Law & Liberty Reviews New Book by Bard Professor James Romm
Demosthenes: Democracy’s Defender by James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics James Romm was reviewed in Law & Liberty. Graham McAleer writes that Romm’s “fast-paced” biography provides a valuable perspective on Demosthenes’s charge to Athenians, in which he stated “you cannot have been wrong [to] have taken on the danger of fighting for the freedom and safety of all.”
Plato and the Tyrant: The Fall of Greece's Greatest Dynasty and the Making of a Philosophic Masterpiece, a new book by James Romm, James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics at Bard College, has been reviewed in the Washington Post. The work is “a deft and engaging work of history, philosophy and biography, as well as a meta-commentary on the perils of regarding canonical thinkers as disembodied minds,” writes Becca Rothfield for the Post. Read More >>
Daniel Mendelsohn, the Charles Ranlett Flint Professor of Humanities, spoke with the New York Review of Books about his new translation of Homer’s Odyssey for the University of Chicago Press. In conversation with Lauren Kane, Mendelsohn discussed the challenges of balancing both poetic beauty and literal meaning in translating, the ways in which the story handles depictions of family relationships, and why the epic is experiencing a resurgence in modern retellings. Read More >>
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 With Rachel Morrison, Blegen Fellow in Greek and Roman Studies, Vassar College Olin Humanities, Room 2025:00 pm – 6:30 pm EST/GMT-5 The primary form of telecommunication available to ancient Romans was letter-writing, an asynchronous mode of communication. When his friend is widowed, Ovid laments that it can take a full year for mail to travel between Rome and Tomis; after so much delay, trying to console Gallio might only resurface old wounds–or even offend a new wife if he has already remarried! Even when the timeframe is less dramatic, this disjuncture between written time and lived time looms over many correspondences. Writing before an election to a post-election recipient, Cicero addresses one letter, “To Appius Pulcher, censor—I hope.” Examining letters ancient Romans wrote to their friends from the civil war through late antiquity, we will explore how the asynchronicity of letter-writing shaped the kinds of intimacy that letters could foster.
Friday, December 5, 2025 New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST/GMT-5 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST/GMT-5 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
Friday, November 21, 2025
New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST/GMT-5 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
Friday, November 14, 2025
New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST/GMT-5 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
Friday, November 7, 2025
New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST/GMT-5 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
Friday, October 31, 2025
New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
Friday, October 24, 2025
New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
Friday, October 17, 2025
New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
Friday, October 10, 2025
New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
Friday, October 3, 2025
New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
Friday, September 26, 2025
New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
Friday, September 19, 2025
New Annandale House12:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 The International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive (IDEA) meets for lab time every Friday at New Annandale House. Those interested in digital humanities or archiving are welcome to stop by any time between 12 and 4 pm.
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
McWilliams House Lawn (On Annandale Road opposite the entrance to Resnick Commons)5:30 pm – 6:30 pm EDT/GMT-4 Lemonade and snacks; meet current students and faculty; learn more about ancient Greek and Roman studies at Bard!
Friday, April 25, 2025
*Note location change Olin Humanities, Room 1029:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 In our contemporary era, marginality typically refers to people that lie on the fringes or margins of society with regard to some socio-economic or socio-political characteristic. In the context of the ancient Greek world, it is fairly easy to assign groups to this marginal category. However, ancient literature tends to complicate this modern notion of marginality, and characters that would normally be considered marginal from a historical standpoint are often put in positions that allow them to influence others and act beyond the limitations of their societal station. This talk will discuss the disconnect between literature and historical reality when it comes to marginal characters and their potential for agency and efficacy. Reexamining ancient Greek literature with this in mind will provide another avenue of interpretation that will contribute to our understanding of these works.
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
With Daniel Mendelsohn and Robert Cioffi Bertelsmann Campus Center, Weis Cinema6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Daniel Mendelsohn and Robert Cioffi will read from Mendelsohn's edition of Homer’s Odyssey. Widely known for his essays on classical literature and culture in the New Yorker and many other publications, Mendelsohn gives us a line-for-line rendering of the Odyssey that is both engrossing as poetry and true to its source. Mendelsohn’s expansive six-beat line, far closer to the original than that of other recent translations, allows him to capture each of Homer’s dense verses without sacrificing the amplitude and shadings of the original. A discussion will follow.
Jazz at Bard and the László Z. Bitó Conservatory of Music Present Bitó Conservatory Building, Performance Space4:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Free and open to the public. Artist Talk with Eri Yamamoto: 4:00–5:00 PM, Blum N211 Concert: 7:30 PM, László Z. Bitó Conservatory Performance Space Featuring: Eri Yamamoto, piano; William Parker, bass; Ikuo Takeuchi, drums.
Eri Yamamoto has firmly established herself as one of Jazz’s most original and compelling pianists and composers. Her artistry has been lauded by Jazz legends and critics alike. This special concert is dedicated to the memory of Richard Gordon, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Bard College and a consummate Jazz pianist. His enduring contributions to both academia and the arts will be honored through this musical tribute. The series is generously supported by Bard Jazz Studies, the Bitó Conservatory of Music, and private donations in his memory.
Olin Humanities, Room 1025:15 pm EDT/GMT-4 Augustine is typically interpreted as having denied that there are natural slaves. Aspects of Augustine’s account of slavery were central to 17th-century English rationalizations for slavery. However, his account left open several lacunae that these pro-slavers turned to Aristotle to fill. The methods for filling these lacunae were in turn central to the legal codification of some modern notions of race, including three familiar features: first, that race is immutable; second, that race is inheritable; third, that Blacks are deficient to whites. This talk will discuss Aristotle's work and how it was interpreted in the 17th century.