CL310 FINAL

LEARNING GOALS

– present orally and in written form an argument supported by primary and secondary sources

– conduct research by traditional and digital methods

LITERACY

– information

This contribution to my portfolio is a paper I wrote for CL310: Amor in Roma (Seminar in Latin Poetry) in the Spring of 2025 for Professor Amy Oh. In this class, we read selections from Lucretius, Catullus, Sulpicia, Ovid, Propertius, and Tibullus. The final assignment required students to write a research paper on one of these authors. I was interested in Catullus 2 and 3, particularly the presence of the sparrow, or passer, in these poems. While researching, I found that there is an argument among scholars deciphering if the passer is a metaphor or euphemism for genitalia. My argument was that, while interesting, this argument was incorrect. I examined scholarship to help form my argument and talked about the “death” of the birth in Catullus 3. This paper used the original Latin, translations of Latin, and secondary sources to develop an argument. I think my inclusion of sources is good. If I had the opportunity to redo this paper, I would remove some of the original Latin and translation to make more room for my own thoughts and ideas about the piece. Additionally, I would add more argument about the word “pipiabat,” or “chirp,” being used in the Latin. I think Catullus using that word proves my argument, but I didn’t include any discussion of it in my paper. I would try to include more analysis of specific words.

CL310 PRESENTATION

LEARNING GOALS

– present orally and in written form an argument supported by primary and secondary sources

– read critically and analyze closely literary texts and modern scholarship

LITERACY

– Oral communication

In conjunction with writing a final research paper for CL310: Amor in Roma, students also had to present their topic to their classmates before writing the final draft. Our class was small — six students — so we were able to forge meaningful class relationships with each other and with Professor Oh. Therefore, the presentation was quite useful for me. It gave me an opportunity to synthesize my ideas into an easily digestible format and allowed my classmates and professor to ask thought-provoking questions and add insightful comments. Additionally, speaking about a topic helps me know if I am knowledgeable on that subject, so this assignment helped me understand where I needed to expand upon and learn more about. If I was presenting this again, I would add many more slides. I had ample time to present, and I don’t think my slides reflect that. They instead seem lackluster, weak, and there’s not enough slides. Additionally, I would add more of my own ideas and arguments, rather than citing so many sources on the slides. While the sources I used for this project were very interesting, I think including my own arguments would have made the contributions from my classmates even more useful and impactful on my final product. But, overall, this assignment did assist me in improving my paper and my argument.

CLASSICAL WORLD ESSAY

LEARNING GOALS

– identify and assess selected artifacts and monuments within their cultural contexts

– conduct research by traditional and digital methods

LITERACY

– visual

This contribution to my portfolio is my last of four essays for CC200: The Classical World. This class is a requirement for all majors and minors and is considered the foundational class of the Department, and I took this class in the Spring of 2024. For this assignment, I wrote about the “Cubiculum (Bedroom) from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale,” a piece that the class saw together when we went on the annual Classical World Trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Being from right outside NYC, this was not my first trip to the MET, nor was it the first time I had seen this piece. However, Professor Sadarananda spoke to our class about the piece, and learning more about it was very interesting. Therefore, I wanted to write about the process and meaning behind this wall painting. I have not had many experiences with material culture — I definitely am inclined towards literature and writing — so writing this piece was a great challenge for me and also introduced me to writing about material objects. If I were to rewrite this paper, I would focus less on the process of creating wall paintings and more on the impact of them. For example, wall paintings were originally a Greek technique, but this piece is from Rome, and I would focus more on this aspect. I did enjoy, though, challenging myself to write about a subject I have not had many opportunities to consider previously.

CL210 EXAM ONE

LEARNING GOALS

– read Greek and Latin prose and poetry within their larger cultural and historical settings

– read critically and analyze closely literary texts and modern scholarship

LITERACY

– information

Before I start — I am aware that an Intermediate Latin exam doesn’t necessarily entirely reflect these learning goals; however, I would not have the ability to continue in the Classics minor and complete these learning goals without CL210: Intermediate Latin, which I took in the Spring of 2023. Language is considered foundational and critical to the Department, and CL210 gave me this knowledge. In the name of honesty, CL210: Intermediate Latin was a bit of a review class for me — I came into college with six years of Latin under my belt, but I felt as though I needed to take a review class to be successful in college level Latin. I think I gained more from Intermediate Latin than I did from classes where I learned the same material in middle/high school. Outside of learning declensions, verb endings, grammatical structures, and more, I learned how they work together to form a sentence of Latin. Previously, I felt as though I was learning about each part of Latin in a vacuum, but Professor Oh helped me consider them as a team. This class entirely changed the way I think about Latin and made the puzzle of translating a Latin sentence more manageable. While I’m sure there are many mistakes on this exam, I think that it would be a disservice to not mention the impact this class had on my Skidmore career.

TANG REFLECTION

LEARNING GOALS

– identify and assess selected artifacts and monuments within their cultural contexts

– develop multi- and cross-cultural perspectives and apply them to gender, ethnic, and social issues

LITERACY

– visual 

My CC220 class, Classical Mythology, visited the Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College to see the gallery Paula Wilson: Toward the Sky’s Back Door. Paula Wilson is a modern artist who is a native of Carrizozo, New Mexico. While it can seem as though modern art is difficult to connect to mythology, which was the premise of this assignment, Wilson’s work has elements that can be related to ancient mythology. One theme that is pervasive in all of Wilson’s art is the relationship between nature and people, which is also seen in many different ancient myths. I was interested in one of the moths on display — this moth was attached to the ceiling of the gallery space and could be moved by a lever on a wall. The inclusion of arms on this moth made the piece look like a person wearing wings, which reminded me of Daedalus and his nephew Icarus. I understood this piece as a modern retelling of Daedalus’ attempted escape from the center of the labyrinth. It’s very possible that this is not what Wilson intended for the piece, but that’s part of the beauty of art. Additionally, this assignment allowed me to think critically about art through a Classics lens, which I hadn’t been able to do before.

COMPARISON PAPER

LEARNING GOALS

– read and analyze historical documents within their social contexts and evaluate the role of the individual in ancient cultures

– develop multi- and cross-cultural perspectives and apply them to gender, ethnic, and social issues

LITERACY

– technology

For my final contribution to my portfolio, it felt fitting to include an assignment from my first college-level course related to Classics. This paper was for my Scribner Seminar with Professor Curley, called Myth Conceptions. The Scribner Seminar (or first-year seminar) is not a requirement for the Classics Department specifically and is instead an All-College Requirement, but this class was transformative for me. I honestly did not think I was going to continue studying the Classics in any degree in college outside of possibly taking Latin for my language requirement. However, Professor Curley’s passion for Classics and desire to make it accessible for all of us resparked my love for this discipline. For this assignment, students were required to compare the Orpheus and Eurydice myth to a modern source. I chose to connect the myth to the stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s film Moulin Rouge!, called Moulin Rouge! The Musical. I don’t think this is the best thought out or executed paper, but I’ll give my eighteen year old self some grace — I was very excited knowing that Classics could connect to another of my passions, musical theater. For most of my life, theater was not something I did in the classroom, but was instead one of my extracurriculars, and at this point, I was missing the outlet musical theater provided me. This class is what made me want to continue studying Classics in college, and it felt to me that this portfolio would be incomplete without including it.

PORTFOLIO REFLECTION

When it came to deciding what to include in my portfolio, I went through my archives of work I’ve completed at Skidmore. Thankfully, I have an effective organization system, so this was simple. I read many assignments I submitted, particularly larger assignments, and I tried to choose one major assignment from every Classics course I’ve taken at Skidmore. Additionally, when it came to selecting items for my portfolio, I tried not to pass judgment on them with my current perspective, and instead tried to remember how I felt about them. Was I proud of these assignments when I submitted them? Did they challenge me in ways I hadn’t been challenged before? What new skills did I learn from these assignments? These were guiding questions for me as I selected portfolio items.

In the name of honesty, Classics minors certainly do not have as much material to choose from as Classics majors — I’ve simply taken less classes in the Department. Therefore, I had to select and reflect on some assignments that are not entirely indicative of my best work. However, having to write and reflect on imperfect assignments was very eye-opening for me. I realized how much I’ve grown throughout my college career as a student and how the Classics Department has been able to foster and watch that growth. 

When I was arranging my items, I wanted the pieces to not be next to a very similar piece. There is a lot of writing in my portfolio as that is both the form of assignment I’m fond of and the type of class I’m drawn to. Therefore, I put my creative Classical Mythology assignment first, as it’s the only creative assignment in my portfolio. Next, I placed my final paper for CL310, which is an analytical essay of Catullus. These are two very different types of writing that I thought were interesting to place next to each other. I wanted to place my presentation for CL310 next as it is related to the previous entry. I also wanted there to be some visual interest from two papers to a presentation, which this entry allows.

After the two CL310 entries, I included my essay from Classical World. This essay is an analytical essay of an ancient Roman piece of art and includes historical context, as well. This piece is the only true essay about art in my portfolio because it’s not a topic I’m frequently drawn to. I don’t choose to write about art often, so this piece was a great challenge. It’s also a very different topic from the previous two entries, which are from my analytical essay on language. Next, I included an exam from CL210: Intermediate Latin. I thought this exam, which I took in my first year at Skidmore, was indicative of my early Skidmore career. As I’ve taken more classes and enrolled in smaller, more specialized classes, exams have become a less and less frequent form of evaluation in my courses. In my first year or two, though, I had many more exams, and I thought it was fitting to include one. I am not and have never been a good test taker, but including an exam, which is a very challenging form of evaluation for me, was important to show that I have experience taking them. The content is also different from many of my other entries — this exam was all about rote memorization. Instead of thinking about the content critically and being able to argue a point, this assignment was about applying formulaic information to content.

After the exam, I included a smaller reflection on going to the Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore with my Classical Mythology class. The assignment was to connect one or multiple pieces from the exhibit we saw with mythology. This assignment was more creative than some and came from the “I” perspective, as it was a reflection. This assignment was my first introduction to thinking about modern art from a Classical perspective, which was why I found it important to include in my portfolio. Finally, my last entry is a comparison paper from my first Skidmore class, my Scribner Seminar. This is not an assignment I’ve had to replicate in my career at Skidmore, but it was a great foray into analytical and comparative writing, which I’ve continued to do. Additionally, I thought there was something quasi-poetic about including an assignment from my Scribner Seminar in a Coda/Capstone project — ending with the beginning in a sense.

This is in my landing page, but it’s important for readers to know that I am not a Classics major. I’m an English major at Skidmore double minoring in Classics and Theater. When I went through the process of declaring my majors and minors, I knew I was going to continue taking courses in Classics and Theater, and decided I might as well declare the minors. For me, I’ve always seen minors as passions that I have and my major will be the path I follow post-grad. However, reflecting on my Skidmore career, I’ve gained just as much from my Classics and Theater courses as I have my English courses. 

Also important for readers to know is that Classics is considered Skidmore’s most interdisciplinary department, which is impressive, considering how much Skidmore prides itself on being an interdisciplinary school. I hope my portfolio is able to reflect this fact and demonstrate that even Classics minors, who are only required to take 21 credits in the Department, can still experience the benefits of being in the most interdisciplinary department. Students have the opportunity to study language, art, archaeology, history, and more, and I hope my snapshot of my Skidmore Classics career has provided viewers with that understanding. I still have another semester to go and I’m very excited to see what my Classics course next semester allows me to do!