Porter’s Lodge, Gateway to the College of Charleston
On Saturday, November 10, the Department of Classics will be proud to host ‘Classics Day’ in conjunction with the Fall Forum of the South Carolina Junior Classical League. Schedules and information available.
The College of Charleston’s Latin Gate on Calhoun Street. Source: The College Today
For 50 years, College of Charleston faculty, students, and visitors have entered campus by walking underneath the immortal words of Vergil. Interim Dean Johnson provides commentary in ‘The College Today“.
On Saturday, November 4, over 100 students from schools all over the state of South Carolina will gather on the College of Charleston campus for the Fall Forum of the South Carolina Junior Classical League. Schedules and information available.
On Friday, Feb 3, the annual ‘Classical Charleston‘ lecture series came to a close. In typical fashion, the speakers represented some the leading voices in this year’s theme on the power of historical writing to form (and transform) cultural perspectives.
Over the past 6 years, the Department of Classics and a variety of partners have brought to campus leading scholars to speak upon topics of interest to the wider community. This year’s theme is firmly placed among past topics such as:
The Department is thankful for those friends and associates who make this event a recognized feature within the intellectual landscape of the College. In particular, the Theodore Guérard family and contributors to the Department’s General fund directly impact the Department’s capacity to develop this lecture series and other programmatic and scholarly contributions.
The Department of Classics at the College of Charleston supports the recent public statement by the national organization for Classics in the US, the Society for Classical Studies:
“The mission of the Society for Classical Studies is “to advance knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the ancient Greek and Roman world and its enduring value.” That world was a complex place, with a vast diversity of peoples, languages, religions, and cultures spread over three continents, as full of contention and difference as our world is today. Greek and Roman culture was shared and shaped for their own purposes by people living from India to Britain and from Germany to Ethiopia. Its medieval and modern influence is wider still. Classical Studies today belongs to all of humanity.
For this reason, the Society strongly supports efforts to include all groups among those who study and teach the ancient world, and to encourage understanding of antiquity by all. It vigorously and unequivocally opposes any attempt to distort the diverse realities of the Greek and Roman world by enlisting the Classics in the service of ideologies of exclusion, whether based on race, color, national origin, gender, or any other criterion. As scholars and teachers, we condemn the use of the texts, ideals, and images of the Greek and Roman world to promote racism or a view of the Classical world as the unique inheritance of a falsely and narrowly-conceived western civilization.”
https://classicalstudies.org/scs-news/from-scs-leadership#sthash.YtK1p3sU.dpuf
In a College ceremony held on Wednesday, September 28, Lucia Johnson and Edward Vest were inducted into the prestigious Bishop Robert Smith Society at the College of Charleston. Membership in the Society is reserved for those giving over 1,000,000 to the College.
The Johnson-Vests are long-time supporters and friends of Classics at the College. Lucia was an alumna of the College and a dedicated Latin teacher. Lucia and Edward created the Johnson-Vest Scholarship in 1995 in order to encourage the study Latin and Greek, especially those studying to become Latin teachers. Every year many Classics majors benefit from their Scholarship’s generous support. This year’s recipients are pictured below with members of the Johnson-Vest family at the ceremony.
On behalf of the Classics Department, faculty, and students, I want to thank Lucia and Edward for their generosity.
Pat, Darlene, and Steven Johnson (representing the Johnson-Vest family) with President McConnell. The plaque in the background carries the names of Lucia Johnson and Edward Vest (second down from the top right).
2016-2017 Johnson-vest Scholarship winners with Pat and Darlene Johnson
Steven, Pat, and Darlene Johnson in the Classics Cast Museum