The University of British Columbia
Vancouver campus
WHEN CLASSICAL WORLDS COLLIDE
From the pyramids to the Colosseum, from the Olympic Games to Mecca, our department offers a unique opportunity to link different disciplines and study ancient civilizations in a wider context.
EXPLORE THE PAST AND GAIN INSIGHT INTO THE PRESENT
Our unique program opens the door to three thousand years of language, literature, art, philosophy, religion and history, revealing their influence on modern culture.
UNEARTHING ANCIENT CULTURES
We pursue research into the cultures of ancient Egypt, the Near East, Greece and Rome, with ample archaeological fieldwork opportunities for our students, like the Centre for the Study of Ancient Sicily.
20th Nov 2018
Our bodies are covered in microbes. These microbial communities (or microbiomes) contribute to our health and wellbeing, but have also been implicated in a variety of diseases and disorders. Recent research has demonstrated that we can recover evidence of ancient microbiomes through the molecular analysis of archaeological dental calculus (mineralized plaque, or tartar) and coprolites...
Our bodies are covered in microbes. These microbial communities (or microbiomes) contribute to our health and wellbeing, but have also been implicated in a variety of diseases and disorders. Recent research has demonstrated that we can recover evidence of ancient microbiomes through the molecular analysis of archaeological dental calculus (mineralized plaque, or tartar) and coprolites...
Pharos Lecture: “Aristotle, Phronesis (“Practical Wisdom”) and Democracy”, (Max Cameron, UBC)
26th Nov 2018Aristotle believed that those who occupy public office should possess the character and judgment—what he called “practical wisdom” or phronesis — to figure out the right things to do in a particular situation, and to do it in the right way and for the right reasons. Drawing on his recent book, Max Cameron argues that...
28th Nov 2018
Pope Leo the Great’s letters demonstrate that the mediaeval and modern concept of the “decretal” is not applicable in Late Antiquity, although scholars say that seventeen of them are decretals. Not only would more than seventeen letters fit the concept, many treated as decretals by later tradition would not. Using structure, style, reception, and manuscripts...
Pope Leo the Great’s letters demonstrate that the mediaeval and modern concept of the “decretal” is not applicable in Late Antiquity, although scholars say that seventeen of them are decretals. Not only would more than seventeen letters fit the concept, many treated as decretals by later tradition would not. Using structure, style, reception, and manuscripts...
“The Origins of Hanukah in Light of Recent Archaeological Discoveries” (Dr. Gregg E. Gardner, UBC)
5th Dec 2018This is a joint program between Congregation Beth Israel and the Archdiocese. Dr. Gregg E. Gardner is Associate Professor and the UBC Diamond Chair in Jewish Law and Ethics in the Department of Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies of The University of British Columbia; https://ubc.academia.edu/GreggGardner Note: time subject to change; please visit for http://www.bethisraelvan.ca/...
Lecture: “Life, interrupted: rethinking trauma in Seneca the Younger” (Zsuzsa Varhelyi)
16th Jan 2019Engaging recent scholarship and its emphasis on the aesthetic, in this paper I argue for the importance of traumatic experience to our understanding Seneca’s approach to friendship, philosophy and religion. This lecture is open to the public.
“Uncovering the Past: UBC’s Recent Excavations in Israel” (Dr. Gregg E. Gardner)
3rd Feb 2019Open to the public. Dr. Gregg E. Gardner is Associate Professor and the UBC Diamond Chair in Jewish Law and Ethics in the Department of Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies of The University of British Columbia; https://ubc.academia.edu/GreggGardner For more information, please visit: http://btikvah.ca/
Another new book by Dr. Keddie
Dr. Anthony Keddie is co-author with L. Michael White of a new book entitled Jewish Fictional Letters from Hellenistic Egypt (SBL Press, 2018). Publication Notice from SBL Press Jewish Fictional Letters from Hellenistic Egypt: The Epistle of Aristeas and Related Literature The first Greek text of the Epistle of Aristeas published in more than a century. The Greek […]
Dr. G. Anthony Keddie has published a new book on apocalypticism in Early Roman Palestine, “Revelations of Ideology.” (Brill, 2018) About In Revelations of Ideology, G. Anthony Keddie proposes a new theory of the social function of Judaean apocalyptic texts produced in Early Roman Palestine (63 BCE–70 CE). In contrast to evaluations of Jewish and […]
Thomas Schneider’s research on early alphabet discovery garners international attention
A paper recently published in the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research by Dr. Thomas Schneider has received news coverage from North America to Israel, Russia, and Korea! The paper reports on what could be the earliest example of our alphabet sequence from a 3400 year-old piece of Egyptian pottery. Read more on […]
Gregg Gardner named division Chair for Association for Jewish Studies
Professor Gregg Gardner has been named Chair of the Division of “Jewish History and Culture in Antiquity” of the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS). In this role, he will be shepherding and overseeing all paper proposals on Jews and Judaism during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine ages for the AJS’s Annual Meeting – the largest […]
Franco De Angelis awarded two fellowships
Professor Franco De Angelis has been awarded the Arthur Dale Trendall Fellowship by the Institute of Classical Studies of the University of London. The fellowship was inaugurated in 2000 in memory of Arthur Dale Trendall for senior scholars from universities outside the UK, who work on the same areas of interest as Professor Trendall, including […]
Dr. Thomas Schneider elected Visiting Professor of Halbert Centre
Dr. Thomas Schneider has been elected as a Visiting Professor of the Halbert Centre for Canadian Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He will spend up to one month during the 2018-9 academic year at the Hebrew University, delivering two public lectures, a workshop for students, as well as the annual Hans Jakob Polotsky […]
Dr. Robert Cousland has published a new book, “Holy Terror. Jesus in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.” (Bloomsbury, 2017) About The Infancy Gospel of Thomas (or Paidika) is one of the most unusual gospels in the Christian tradition. Instead of revealing the compassionate Jesus so familiar to us from the biblical Gospels, it confronts its readers with a […]
Kevin Fisher, Roger Wilson receive SSHRC Insight Grants
Dr. Kevin Fisher has been awarded a large SSHRC Insight Grant for “Investigating the Socio-environmental Dynamics of an Ancient Urban Landscape”. The grant will fund five years of excavation and related work at the Late Bronze Age (c. 1650-1100 BCE) city of Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios, Cyprus. Recent research suggests that new urban landscapes that were created […]
Graduate Student Success: Gillian Glass, Emma Ramsden receive scholarships
CNERS is very pleased to announce that PhD Religious Studies student Gillian Glass has won a Killam Doctoral Scholarship! This is an extremely competitive and, therefore, prestigious award – and CNERS now has two Killam Doctoral Scholarship holders after Ryan Schroeder, also a PhD Religious studies candidate, received one last year. We also congratulate MA ACRE student […]
Dr. Gregg Gardner receives Halbert Centre grant for workshop on charity in classical Jewish law
Gregg Gardner has been awarded a grant from the Halbert Centre for Canadian Studies at Hebrew University! The funds will go towards co-organizing a workshop between academics from UBC and other universities in Canada, and the Israel Matz Institute for Jewish Law of the Law School of Hebrew University, on the topic of “Charity in […]
Full-time Educational Leadership Tenure-track
The Department of Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver campus) invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position in the Educational Leadership stream at the rank of Instructor. This position provides the opportunity to pursue a career focused on excellence in teaching, curriculum design, and other aspects of educational […]
The Department of Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver campus) invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position in the Educational Leadership stream at the rank of Instructor. This position provides the opportunity to pursue a career focused on excellence in teaching, curriculum design, and other aspects of educational […]
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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