Outreach & Community Engagement Programs

2022 Virtual Latin Forum 

March 14 - April 5, 2022

After registering, on March 14, 2022 you will be provided with an interactive PDF program containing the following video mini-lectures:

A Tour of the Forum Romanum

Assistant Professor of Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Humanities

The Roman Forum was the political, religious, commercial, and symbolic heart of the ancient city of Rome. Originally a market-place and public-square, over the centuries, the Roman Forum evolved into a storehouse of cultural and historical memory and an arena in which the political elite of the city competed for visibility, power, and prestige. Under the emperors, the Forum was transformed further still into a showcase for Rome’s—and the emperor’s—imperial glory. In this lecture, we’ll visit some of the most iconic buildings and monuments in the Roman Forum as we discuss the evolution of the Forum space from marshy malarial swamp to civic center to imperial monument.

Living on the Edge: The Life and Death of Regina, a Woman on the Roman Frontier

Tom Landvatter
Associate Professor of Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Humanities

This lecture will focus specifically on the funerary monument of Regina, a woman who died age 30 sometime in the 2nd century CE. Her funerary monument, put up by her husband Barates, was found near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, at the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire. I will use Regina’s monument to reconstruct elements of her life and identities, trace her connections to other individuals and peoples, and explore the culturally diverse and interconnected world of the high Roman Empire. I will also show how inscriptions and archaeological evidence give us insight into the worlds and lives of Romans who rarely appear in literary sources.

The Real Housewives of Ancient Rome

Ellen Millender
Omar & Althea Hoskins Professor of Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Humanities

They may have lived in the wealthiest and most decadent city in the ancient world, but life was not just a matter of crime and debauchery for the powerful women who lived in ancient Rome. Come and meet Clodia, who really loved her brother; Agrippina, an affectionate niece and over-indulgent mother; and Messalina, who just liked weddings and intrigue a bit too much. And then there is Augustus' wife, Livia, who may or may not have bumped off multiple members of the imperial family to get her own son on the throne. Destructive daughters, wicked wives, and murderous matrons can reveal a great deal about Roman men's beliefs about the proper behavior and roles for women as well as their anxieties about social and political change.

An Unsettling Poem

Nigel Nicholson
Walter Mintz Professor of Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Humanities

Ovid was one of the greatest writers that Rome produced; yet in his own time he was often criticized for being undisciplined and self-indulgent, and his poetry has never seemed to do what people want it to do. In this seminar we will examine some unsettling passages from Ovid’s greatest work, the Metamorphoses, to try to understand what annoyed, disappointed and disturbed his critics, and what Ovid was seeking to do with his poetry. For some, Ovid’s poetry remains superficial and ornamental, but for others it represents a deep engagement with personhood, autonomy, and the politics of Augustan Rome.

Register for a synchronous mini-lecture and calligraphy workshop to be held on April 5, 2022 at 4:30 via Zoom:

The Lettering of the Trajan Inscription

Gregory MacNaughton
Education Outreach Coordinator, Calligraphy Initiative Coordinator

The inscription at the base of the Trajan column in Rome is among the most celebrated examples of Roman epigraphy and has served as a model for calligraphers and type designers for two millennia. In this hand-on workshop we will identify the characteristics of the Trajan inscription that have made it so exemplary. Based on the work of Father Edward Catich and his book The Origin of the Serif, we’ll analyze the structure and formation of the letters and practice writing them. Along the way we will discuss the role Reed College played in the development of Adobe’s Trajan typeface, and its current use advertising everything from Hollywood films to dog food.

To participate in the writing portion of the workshop, please have two sharpened pencils, a few pieces of masking tape, and several sheets of paper.