CIC Seminar | Making Connections Across Disciplines Through the Odyssey


CIC 2014: The Odyssey in the Modern College Classroom

the centerThe Center for Hellenic Studies would like to express their thanks and appreciation to all those who participated in this summer’s Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) seminar. It was a treat to watch as professors worked together to better understand the Odyssey and discover new ways to teach it to college students across the country.

This year we were pleased to have 20 professors from various disciplines join us for the seminar. Specialties included English, history, visual arts, and many other fields. It was quite the diverse group!

Participants read Richmond Lattimore’s translation of the epic, along with many supplementary readings to deepen their knowledge of this classic tale. They then discussed topics including oral tradition versus written tradition, common themes in the epic, and pedagogical techniques. By doing this, participants explored ways to teach the Odyssey in their future courses. At the end of the seminar, participants left with many new ideas of how to approach the Odyssey in the modern classroom.

We would like to extend a special thanks to Prof. Gregory Nagy from Harvard University and Prof. Kenny Morrell from Rhodes College for their work as directors of this year’s CIC seminar.

The following professors were in attendance: David Bradshaw (Warren Wilson College), Eric Brook (California Baptist University), Barbara Burch (Georgetown College), Geoffrey Dipple (Augustana College), Michael Fukuchi (Barton College), Kevin Glaeske (Wisconsin Lutheran College), Brad Hale (Azusa Pacific University), Grant Johnson (Alderson Broaddus University), Wan-Chuan Kao (Washington and Lee University), Jeanne Larsen (Hollins University), Christopher Libertini (Dominican College), Kenny Morrell (Rhodes College), Greg Nagy (Harvard University), Katherine Oldmixon (Huston-Tillotson University), Andrew Osborn (University of Dallas), Heidi Owsley (Warner Pacific College), John Richards (Baker University), Debra Rienstra (Calvin College), Drew Scheler (St. Norbert College), Christian Sheridan (Bridgewater College), Christine Tulley (The University of Findlay), and Allison Wee (California Lutheran University).

For more information about the CIC, visit their website. If you are interested in participating in future CIC seminars or any of our other educational programs, please feel free to contact us.