Monthly Archives: September 2016

The new Rutgers Academic Building, now the home of RU Classics—6th floor, 15 Seminary Place, New Brunswick NJ. Credit: DEVCO

Two hundred forty years ago—in December 1776, during the American Revolution—the British sited their artillery on this hill during their occupation of New Brunswick.

One hundred sixty years ago—in 1856—the New Brunswick Theological Seminary chose the same height for its grand Hertzog Hall, thereby making the hill “holy”.

Fifty years ago—in 1966—Hertzog inexplicably fell victim to the wrecking ball, and an architectural monstrosity, Zwemer Hall (charitably known as “The Dixie Cup”) rose up on Holy Hill in its place.

And now on 6 September 2016, on this same elevation Rutgers has opened its $116 million, 175,000 square-foot Academic Building. It serves as new home to its School of Arts and Sciences and a number of SAS departments—including Classics. It marks the first new academic facility on the Rutgers College Avenue Campus since the 1960s.

For Rutgers Classics, it meant saying goodbye to its home (of half a century or so) in the Ruth Adams Building of beloved Douglass Campus, and setting up shop at the following new address:

Department of Classics, Rutgers Academic Building, Room 6183

15 Seminary Place, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Tel. 848-932-8223, e-mail classics@rci.rutgers.edu Continue reading →

The Palamidi Fortress in Nafplio. Credit (for this and all photos): Emmanuel Aprilakis

Emmanuel Aprilakis is much looking forward to his second year as a graduate student in the Rutgers Classics department, having earned his B.A. summa cum laude from the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter College in 2015. He is mainly interested in Greek literature and religion with a focus on Attic drama. Emmanuel’s broader research interests include ancient epic, comparative mythology, ancient athletics, sculpture, vase painting, and museum ethics.

This summer, thanks to the generosity of Rutgers Classics’ Ethel S. Cook Travel Scholarship, Emmanuel participated in the Summer Session of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. We asked Emmanuel a few questions about his experience in Greece this summer. Continue reading →