The University of British Columbia
Vancouver campus
NEW COURSE FOR 2019/20
Learn about the rise of civilizations, cultural interconnections, and power dynamics in the ancient Middle East, Egypt, Greece, and Rome from 10,000 BCE – 300 CE. Learn archaeological methods and interpretation and work with real ancient artifacts in UBC collections. Read More
WOMEN IN THE ROMAN WORLD
Through a critical analysis of the material and visual culture and inscriptional, legal, and literary sources we will explore the realities and ambiguities of Roman women’s lives and also consider the roots of conceptions and perceptions of women in the western world today. Read More
HOW DID CHRISTIANITY BEGIN?
Was Jesus a liberal socialist revolutionary or a conservative tax-protestor? Was Paul Jewish or anti-Jewish? Did early Christianity empower women or marginalize them? Does the Book of Revelation vilify the Roman Empire, Nazi Germany, or contemporary globalization? Read More
THE ILIAD AND ODYSSEY
Themes of war, mortality, fame, family, and heroism in the timeless epic poetry of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, read in translation. Counts for Arts literature requirement. Read More
New and Returning Majors Welcome Reception
16th Sep 2019
1st Oct 2019
In ancient Egypt, there were many spells, materials, and rituals used to magically protect the deceased on his or her journey to the afterlife. Hieroglyphic spells were painted on tomb walls, magical amulets were placed among mummy bandages, and priests performed lengthy ceremonies to allow the deceased to breathe, to walk, and to be reborn...
In ancient Egypt, there were many spells, materials, and rituals used to magically protect the deceased on his or her journey to the afterlife. Hieroglyphic spells were painted on tomb walls, magical amulets were placed among mummy bandages, and priests performed lengthy ceremonies to allow the deceased to breathe, to walk, and to be reborn...
16th Oct 2019
Mary Renault (1905-1983) was best-known for her eight historical fictions set in the world of ancient Greece. These were very well received and highly regarded for her ability to reproduce the ancient settings with a startling authenticity, to write dramatic plots, and to create consistent and memorable characters. Some of the latter were her own...
Mary Renault (1905-1983) was best-known for her eight historical fictions set in the world of ancient Greece. These were very well received and highly regarded for her ability to reproduce the ancient settings with a startling authenticity, to write dramatic plots, and to create consistent and memorable characters. Some of the latter were her own...
International Archaeology Day Special Event
19th Oct 2019Details to follow.
29th Oct 2019
Numerous urban centers in the Bay of Naples were completely destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Pompeii and Herculaneum are the most famous of these, but other areas were also affected and are less understood, even today, because of their location underneath modern development. The villa complex of Oplontis is one...
Numerous urban centers in the Bay of Naples were completely destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Pompeii and Herculaneum are the most famous of these, but other areas were also affected and are less understood, even today, because of their location underneath modern development. The villa complex of Oplontis is one...
Department Seminar (Dr.Kristina Killgrove, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
30th Oct 2019Details to follow.
7th Nov 2019
This talk examines the characterization of Alce in Isaeus 6 On the Estate of Euctemon to explore the complexity of family, female privilege, and female citizenship in classical Athens. Although the speech is less well known than [Demosthenes] 59, it contains much valuable information about the role and place of free, slave, and freed women...
This talk examines the characterization of Alce in Isaeus 6 On the Estate of Euctemon to explore the complexity of family, female privilege, and female citizenship in classical Athens. Although the speech is less well known than [Demosthenes] 59, it contains much valuable information about the role and place of free, slave, and freed women...
12th Nov 2019
The study of birth, infancy, and earliest childhood in the Roman world is a newly emerging field, and this lecture presents some of the most recent developments in this exciting area of research. The first year in the life was packed full of challenges, achievements, and milestones that helped shape the child’s physical and social...
The study of birth, infancy, and earliest childhood in the Roman world is a newly emerging field, and this lecture presents some of the most recent developments in this exciting area of research. The first year in the life was packed full of challenges, achievements, and milestones that helped shape the child’s physical and social...
AIA Lecture: “Lost Ships of the Canadian Arctic” (Prof. Hector Williams, AIA Bass Lecturer, UBC)
21st Jan 2020The recent discovery of the remains of Sir John Franklin’s ships Erebus and Terror near King William Island has been front page news across Canada, but there are other lost ships in northern waters from Jens Munk’s frigate Unicorn of 1620 crushed by ice in the estuary of the Churchill River to the modern ghost...
4th Feb 2020
My lecture reviews recent excavations at Bronze Age sites in East Crete supported by the Institute for Aegean Prehistory Study Center for East Crete (INSTAP SCEC), paying particular attention to new evidence for craft production. Interestingly enough, the finished goods are not the pots, the metal tools, and stone vases that we typically associate with...
My lecture reviews recent excavations at Bronze Age sites in East Crete supported by the Institute for Aegean Prehistory Study Center for East Crete (INSTAP SCEC), paying particular attention to new evidence for craft production. Interestingly enough, the finished goods are not the pots, the metal tools, and stone vases that we typically associate with...
Dr. Susanna Braund is Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Dr. Susanna Braund has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in the Class of 2019. She is one of the ninety-three new Fellows in the Academies of Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science who have been elected by their peers for their exceptional scholarly, scientific and artistic achievement. Here is […]
CNERS Faculty Members Win SSHRC Competitions
The Department of Classical, Near Eastern and religious Studies is very pleased to announce the success of three of our faculty in the SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) competitions this year. Gregg Gardner has won an Insight Development Grant for his project entitled “The Horvat Midras Excavation Project: Cultural Interaction in Rural Roman […]
Peter Wall Institute Produces Video about Dr. Sara Milstein’s Work
Watch the promotional video about Dr. Sara Milstein’s work on biblical and Near Eastern law produced by the Peter Wall Institute: Dr. Milstein’s is a Wall Scholar (2018-2019) and her project is titled Making a Case: The Emergent Legal Mind in the Ancient Near East. She aims to probe the rich collection of practical legal […]
Dr. Gregg Gardner is awarded the Jody Ellant and Howard Reiter Family Fellowship
Dr. Gregg Gardner has been awarded the Jody Ellant and Howard Reiter Family Fellowship at the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Jewish Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He will be in residence at Penn during the Spring 2020 semester and on leave from UBC. The Katz Center’s fellowship program takes roughly twenty scholars […]
Dr. Matt McCarty Wins a Dean of Arts Faculty Research Award
Dr. Matthew McCarty has been awarded a Dean of Arts Faculty Research Awards for junior faculty, which will allow him to spend spring term 2020 on research leave finishing his monograph Empire and Child Sacrifice in Roman Africa.
Dr. Michael Griffin is awarded a UBC Killam Teaching Prize
The department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies is pleased to announce that Michael Griffin has been awarded a UBC Killam Teaching Prize, which is an annual prize to faculty nominated by students, colleagues and alumni in recognition of excellence in teaching. A certificate will be awarded to Michael at the May Congregation and […]
Dr. Susanna Braund wins UBC Killam Research Prize
We are pleased to announce that Susanna Braund has won a UBC Killam Research Prize. This prize recognizes outstanding research and scholarly contributions. Winners were selected by UBC’s Faculty Research Award Committee, which spans arts and humanities, business, applied science, science, and medicine. She is in the group of 5 recipients within Arts. For further […]
Thomas Schneider receives ASOR Membership Service Award
Thomas Schneider was awarded a Membership Service Award by the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) at their Annual Meeting in November, in recognition of his seven years as editor of the journal Near Eastern Archaeology, during which the journal secured a place in the top quartile of archaeological and historical journals. This award recognizes […]
Dr. Susanna Braund is elected to the Australian Academy of the Humanities
Professor Susanna Braund has been elected as a Corresponding Fellow to the Australian Academy of the Humanities, which is the highest honor for achievement in the humanities in Australia. She has been recognized for her international leadership on imperial Latin literature and the reception of Roman antiquity. Corresponding Fellows are elected in recognition of their […]
Matthew McCarty receives prize for best article in Phoenix
Dr. Matthew McCarty has be awarded the sixth Mary White Prize for Best Article in Phoenix (2017) for his co-written article, “Connected Communities in Roman Mithraism: Regional Webs from the Apulum Mithraeum III Project (Dacia)”, which will appear in the forthcoming issue of Phoenix. The prize is named for Mary White, who was a Classics professor at the University […]
Assistant Professor: Ancient Greek Material Culture
The Department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver campus invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in ancient Greek material culture to commence July 1, 2020. The successful candidate will demonstrate a strong, ongoing commitment to research and teaching excellence. Any research […]
The Department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver campus invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in ancient Greek material culture to commence July 1, 2020. The successful candidate will demonstrate a strong, ongoing commitment to research and teaching excellence. Any research […]
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History of Classical Studies at UBC
Read A Brief History of Classical Studies at UBC by Robert B. Todd, Professor Emeritus