The works of one Rhodes student and two alumni have been chosen for presentation at regional and national conferences in classical studies.
Mason Johnson ’15 recently presented a critique of the theory of Bertrand Russell on the origins of demonstrative pronouns at a regional meeting of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South in Fredericksburg, VA.
His paper "Behind the Lines: Analyzing Definite Descriptions in Light of Ancient Language," was selected for presentation by the national honor society for classical languages, Eta Sigma Phi. Johnson originally wrote the paper for a class on the philosophy of language, taught by Prof. Mark Newman. He is a double major in Greek and Roman studies and philosophy from Birmingham, AL.
Rhodes alumnus Maxwell A. Gray ’14 will present research completed while at Rhodes at the annual meeting of the Society for Classical Studies in New Orleans in January. The research of only five undergraduates will be featured on the national program. His work concerns the sixth-century BCE Greek poet Theognis and is titled, "The Seal of Theognis and Oral Traditional Signature." He began the work as a Rhodes Fellow in the summer of 2013 under the direction of Prof. Scott Garner. He is presently pursuing graduate studies in comparative literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Gray and Johnson also will be listed as secondary authors on a paper to be presented by Prof. David Sick at another meeting of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South in Boulder, CO in March.
They, along with Rhodes alumna Amy Hendricks ’14, were instrumental in the collection of data for Sick′s research on the second-century CE dream interpreter Artemidorus. The paper to be presented in Boulder is titled, "Toward a Demography of Dreamers in Artemidorusʼ Oneirocritica." The joint research was completed as a part of a class on ancient Greek literature in the spring of 2014. Hendricks was a double major in English and Greek and Roman Studies at Rhodes and is presently pursuing a graduate degree in classical studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.