About the Seminar
Dates: July 29–August 4, 2024
This seminar is created in partnership with the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and targets faculty in Classics and allied fields at CIC member colleges and universities. The program is a five day intensive course providing faculty with new ideas, materials, and methods of teaching Classics. Those selected underwent a competitive nomination and review process. Thanks to generous support from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation there is no cost for participation.
Ancient Greek science is best known for its concern with deductive demonstration and with theoretical explanation of natural phenomena. Yet, much of ancient scientific literature is concerned not so much with explanation as with prediction and control. Doctors aimed not only to understand how the body worked, but to restore their patients to health. Astronomical cycles were studied to predict changes in the seasons and the weather, knowledge which could also be useful to doctors in anticipating changing disease conditions. The discipline we know as “astrology” aimed to deploy knowledge of the heavens to predict the fates of individuals and states. Engineers harnessed the power of technology to alter nature in ways beneficial for human needs. The aim to control natural phenomena overlaps with the goal of magical practices; indeed, it was precisely this similarity that led many medical and scientific writers to attempt to distinguish their own activities from magic.
Through readings, presentations, and guided discussions, participants will explore ancient Greek science, medicine, and magic from a broad perspective that can be used to design a wide range of instructional materials. The seminar will be led by the Center’s director, Mark J. Schiefsky, C. Lois P. Grove Professor of the Classics at Harvard University.
About The Council of Independent Colleges
Founded in 1956, the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils, and higher education affiliates that works to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of independent higher education’s contributions to society.
CIC is the major national organization that focuses on providing services to leaders of independent colleges and universities and state-based councils. CIC offers conferences, seminars, publications, and other programs and services that help institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, student outcomes, and institutional visibility.
Scholarly Discourse and Collaboration
In all of its activities the CHS is committed to developing new models of communication and collaboration. In designing our programs we seek to promote intergenerational ideals, transparency, and inclusivity. Consequently, our meetings and the outcomes of our work are open and accessible to the community; and we actively seek participants from all walks of life, backgrounds, and points of view. Our goal for this seminar is to establish an environment of free and open interaction and invite participants to imagine, create, and refine modes of academic communication and interaction between themselves and their students and develop a network of professional connections that can support those creative processes beyond the limits of this seminar.
See our Community Values here.
