses Hadas (portrayed by John H. Starks, Jr. of Binghamton University), and Gilbert Highet (portrayed by Robert Ball of the University of Hawaii).  The session was held in historic Hamilton Hall, the first building dedicated to Columbia College on the Morningside Heights campus.

Representing Our Ancestors
 
Prompted by questions from Hallett, the ancestors reflected on their personal and professional lives at the ages of 20, 40, and 60, with particular emphasis on reminiscences related to Columbia University.  Cooper began her studies for a Ph.D. at Columbia but was forced to postpone them when she adopted the five orphaned children of her half-brother; she eventually received her doctorate from the Sorbonne.  Lodge taught for thirty years at Columbia Teachers College, where he led efforts to promote innovative methods of language teaching and learning.  Macurdy, who earned a Ph.D. in Greek at Columbia in 1903, was the first woman to teach in the academic program at Columbia; she even recalled the room (Hamilton 501) in which she had taught Greek in the summers from 1908-1918.   Moses Hadas, who received a Columbia Ph.D. in 1930, recalled his struggles to gain tenure in Classics at Columbia at a time when very few Jews even held academic positions.  After World War II, however, he received tenure and eventually attained the John Jay Professorship of Greek in 1956.  An émigré from Scotland by way of Oxford, Gilbert Highet joined the Columbia faculty in 1937 and within a year was promoted to full professor with tenure; he reminisced about his long career at the university (including his experience of being briefly trapped inside Hamilton Hall when student protesters occupied the building in1968) and his pivotal role in the famous Columbia Core Curriculum.

After Hallett had asked each ancestor a special question related to their interests and contributions, a lively series of questions from the audience ensued.  The diverse audience contained not only classicists from Columbia (including Highet's successor in the Anthon Chair of Latin Language and Literature) and the New York Classical Club, but also an area resident who had taken a course with Moses Hadas and always remembered him as "Zeus," plus four relatives of Lodge who were delighted to see "Uncle Gonzo" again.
 
Two weeks after the Columbia performance, at a joint meeting of the Classical Associations of England and Scotland in Glasgow, Barbara McManus analyzed the impact of the Ancestors Project in a PowerPoint presentation entitled "'Representing Our Ancestors': Performance as Disciplinary Scholarship and Outreach."  She gave this same presentation to the CAAS Board of Directors at the April 25 Board meeting in Princeton.
 
Judy Hallett jeph@umd.edu and Barbara McManus bmcmanus@cnr.edu welcome any suggestions for expanding the Ancestors Project or scheduling performances in other venues. ◊
 
pedagogy Pedagogy
ACTIVE IMPERATIVES:
The Case for Latin Grammar in Educational Boot Camps
by Alan Vollmann, Benjamin Banneker High School, Washington, D.C.
Some educational pundits have made a case for "educational boot camps" for summer school.  The Banneker Summer Institute at D.C. Benjamin Banneker High School was recently singled out in one article for its "well focused school program" in a school "not distracted by the latest testing systems or curricular fashions."

I was one of the "drill sergeants" in that five-week program to prepare incoming freshman for the rigorous academic program at Banneker, a D.C. public high school across the street from Howard University.  For three years I have been one of the Latin taskmasters, and as a part-time faculty member during the regular school year, I have witnessed this program's success in setting the high standards of achievement Banneker demands.  There is nothing particularly creative or innovative about the program.  It is successful solely because of the core values of the dedicated Banneker teachers and staff - values that defy student testing and teacher accountability but can be measured by the confidence and self-respect that Banneker students wear with pride throughout the school day.

A 60's generation idealist, who opted for teaching in the inner city over fighting in Vietnam, I left the profession after several years for a more lucrative career in the law.  Over time, I have gradually returned to the classroom.  "Unfinished business," I explain to my law partners.  I taught reading and "cut-and-paste" English to eighth graders in a suburb outside of San Francisco and learned each year that the higher I set the standards for kids who had little experience with academic success, the farther I could take them.  Just before I decided to pursue a legal career and get married, I had started teaching some of my dysfunctional kids Latin and was amazed that they learned the language faster than I did in a college-prep high school.

I often wondered how successful a program would be if teachers were given the freedom to set their own standards based on realistic expectations of the students.  In the 70's, that was called a "student-centered" curriculum, which usually meant "dumbing down," instead of raising, standards so that class work would be "relevant" to all students from diverse backgrounds.  I saw some success with what I like to call the "teacher-centered" approach in a program known as the Bay Area Writing Project.  This program, sponsored by the UC Berkeley School of Education, brought together successful writing teachers to share their ideas on writing instruction.  The teachers became advocates for higher writing standards across the curriculum in their school districts.  The program later became a successful national effort, but by that time, I was focused on my law career, had moved to Washington, gotten married, and started a family.

Since many D.C. law firms get lawyers involved in the local schools as part of their community outreach and pro bono initiatives, I have taken the opportunity over the years to be a participant observer in a number of programs in the D.C. public schools.  Having met a lot of smart, but turned-off, students in some pretty depressing schools, I remembered well the kids I taught right out of graduate school in the early 70's.  When I learned that Banneker may have a need for another Latin teacher, I had my teaching credential transferred from California to D.C. and offered my services, intent to continue my Latin experiment as a way of raising standards.  Latin seemed like an easy way to prove to kids how smart they are.  Since there is no expectation for a Latin curriculum except that everyone seems to think you must be smart if you study the language, the idea seemed fool-proof.  There is no way students can say they are "bad at Latin" since they've never had it and have no idea what to expect.  Furthermore, I never met a kid who didn't want you to show him how smart he was.

Bobby Johnson, the Latin teacher for several years at Banneker, became my mentor.  Unlike me, Bobby was young, cool, funny, spontaneous, and Afro-American.  But like me, he believed in young people and asked far more from his students than they thought they could do.  He could prove his success.  Just count the many awards and certificates his students collected each year after taking the National Latin Exam as well as a very difficult national mythology exam designed for seniors rather than freshman.  For my first Summer Institute, Bobby and I were team teachers, and he suggested that we conduct class for the first week entirely in Latin.  Bobby felt that we should conclude the five-week program by teaching the students how to read the opening lines of the Iliad and the Odyssey in Greek and the famous prologue of the Aeneid in Latin - in perfect dactylic hexameter, of course.  Even I was skeptical, but Bobby insisted.

The incoming eighth-graders thought we were crazy, but that didn't deter us.  After our first day of class, I overheard a boy with a heavy dose of attitude (That's "hybris praecox" to classicists reading this.) tell one of his classmates that he had figured out how to get kicked out of our class.  He never accepted his challenge, but he did come up to me with the following question during the last week of class:  "Does the caesura fall before or after profugus in the second line of the Aeneid?" - a prosodic quibble any Vergilian scholar would be happy to discuss.  Bobby proved to me my own hypothesis.  As a part-time faculty member at Banneker over the past few years, I have been able to continue my experiment with the encouragement of some of the smartest and most dedicated professionals I have ever worked with.  The school as a whole is the model of the classroom environment I had always tried to create.

The principles of the Banneker Summer Institute are part of the curriculum of every dedicated and successful teacher, but get lost in the political discourse about student evaluation and teacher accountability.  Take, for example, the lessons in etiquette and ballroom dancing that are part of the summer program.  I don't recall seeing those skills in any taxonomy of educational objectives that I studied in graduate school over thirty years ago.  (For that matter, Latin had been swept into the dustbag of oblivion and didn't even register as a viable course of study in the 70's and 80's.)  The etiquette/dancing curriculum subscribes to my eighth-grade teacher's corny motto that "Courtesy is contagious so let's start an epidemic."  The very first time I walked into Banneker, I was stunned to see teachers and students holding doors for each other.  Students greeted me, many introducing themselves and offering assistance.  Books and binders were neatly stacked in and in front of the small, often tastefully decorated, lockers.  (Banneker was originally a junior high school so each student could easily fill two lockers with textbooks.)  Unlike other schools I have known, locker theft and defacement are not a major problem at Banneker.  The students respect each other.  So I was not surprised to see my new recruits proudly demonstrating the foxtrot, waltz, and samba for their parents and classmates at the final assembly of the Summer Institute.

    Unlike military boot camp, Banneker doesn't require a uniform, but Banneker does have a dress code:  Dress to show respect for yourself and for others.  If you dress like a slob, you will be treated like a slob.  If you dress indecently, people will assume that you are indecent.  If you are ostentatious, people will think you are conceited.  "No crack and no cleavage" may be the bottom line in many schools, but at Banneker, students are taught to dress with pride and self-respect.  For award ceremonies, such as the closing program for the Summer Institute, the young men and women dress as though they were going to church and treat each other with a deferential reverence suitable for the occasion.

How do you get a bunch of rowdy eighth-graders conditioned for a rigorous academic program, motivated to dance to the rhythm of the foxtrot and the dactylic hexameter?  It's simple:  peer pressure.  Incoming students to Banneker quickly learn that acting stupid is uncool.  Student leaders are part of the summer faculty.  They make it clear to the "recruits" that a lot will be expected from them - not only by the faculty, but by their peers.  The "Banneker family" is a phrase that quickly becomes a part of each student's vocabulary.  Achievement, leadership, and community service are the primary educational objectives that the students teach each other in their classes, study groups, and extra-curricular activities.

At Banneker, tardiness and absenteeism are not spring guns for punitive action, but a cause for concern that there may be a problem at home or at school.  Teachers and students know when someone is missing.  The school is small enough, and the family within it cares enough, to inquire why someone is late or absent.  So much is covered in a Banneker class, students usually do not want to miss a session.  Furthermore, tardiness is considered rude and disruptive to students and teachers.

    Many incoming freshman express concern that they have always gotten high grades and worry that they will no longer be able to maintain the grade-point average they think they deserve.  The students quickly learn that membership in the National Honor Society requires genuine effort and dedication.  Students measure their success by the difficulty of the course content they master over time and their ability to compete in the "real world" as measured by International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) exams and extra-curricular academic competitions.  I recently read an article in The Onion, a parody of The New York Times, that argued that the lowest common denominator was dropping precipitously.  At Banneker, one could say that the lowest common denominator is constantly rising since the "A" grade a student received in the last grading period is the minimum expectation for the next.  Grade inflation is not a problem at Banneker.  Teachers feel they are wasting a student's time if an "A" comes too easily.  In fact, Banneker students are quick to complain that a teacher is not covering material quickly and adequately or is failing to meet the sometimes higher expectations of the students.  I even had to talk a couple of students out of taking the AP Exam in Vergil this year because the other AP tests they were taking were much more important for them.

The Banneker faculty and staff are self-conscious adult role models who know most of the students by name and treat them with respect.  Consider, for example, the mandated squadron of attendance officers, who must queue the students through metal detector and their backpacks through the x-ray machine.  They don't police the campus; the students do by modeling the behavior of the caring adults they get to know throughout the school.  These officers are only the first of the many professionals the students meet during their day.  Every adult in the school (and teachers are not all of them) are part of the support group that encourages these young people to realize their dreams of success.

Banneker can brag about standardized test results, college admissions, academic competitions, and the number of AP and IB courses the students complete successfully.  That's fine, but it is not the most important thing about Banneker.  The part of the curriculum that can never be measured is the pride and self-confidence of the students.  The teachers and staff can't take all the credit for that.  Behind every Banneker student, there is at least one adult -- a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or guardian -- supporting the student's efforts.  Banneker students are no different than the hundreds of students I taught in the 70's.  They have a lot of the same "issues" other teenagers have, and we adults had when we were teenagers.  However, their school sets its own standards and does not overly obsess with mandated curriculum guidelines.

Banneker teachers and students get frustrated with District-wide Stanford 9 tests that steal valuable instructional time.  One of my students at the end of the year said she felt she had been "bubbled to death," after filling out countless multiple-choice answer sheets.  It is a sad fact of American education that politicians equate expensive testing programs with educational progress.  I suspect that the increased emphasis on testing will continue to "depress the lowest common denominator."  The educational establishment will invent new labels for the kids that are the defective products of our educational factories with quality control mechanisms to sort out and recycle the damaged goods.  Consistent with the IB philosophy, however, Banneker teachers value a thoughtful question over a snap answer.  The teachers set out quickly to learn what the incoming students know and take it from there.  A good teacher builds on success, not failure.  The Banneker Summer Institute puts that positive assessment into action right away and builds the students' confidence for the challenges that await them.

Banneker succeeds because its teachers and staff know that all young people want to be respected, challenged, and shown the way to a successful, happy adulthood.  Success is not just measured in course grades and test scores, but by the confidence that self-knowledge can instill in a young person - particularly where the peer group adopts those values as its own.  Each student has his own unique set of talents and quickly learns that peers as well as teachers and other adult role models can help one find his strengths and weaknesses.

The "It's Academic" bulletin board, with pictures of some of the successful teams Banneker has assembled over the years, says it all:  "They can because they think they can."  Of course, all the Latin students know that those words are a rough translation from the fifth book of Vergil's Aeneid.  Like the ragtag group of Trojans making their perilous journey across the Mediterranean to found the Roman Empire, Banneker students are reminded daily that they too are destined for great things. ◊

When he is not teaching at Banneker, Vollmann is a commercial real estate partner at the law firm of Holland & Knight LLP in Washington.  His clients are pleased that he has always  required associates to delete Latin from their legal writing and to write in plain English.
David Califf, Editor                Chris Ann Matteo, Managing Editor
Classical Association of the Atlantic States
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