Ancient Office Hours

Dr. Alex Purves, a professor of Classics at UCLA, joins Lexie to discuss whether translation preferences matter when teaching Homer, how we balance making material accessible vs preserving a higher entry point to appreciate harder to translate parts, why we should expand beyond straight reception in media and take new risks. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exci...

Meghan Sullivan, creator and host of the History N' Games podcast, joins Lexie to discuss why and how she started her History N’ Games podcast, how to balance personal and professional gaming desires, her process of finding history in games, and how to prioritize games when there’s almost too much content. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't...

Dr. Brent Vine, a professor emeritus of Classics and Indo-European Studies at UCLA, joins Lexie to discuss how linguists divide their field into subfields and periods, the development and importance of meter to both Homeric poetry and other forms of Greek poetry, and whether the Greeks had an ancient equivalent to Shakespearean English. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this...

Dr. Natalie Van Deusen, a professor of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Alberta, joins Lexie to discuss how to be a philologist and navigate runes in Old Norse studies, whether female warriors like Lagertha from Vikings could have existed, and gives her a crash course on Norse mythology from the Valkyries and Freyja to Freyja’s cats and the Giants. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Tri...

Nick Brown, a Phd candidate in Egyptology at UCLA, joins Lexie to discuss whether all Egyptologists are obsessed with mummies and tombs, how to get onto an archaeological fieldwork project in Egypt, and shares some cool insights into his current dissertation research on royal funerary archaeology. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't for...

Dr. John Papadopoulos, a professor of Classics & Archaeology at UCLA, joins Lexie to discuss his experience studying Classical archaeology as a Greek in Australia, why there isn’t more encouragement to learn the modern languages of the regions of study, and how bringing ancient buildings back to life is essential for future studies. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this...

Dr. Jackson Crawford, a YouTube public educator on Old Norse language, literature, and mythology and former professor at University of Colorado - Boulder, joins Lexie to discuss the unique challenges to being a full time YouTube public scholar in Old Norse studies, his opinion on consulting for major Hollywood & gaming projects, and why people associate Norway & Denmark with Vikings more t...

Dr. Alice Mandell, a professor of Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University, joins Lexie to discuss the importance of mentors to a student’s graduate school journey, how the COVID-19 pandemic affected both the student experience and creativity, and whether Biblical Studies scholars actually enjoy media reception of their field. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trire...

Dr. Bryant Kirkland, a professor of Classics at UCLA, joins Lexie to discuss how his interest in an Episcopal prayer book led him to study Greek, his take on reception studies through non-mainstream media, and his thoughts on teaching a course on Black Classicism and how to find complimentary literature. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't f...

Dr. Jonathan Winnerman, an Egyptologist and academic administrator in ancient studies at UCLA, joins Lexie to discuss how Egypt is a perfect fit for interactive pedagogy in classrooms, his work in making ancient Egyptian inscriptions great again, and his hopes for UCLA’s new Institute for the Study of Global Antiquity in shaping the future of ancient studies. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard T...

Trevor Culley, host of The History of Persia podcast, joins Lexie to talk about why he started a podcast on ancient Persia, his hopes for the future of podcasting Persian history, and dissecting the reception of Persians in modern media. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter , Facebook & Instagram or visit ou...

Dr. Jacob Lauinger, a professor of Assyriology at Johns Hopkins University, joins Lexie to discuss getting started with Akkadian/Sumerian languages, cultural exchange as an integral part of studying the economic history of Mesopotamia, and explore the debate on when cuneiform tablets were baked and written on. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! D...

Dr. Jennifer Stager, an Art History professor at Johns Hopkins University, joins Lexie to discuss becoming an art historian rather than becoming an archaeologist, her work with colourful ancient art and how it led her to write a book on ancient medicine, and how video games handle recreating colourful statuary. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey!...

Dr. Matthew Roller, a professor of Classics at Johns Hopkins University, joins Lexie to discuss the culture shift in acceptance for double majoring in STEM and humanities, defining monumentality, cultural memory, and their relationship to each other, and the practice of gift giving in ancient times and the various meanings behind them. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this...

Dr. Gareth Williams, a professor of Classics at Columbia University, joins Lexie to discuss his fascination with poetry and theme of social reflection in Ovid, whether the Aeneid is original or simply a copy of Homer’s works, the process of writing his new book, and making ancient material understandable to modern audiences. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exci...

Dr. Jonathan Hall, a professor of Classics at the University of Chicago, joins Lexie to discuss how PhD programs in the US/UK have changed, why people have historically thought race & ethnicity are the same thing, whether the Dorian invasion was a real historical event, and navigating different research methodologies. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s excitin...

Dr. Christopher Celenza, Dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and professor of Classics and History at Johns Hopkins University, joins Lexie to discuss how he got to study and conduct research in the Vatican library, how to successfully cross and mix disciplinary boundaries, the process of surviving 2 PhD programs at the same time, and break down what Renaissance studies are beyond the...

Dr. Barry Strauss, a professor of Classics and military & naval historian at Cornell, joins Lexie to discuss why Julius Caesar is his favourite ancient military leader, what it means to be a global citizen by comparing differences between EU-US systems, and look at accuracy or inaccuracy of adaptations of ancient battles in film & tv. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Trans...

Dr. Catherine Kearns, a professor of Classics at the University of Chicago, joins Lexie to discuss why she chose to specialize in the Iron Age, how looking at ancient environmental changes can help us better understand history, and why humans are so curious about environmental apocalypse collapse narratives in the media. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting...

Dr. Yannis Hamilakis, a professor of Archaeology and Modern Greek Studies at Brown University, joins Lexie to discuss how the materiality of antiquity in Greece impacted him growing up, how he came to study the archaeology of food & drink, his new book on archaeology and nationalism, and whether he believes nationalism existed in the ancient world. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme...

Dr. Glenn Schwartz, a professor of Near Eastern archaeology at Johns Hopkins University, joins Lexie to discuss defining the study of urban societies and development of cities in Syria and the Ancient Near East, different approaches to and definitions of chronology, the Uruk expansion, and the popularity of Egypt rather than Mesopotamia in the media. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Tr...

Dr. Sturt Manning, a professor of classical archaeology at Cornell University, joins Lexie to discuss the benefits of Australia’s interdisciplinary scholarship model, approaches to the study of climate archaeology and how they affect us today, and explore the timeline of traumatic climate disasters like the volcanic explosion on Santorini. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for t...

This special release is a recording from December 2022 with Dr. Nandini Pandey's class at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). In the episode, you'll hear Lexie and Dan discuss with the class their preconceived notions before the course, things they wish they could tell future students, (de)constructing classics, perspectives on how the ancient world intersects with their modern interests, and of cours...

Dr. Sarah Nooter, a professor of Classics at the University of Chicago, joins Lexie to discuss how being forced into Classics affected her career trajectory, look at course offering expansion issues at universities, and ponder how to make office hours more appealing and accessible to students. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey! Don't forget to fo...

Dr. Nandini Pandey, a professor of Classics at Johns Hopkins University, joins Lexie to discuss how Classics provided a point of connection to her community, how Latin poetry impacted and shaped her as a scholar, and her thoughts on how we continue to grow and improve reception studies and open Classics up to a wider audience. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s ex...