Classics Department Meeting
Harvard Classics Department Meetings
Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
Boylston 237.
Pádraic Moran (University of Galway)
Harvard Classics Lectures
"Reading Old Irish texts in the Reichenauer Schulheft"
Three days of seminars, April 13, 14, and 15.
Brought to you by the Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures, The Provostial Fund for the Arts and Humanities, The Mahindra Humanities Center and the Standing Committee on Medieval Studies at Harvard.
Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Kates Room, Warren House, 11 Prescott St, Cambridge, MA 02138.
For more info visit celtic.fas.harvard.edu. Course Registration Deadline
Registrar's Calendar
Course Registration Deadline for continuing students.
Wednesday, April 15, 2026.
Pádraic Moran (University of Galway)
Harvard Classics Lectures
"Greek in the Reichenauer Schulheft"
Three days of seminars, April 13, 14, and 15.
Brought to you by the Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures, The Provostial Fund for the Arts and Humanities, The Mahindra Humanities Center and the Standing Committee on Medieval Studies at Harvard.
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Kates Room, Warren House, 11 Prescott St, Cambridge, MA 02138.
For more info visit celtic.fas.harvard.edu. Brian Krostenko (University of Notre Dame)
"The Faliscan Cooks: Poetry, Social Class, and Regional Identity in 2nd c. Italy"
Krostenko’s research centers on the culture and law of the Late Roman Republic, Cicero, rhetoric, and Latin linguistics. He is the author of Cicero, Catullus, and the Language of Social Performance (Chicago, 2001), which discusses the problem of aestheticism in Roman culture by means of historical semantics. He is also the author of The Voices of the Consul: The Rhetorics of Cicero's de lege agraria I and II (Oxford, 2024), the first book-length study of the rhetoric of those speeches, which uses the techniques of discourse analysis to reveal how and why Cicero lays claim to contested political slogans and ideologies in the turbulent late Republic.
Thursday, April 16, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Boylston 203, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Tragedy Today: A Live Podcast Event
The Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS) invites you to a panel discussion on Euripides’ Trojan Women, held in person and via Zoom. In this session, Naomi Weiss (Professor of the Classics, Harvard University) will be in conversation with Rosanna Bruno (artist and illustrator of Euripides’ Trojan Women: A Comic) and Ella Haselswerdt (Assistant Professor of Classics, UCLA).
This panel discussion will be recorded as part of a new CHS podcast called Ancient Greece Today. Hosted by Naomi Weiss, this podcast brings together scholars and artists to explore the ancient Greek world and how it is used and reimagined in the present day. The first season (“Tragedy Today”) focuses on ancient Greek tragedies and some of their most recent adaptations across different media. Episode 1 will be released April 9.
To sign up for Zoom or in-person attendance, visit the listing on the CHS website.
Event contact to appear in listing: Contact: events@chs.harvard.edu.
Thursday, April 16, 2026, 5:30 PM.
CENTER FOR HELLENIC STUDIES, 3100 Whitehaven St NW, Washington, DC 20008, and via Zoom.
For more info visit chs.harvard.edu. Dissertation Writers Workshop
Workshops
Event contact to appear in listing: contact: classicsDGS@fas.harvard.edu.
Friday, April 17, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM.
Boylston 237.
For more info visit classics.fas.harvard.edu. Victor Caston (University of Michigan)
Idealism and Greek Philosophy: Appearance and Reality in Aristotle & Alexander of Aphrodisias
Victor Caston, University of Michigan
Myles Burnyeat famously claimed that idealism is “one of the very few major philosophical positions which did not receive its first formulation in antiquity” and so Bishop Berkeley was wrong to find his own views in Plato and Aristotle. But this is mistaken. Aristotle attacks idealism in Metaphysics Gamma 6: those who accept Protagoras’ homomensura, that “man is the measure of all things,” he claims, make all things relative, because anything that appears appears to a subject. His arguments presuppose not just the Measure Doctrine – that anything that appears to someone is (exists, is the case) – but its converse as well, that anything that is (exists, is the case) appears to someone. Protagoras’ homomensura is often assumed to involve both directions. But the Converse Measure Doctrine is much more radical, for it implies that nothing can be (exist, be the case) unless it…
Friday, April 17, 2026, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Emerson Hall Rm. 305.
Harvard Classical Receptions Workshop
Workshops
'Reshaping the Canon'---A workshop led by Dr Justine McConnell (King's College London)
Exploring the role of canonicity in classical reception, this workshop will ask how researchers can avoid re-entrenching canons when examining texts that are in dialogue with Greco-Roman literature; why it might be desirable to do so; and whether canonisation can ever be part of the dismantling of coloniality. We’ll consider how we can reshape canons and whether we should, drawing on the experience and research of the workshop’s participants to see how these questions play out in different contexts.
Event Series (if not listed): Harvard Classical Receptions Workshop.
Monday, April 20, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM.
Boylston 203.
For more info visit classics.fas.harvard.edu. Master Class: "Persecution, Victimhood, and Storytelling in the Dead Sea Scrolls" - Prof. Alex Jassen (NYU)
Workshops
"Persecution, Victimhood, and Storytelling in the Dead Sea Scrolls"
A Master Class with Prof. Alex Jassen (NYU)
Violence is one of the key themes in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It captured the imagination of the Sectarians who wrote these scrolls, and who saw themselves as victims of persecution. In this class, we will explore a wide range of passages where the Dead Sea Scrolls Sectarians tell stories about themselves as perpetual victims of empowered others: Rome and the local Jewish priestly and political authorities. Most scholars read these passages through a historical lens, seeking data about the origins and historical development of the Dead Sea Scrolls Sectarians. We will draw on social psychological approaches to violence and victimhood in order identify these texts as a form of storytelling that seeks to narrate the Sectarians’ perception of collective victimhood and a siege mentality. The Sectarians’ perception of the world is told through master narratives such as the biblical commentaries that present…
Event Series: Ancient Studies at Harvard Visitors Series.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Barker 133, 12 Quincy Street.
Dimitris Kyriakides
Poverty, Resilience, and the Meaning of the Marathon: The Legacy of Stylianos Kyriakides
On the 80th anniversary of Stylianos Kyriakides’ victory in the 1946 Boston Marathon, the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies, in collaboration with the 26.2 Foundation and the Consulate General of Greece in Boston, hosts a public conversation with Dimitris Kyriakides, former athlete and longtime sports administrator. Reflecting on his father’s life and legacy, Dimitris Kyriakides will discuss how, in the aftermath of war and poverty, Stylianos Kyriakides transformed athletic achievement into a civic and humanitarian act, drawing international attention to the plight of Greece. The event explores the marathon as a site of resilience, solidarity, and moral purpose, and considers the continuing relevance of these themes today, followed by discussion with students and the broader public.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 12:45 PM – 2:45 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies
27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge MA.
Senior Thesis Information Session
Classics Concentrator Calendar
Join current seniors as we explore the process of writing a senior thesis! Pizza will be provided. RSVP here.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Boylston 237.
Rebecca Moorman (Boston University)
Workshops
Event Series: Methods and Practice in Classics Workshop.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Boylston 237, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA.
Jesse McCarthy (Harvard University)
Harvard Classics Lectures
"Terence and the 'black figura': A Manuscript Talk by Professor Jesse McCarthy"
Terence’s play Eunuchus bears a special relationship to the representation of blackness in Roman New Comedy and a significant place in Erich Auerbach’s 1938 essay "Figura." Drawing out the implications of this coincidence, Professor Jesse McCarthy offers an introduction to his next book project, Dark Figures: The Representation of Blackness in Western Literature, a study of the representation of blackness in selected works from antiquity to the 20th century. Taking inspiration from Auerbach’s Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, his book traces what Auerbach called a "figura," and his book calls the “black figura,” as the effect of repeatedly reconstructed figural representations that transmit and refashion the Western encounter with racial blackness across succeeding periods of literary history.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 6:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Barker Center 110 (Thompson Room), 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA.
Lecture: "Rediscovering the Discovery: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Their First Audience" - Prof. Alex Jassen (NYU)
Harvard Classics Lectures
"Rediscovering the Discovery: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Their First Audience"
The Dead Sea Scrolls have been described as the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times. This presentation examines the first public exhibition of the scrolls in 1949 as a case study into how scholars, journalists, and public figures taught the world about the scrolls in the early years after their discovery. The Library of Congress exhibit “Ancient Hebrew Scrolls” showcased three scrolls. The impact of this event on public excitement about the scrolls cannot be overstated. The scrolls were brought to Washington D.C. under the protection of the Secret Service. Extended hours accommodated the overwhelming interest as thousands of guests visited over two weeks. The world’s most famous Bible scholar, William F. Albright, gave an opening night lecture to a packed audience in the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium. Paramount News and Fox Movietone News sent crews to document the opening night and these newsreels played in theaters and h…
Event Series: Ancient Studies at Harvard Visitors Series.
Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Sever Hall 103, Quincy Street, Cambridge MA.
Byron Hamann (University of Pennsylvania)
Harvard Classics Lectures
"Fantasies of Latin and Nahuatl in Clement VII's Rome"
Co-sponsored by the Humanities Center Seminar in Book History and the Early Modern Workshop in the Dept of History, Harvard.
Event Series: Mahindra Humanities Center Seminar: History of the Book.
Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 6:00 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CGIS S250, Harvard University, 1730 Cambridge St. Cambridge MA.
For more info visit bookhistory.harvard.edu. Arsen Nisanyan (Harvard University)
Workshops
TBD.
Event Series: Methods and Practice in Classics Workshop.
Friday, April 24, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM.
Boylston 237.
Last Day of Spring Term Classes
Registrar's Calendar
Wednesday, April 29, 2026.
Ilse and Leo Mildenberg Memorial Lecture, David G. Wigg-Wolf (Leicester University)
Harvard Classics Lectures
Ilse and Leo Mildenberg Memorial Lecture: "Gods? Beasts? Warriors? Interpreting the Imagery of Celtic Coinages"
Speaker:
David G. Wigg-Wolf, Honorary Professor, Leicester University
Free admission, but seating is limited and registration is encouraged. Register here.
Celtic coins present a remarkable world of varied, often fantastic images. The earliest coinages were generally close copies of Hellenistic coins from the Mediterranean world, but gradually they developed a distinct visual language. Elements of the original prototypes were adapted or became disjointed; because these were combined with new elements, the resulting designs can be difficult to understand today. Different regions also followed different iconographical traditions, leading to a wide variety of designs. In a later phase, the arrival of Rome on the political stage led to the re-appearance of coinages with a classical look, particularly in Britain. In this lecture, David G. Wigg-Wolf, of Leicester University, will trace the iconography…
Wednesday, April 29, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:15 PM.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY; Harvard Art Museums, Menschel Hall, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
For more info visit harvardartmuseums.org. Spring Reading Period
Registrar's Calendar
Thursday, April 30, 2026 – Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
Conference—Past and Present: Cultural Politics in Byzantium and Beyond
Harvard Classics Lectures
Convenors: Panagiotis Roilos and Dimiter Angelov
See complete program for details.
Event contact to appear in listing: contact: roilos@fas.harvard.edu.
Friday, May 1, 2026 – Saturday, May 2, 2026.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Boylston Hall 110 (Friday) and Robinson Hall 125 (Saturday), Cambridge MA.
For more info visit classics.fas.harvard.edu. Classics Degree Meeting
Harvard Classics Department Meetings
Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Harvard Faculty Club.
Spring Term Final Examinations Period
Registrar's Calendar
Thursday, May 7, 2026 – Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Course Evaluation (Q Guide) closes.
Registrar's Calendar
Course Registration Deadline for continuing students.
Monday, May 18, 2026.
University Holiday: Memorial Day
Registrar's Calendar
Department Offices Closed.
Monday, May 25, 2026.
Commencement Reception
Celebration for invited members of the Classics community.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
Harvard Faculty Club, 20 Quincy St.
Harvard University Commencement
Registrar's Calendar
Department offices closed.
Thursday, May 28, 2026.
University Holiday: Juneteenth
Registrar's Calendar
Department Offices Closed.
Friday, June 19, 2026.
Summer School Begins
Registrar's Calendar
Monday, June 22, 2026.
University Holiday: Independence Day (observed)
Registrar's Calendar
Department offices closed.
Friday, July 3, 2026.