Department News Archive


Marcel Detienne, Gildersleeve Professor Emeritus of Classics, Passes Away

Professor Detienne was one of the most prominent classicists of his generation. A Belgian-born historian and renowned specialist in the study of ancient Greece, he taught in the Department of Classics from 1992 until his retirement in 2007. His career was dedicated to an innovative— even audacious—crossing of disciplinary boundaries, notably setting anthropology and history in dialogue as a means of bringing new questions and insights to the study of ancient Greece.


Prof. Joshua Smith Awarded Two Prestigious Fellowships

Prof. Joshua Smith has received two highly regarded fellowships to support his sabbatical for the 2018-19 academic year. The Loeb Classical Library Foundation Fellowship and the Non-Residential Fellowship in Hellenic Studies will support his work on his monograph.


Prof. Butler Delivers “Ghost Machines” Lecture in Berlin

Shane Butler
On May 18, Shane Butler, Chair of Classics and Nancy H. and Robert E. Hall Professor in the Humanities, delivered a lecture entitled “Ghost Machines" at the Freie Universität in Berlin, at the Collaborative Research Center “Episteme in Motion." Listen to the full lecture to learn more.


Liam Egan Wins Evangelia Davos Prize

Congratulations to Liam Egan, recipient of the 2018 Evangelia Davos Prize. Each year the Department of Classics awards the prize to the undergraduate major or minor in classics whose work in Greek studies has been outstanding. This cash prize was established in 2007 by a gift from Peter Davos ’00 and is named in honor of his aunt.


New Faculty Member Joins Department

Christopher Cannon, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of English and Classics, comes to Johns Hopkins after teaching at NYU, Cambridge, Oxford, and UCLA. Dr. Cannon works on medieval literature and, in particular, the emergence of 'English literature' as a meaningful category.