All members of the classics department are active scholars and experienced teachers. Among their teaching and research interests are the following: Greek and Roman literature and society; women's issues; Roman history; ancient Egypt; women's issues; classical and modern literature; and philosophy.
Barbara Gold, Ph.D., Edward North Professor of Classics
(bgold@hamilton.edu) Gold, who earned a master's and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joined the Hamilton faculty in 1989. Her research interests are Greek and Roman literature, comparative literature, women in antiquity, and feminist theory and classics. Gold is the first woman editor of The American Journal of Philology, the oldest journal in the U.S. She is co-editor with John Donahue of Roman Dining (2006, Johns Hopkins University Press). Her other books include Vile Bodies: Roman Satire and Corporeal Discourse; Sex and Gender in Medieval and Renaissance Texts: The Latin Tradition; Literary Patronage in Greece and Rome, and Literary and Artistic Patronage in Ancient Rome. She was president of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States for 2002-03.
Shelley Haley, Ph.D., Professor of Classics and Africana Studies
(shaley@hamilton.edu) A member of the Hamilton faculty since 1989, Haley's areas of interest are Roman literature and history; ancient Egypt; women's issues; and Africana studies. She earned a Ph.D. in classical studies from the University of Michigan. An expert on Cleopatra, Haley has appeared on the BBC's TimeWatch segment on Cleopatra, and was interviewed for The Learning Channel's series, "Rome: Power & Glory." She was a contributor to the African American Women Writers Series, 1910-1940 (1995) and has published articles in classical journals such as Historia, Classical World and Classica et Mediaevalia. Haley spent a month in South Africa in 1999, where she lectured on the classics as a foreign research fellow.
Haley served a four-year term as chief reader for the AP Latin Exam. As of July 1, she was appointed as the chair of the AP Latin Exam Development Committee. Haley has lectured nationally and internationally on the topic of increasing the representation of students of color in Latin, ancient Greek and classics classrooms. She has also lectured nationally and internationally on her research concerning the role of a classical education in the lives and careers of 19th century college-educated Black women. She published a chapter titled, "Lucian's 'Leaena and Clonarium'" Voyeurism or a Challenge to Assumptions?" in Nancy S. Rabinowitz and Lisa Auanger (eds.), Among Women: From the Homosocial to the Homoerotic in the Ancient World, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press (2002).
Haley was a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Washington University-St. Louis in November 2002, and participated in the Oxford Round Table in April, 2003.
Carl A. Rubino, who joined the Hamilton faculty in 1989, received his Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo. He has published and lectured extensively on ancient Greek and Roman literature, comparative literature, philosophy, and literary theory. A long-time collaborator of the late physicist and Nobel Laureate Ilya Prigogine, Rubino has also written and lectured on the connections between science and the humanities, where his work has focused on complexity theory, the problem of time, and the impact of the theory of evolution upon ethics. At Hamilton he has been the originator of College 100, “The Unity of Knowledge,” a cross-disciplinary seminar designed specifically for entering students. His recent publications include “Achilles in America: Teaching Homer against the Grain” (Classical World 98, 2005), “It Was Their Destiny: Roman Power and Imperial Self-Esteem,” (Amphora 5.2, Fall 2006), and “The Consolations of Uncertainty: Time, Change, and Complexity” (Reframing Complexity: Perspectives from the North and South [ISCE Publishing, 2007]). In 2008 Rubino was the editor, together with Alicia Juarrero, of a book titled Emergence, Complexity, and Self-Organization: Precursors and Prototypes (ISCE Publishing). In 2006-2007 he served as president of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States. In May 2007 Rubino appeared on the History Channel in a two-hour Lucasfilm documentary titled Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed, where he discussed the films’ roots in mythology.
James Wells, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics
James Wells, visiting assistant professor of classics, earned a B.A. in government at Beloit College and, after transitioning to classical studies, completed an M.A. at the University of Missouri and Ph.D. at Indiana University (2006). A fellowship from the American School of Classical Studies (2001-2002) enabled him to study ancient art and archaeology in Greece. Wells’ forthcoming book, Pindar’s Verbal Art (The Center for Hellenic Studies, 2009) is an ethnographic study of speech and performance in Pindar’s (518-438 B.C.E.) victory songs for ancient Greek athletes. In addition to a dozen book reviews and conference papers on Greek poetry and poetics, Wells has also published poetry and verse translations of Pindar in literary journals and magazines. His manuscript Registers of the Autograph was selected by Four Way Books as a finalist for the 2007 Levis Poetry Prize.
If you think ancient history is – well, ancient history, look again. At Hamilton, many classics courses have a distinctly contemporary spin. A few topics: the nature of heroism; the portrayal of Rome and Romans in modern film; ethics and politics in classical civilization; the role of women in antiquity; and the importance of Africa as an ancient source of culture, science and civilization.
Virtual Classics
Hamilton’s Classics Department is a leader in using digital technology to bring the ancient world to life. Professor Carl Rubino helps direct the VRoma Project, a virtual re-creation of ancient Rome online that provides an interactive, collaborative learning environment for students and scholars.
Renowned Scholars
Hamilton's classics faculty is internationally recognized for its range of research into ancient Greek, Roman and African culture. The department is home to The American Journal of Philology, the oldest classics journal in the United States; Professor Barbara Gold is the Journal’s first woman editor. Professor Shelley Haley chairs the national committee that develops Advanced Placement exams in Latin.
Endless Possibilities
Forget the stereotype of the classics scholar poring over musty manuscripts in a corner of the library. Classics study at Hamilton is a way of thinking about and engaging with culture, language and the past. It’s a discipline that produces not only teachers and scholars, but professionals in business, banking, publishing, law, even medicine.
If you think ancient history is – well, ancient history, look again. At Hamilton, many classics courses have a distinctly contemporary spin. A few topics: the nature of heroism; the portrayal of Rome and Romans in modern film; ethics and politics in classical civilization; the role of women in antiquity; and the importance of Africa as an ancient source of culture, science and civilization.
Virtual Classics
Hamilton’s Classics Department is a leader in using digital technology to bring the ancient world to life. Professor Carl Rubino helps direct the VRoma Project, a virtual re-creation of ancient Rome online that provides an interactive, collaborative learning environment for students and scholars.
Renowned Scholars
Hamilton's classics faculty is internationally recognized for its range of research into ancient Greek, Roman and African culture. The department is home to The American Journal of Philology, the oldest classics journal in the United States; Professor Barbara Gold is the Journal’s first woman editor. Professor Shelley Haley chairs the national committee that develops Advanced Placement exams in Latin.
Endless Possibilities
Forget the stereotype of the classics scholar poring over musty manuscripts in a corner of the library. Classics study at Hamilton is a way of thinking about and engaging with culture, language and the past. It’s a discipline that produces not only teachers and scholars, but professionals in business, banking, publishing, law, even medicine.
If you think ancient history is – well, ancient history, look again. At Hamilton, many classics courses have a distinctly contemporary spin. A few topics: the nature of heroism; the portrayal of Rome and Romans in modern film; ethics and politics in classical civilization; the role of women in antiquity; and the importance of Africa as an ancient source of culture, science and civilization.
Virtual Classics
Hamilton’s Classics Department is a leader in using digital technology to bring the ancient world to life. Professor Carl Rubino helps direct the VRoma Project, a virtual re-creation of ancient Rome online that provides an interactive, collaborative learning environment for students and scholars.
Renowned Scholars
Hamilton's classics faculty is internationally recognized for its range of research into ancient Greek, Roman and African culture. The department is home to The American Journal of Philology, the oldest classics journal in the United States; Professor Barbara Gold is the Journal’s first woman editor. Professor Shelley Haley chairs the national committee that develops Advanced Placement exams in Latin.
Endless Possibilities
Forget the stereotype of the classics scholar poring over musty manuscripts in a corner of the library. Classics study at Hamilton is a way of thinking about and engaging with culture, language and the past. It’s a discipline that produces not only teachers and scholars, but professionals in business, banking, publishing, law, even medicine.
If you think ancient history is – well, ancient history, look again. At Hamilton, many classics courses have a distinctly contemporary spin. A few topics: the nature of heroism; the portrayal of Rome and Romans in modern film; ethics and politics in classical civilization; the role of women in antiquity; and the importance of Africa as an ancient source of culture, science and civilization.
Virtual Classics
Hamilton’s Classics Department is a leader in using digital technology to bring the ancient world to life. Professor Carl Rubino helps direct the VRoma Project, a virtual re-creation of ancient Rome online that provides an interactive, collaborative learning environment for students and scholars.
Renowned Scholars
Hamilton's classics faculty is internationally recognized for its range of research into ancient Greek, Roman and African culture. The department is home to The American Journal of Philology, the oldest classics journal in the United States; Professor Barbara Gold is the Journal’s first woman editor. Professor Shelley Haley chairs the national committee that develops Advanced Placement exams in Latin.
Endless Possibilities
Forget the stereotype of the classics scholar poring over musty manuscripts in a corner of the library. Classics study at Hamilton is a way of thinking about and engaging with culture, language and the past. It’s a discipline that produces not only teachers and scholars, but professionals in business, banking, publishing, law, even medicine.
AFTER HAMILTON
Hamilton graduates who concentrated in Classics are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:
Physician/Gastroenterology, Temple University Hospital
Principal Dancer, Kansas City Ballet
District Court Judge, Nassau County, New York
President, Breckinridge Capital Advisors
School Psychologist, Westport Public Schools
Marketing Program Manager, Dell Computer Corporation
Business Analyst, Fidelity Investments
Associate Regional Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Gold, who earned a master's and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joined the Hamilton faculty in 1989. Her research interests are Greek and Roman literature, comparative literature, women in antiquity, and feminist theory and classics. Gold is the first woman editor of The American Journal of Philology, the oldest journal in the U.S. She is co-editor with John Donahue of Roman Dining (2006, Johns Hopkins University Press). Her other books include Vile Bodies: Roman Satire and Corporeal Discourse; Sex and Gender in Medieval and Renaissance Texts: The Latin Tradition; Literary Patronage in Greece and Rome, and Literary and Artistic Patronage in Ancient Rome. She was president of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States for 2002-03.
