GW Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

🍁Fall into learning with CNELC! Registration is live— have you secured your spot?

We invite you to reflect on the extraordinary life and legacy of Diane Harris Cline, a cherished member of the CNELC faculty whose influence extended far beyond the classroom. Learn about the Diane Harris Cline Memorial Prize for Classics and History here: https://columbian.gwu.edu/new-endowment-memorializes-beloved-professors-impact, established to honor her commitment to education and the humanities.

Give to the Cline Memorial Fund: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/37170/donations/new?designation=clinememorialprizeclassicshistory&%3Fa=7968479&amt=100.00

New Endowment Memorializes Beloved Professor’s Impact | Columbian College of Arts & Sciences | The George Washington University History and Classics’ Professor Diane Harris Cline was remembered as a devoted educator. A gift honoring her legacy will aid students.

📢 Calling all GW students! Don't miss Professor Eric Cline's thought-provoking lecture on why studying the past is crucial for shaping our present and future. 🕰️ Free lecture open to all GW students! 🎓 Wednesday, May 1st, 7:30 pm in PHIL 411. Don't miss out!

I reserve the right to say “pass”… 👍😎

Tuesday, April 16th, is a big day!
At 4pm come to GOV (2115 G St) room 102 and...

Ask Prof Eric Cline anything!

This special event coincides with the publication of the sequel to 1177 B.C: The Year Civilization Collapsed and the graphic version of the original!

Eric will give a very brief overview of the books, but mostly he'll just field audience questions.

This will be a very laid-back event aimed at a general audience -- with refreshments!

This event is hosted jointly by the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (CNELC).

Tuesday, April 16th, is a big day!
At 4pm come to GOV (2115 G St) room 102 and...

Ask Prof Eric Cline anything!

This special event coincides with the publication of the sequel to 1177 B.C: The Year Civilization Collapsed and the graphic version of the original!

Eric will give a very brief overview of the books, but mostly he'll just field audience questions.

This will be a very laid-back event aimed at a general audience -- with refreshments!

This event is hosted jointly by the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (CNELC).

Mr. Saul Dreier, a Holocaust survivor and founder of the Holocaust Survivor Band, will be speaking at GW's SMPA on April 4th at 6:30 pm.

Link: https://gwchabad.com/song

Save the date! We'll be hosting a celebration in honor of our 2024 graduates on Saturday, May 18th from 10am-11:30am.

CANES Alumnus Max McDonald Malik GW '23 just published an article on an ancient textile from the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection at the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum!

For more details: https://museum.gwu.edu/textile-museum-journal (Volume 50 (2023), pp. 130–139).

Did you know that FLAS fellowships are available to GW graduate students studying the Middle East? Apply today or before February 1st. To find out more, visit go.gwu.edu/FLAS.

Last Wednesday, the Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies program celebrated eight of our outstanding students by inducting them into the national classical studies honors society, Eta Sigma Phi. Dr. Jenifer Neils, emerita professor of Case Western Reserve University, was our inspiring invited speaker. Congratulations to our newest inductees!

How does one dig through the past without physically digging?

Next Thursday, October 26th at 6pm ET, learn how three scholars have unearthed the past in a conversation on researching Washington, D.C.’s original plan. Artist Peter Waddell paints scenes of American history, art historian Jackie Streker specializes in prints and printmaking, and ancient art historian Professor Elise Friedland studies echoes of Greek and Roman art in D.C. Though from different fields, each has interpreted Pierre “Peter” L’Enfant’s plan for the capital city according to their professions’ practices.

Attend in-person or online by registering at: https://museum.gwu.edu/exhibition-program-interpreting-lenfants-plan

Join the AIA for a fascinating evening as Prof. Elise Friedland presents a lecture on "Classical Washington: Greece & Rome in the Art & Architecture of D.C." for AIA Archaeology Hour this Wednesday, September 27th at 8pm ET. To learn more and register, please go to: https://www.archaeological.org/event/aia-archaeology-hour-with-elise-a-friedland/

Do you need extra support in your language learning journey and want to get help from a fellow student? Visit our tutors in Rome Hall 676 during their tutoring hours, which can be found at go.gwu.edu/cnelctutoring.

Do you know D.C.? Check out the D.C. Mondays series, virtual programs on Washington’s dynamic (and often surprising) history.

Next Monday, September 11th at noon, join Professor Elise Friedland on Zoom as she explores the role of Greek and Roman art and architecture in the planning, building, and decorating of America’s capital city. Where else in the United States can you see a Greek Doric temple housing a colossal cult statue (the Lincoln Memorial); a Roman triumphal arch monumentalizing the main train depot (Union Station); and Roman equestrian statues celebrating victorious American generals (Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Plaza)?

Travel to the ancient past in your backyard, and register for this D.C. Monday today:

D.C. Mondays: Classical Washington | The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum | The George Washington University David Baron, “Washington Monument,” Lincoln Memorial, 2009. CC BY-SA 2.0.   Washington, D.C., is a city like no other in the United States. A Greek Doric temple houses a colossal cult statue (the Lincoln Memorial). A Roman triumphal arch monumentalizes the main train depot (Union Station). Rom...

Professor Diane Harris Cline of George Washington University's Departments of History and of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations passed away peacefully on the evening of Saturday, July 8th, surrounded by her loving family, including her devoted husband, Professor Eric H. Cline, and their adult children, Hannah and Joshua. She was just 62 years old. The funeral and interment were held on Wednesday, July 12th, at Temple Mt. Sinai Cemetery (El Paso, Texas), where her family has deep roots going back to the 1880s. A memorial service will be held at some point in the coming weeks (it will be live streamed). With the family, we at George Washington University grieve the tragic passing of such a bright light in our world and within our department.

There is so much that we could say about “Lady Cline,” as many students affectionately called her. She was a gifted scholar, with a BA from Stanford and an MA and Ph.D. from Princeton. She was also a former student at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome as well as at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. During her career, she received numerous awards: she was twice a Fulbright Scholar; received multiple fellowships from the NEH; and received the National Archives 2021 Citizen Archivist Award. She was Associate Professor of History and Classics here at GW, and she was also the Coordinator of the Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies Program in CNELC. She was a tremendous colleague and a cherished friend.

And, of course, she was a gifted and devoted teacher. Among her most popular classes were Alexander the Great, Sport and Society in Ancient Greece, the History of Greece, Mythology of the Classical World, Greek and Roman Drama, and Digital History. She was certainly, as many of you can attest, a master teacher. Demonstration of this is not only the various teaching awards she received, including the Columbian Prize for Teaching, the prestigious Bender Teaching Award, and the Robert W. Kenny Prize for Innovation in Teaching, but also and especially the lore in our halls about her wonderful classes.

Equally impressive were, of course, her many scholarly contributions, including her National Geographic book entitled The Greeks: An Illustrated History (2016), her Oxford University Press volume entitled The Treasures of the Parthenon and Erechtheion (1995), an edited volume (which she co-edited with her beloved husband, Professor Eric Cline) The Aegean and the Orient in the Second Millennium (Université de Liège, 1998). In addition, she authored scores of refereed academic articles, a number of which focus on social network analysis in antiquity, an area of research in which Professor Diane Harris Cline was one of the foundational and most prolific scholars. She will be so very sorely missed.

One of the most impressive and most moving of her lectures was just recently delivered on April 18th at GW, on the occasion of her retirement. It was the last lecture that she ever gave; an autobiographical and erudite remembrance entitled simply “A Life in Classics” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXzTyPG4LPw). We heartily recommend this lecture to any and all. You might also wish to read the Archaeological Institute of America's obituary for her (https://www.archaeological.org/in-memory-of-diane-harris-cline-ph-d/), which has just been posted online.

We also wish to mention that for those wishing to make a memorial contribution, the family suggests the Washington Sinfonietta (https://washingtonsinfonietta.org/support) or Eugene-Springfield Youth Orchestras, P.O. Box 5666, Eugene, OR 97405.

With heavy hearts,

Professor Chris Rollston and Professor Elise Friedland, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (CNELC)

The Tragic News of the Passing of CNELC and History Professor Diane Harris Cline | Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations | Columbian College of Arts & Sciences | The George Washington University Emerita Professor Diane Harris Cline (BA Stanford; MA and Ph.D. Princeton), aged 62, of GW’s CNELC and History Departments passed away peacefully on July 8th.

On May 4th, our five now graduated seniors in the Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies program presented their Senior Capstone Studies, individually designed in consultation with a CANES faculty advisor as a culminating project aligned with their interests, previous curricular and co-curricular experience, and their future goals.

Congratulations to Professor Mohssen Esseesy for receiving the Morton A. Bender Teaching Award! He was also inducted as a full member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at the 13th Annual Faculty Honors Ceremony.

Over 50 faculty, staff, and students from CNELC and History attended our Department Operations Manager Michael Weeks’ retirement party. In his honor, the History Department lounge will be named after him. Thank you for everything, Michael!

On April 18th, Professor Diane Harris Cline gave an address “A Life in Classics”, detailing her career in academia as a professor, author, ancient Greek historian, and classical archaeologist. She has had a tremendous impact on her students and colleagues and will be honored with emerita status upon her retirement. We will miss you, Dr. Cline!

Congratulations to CANES major Parker Blackwell, who was honored as the 2023 CCAS Distinguished Scholar at the annual Academic Honors Ceremony.

GW Celebrates Student Scholars at 2023 Academic Honors Ceremony | GW Today | The George Washington University A total of 210 students representing 56 majors earned academic recognition on Thursday, including nine Distinguished Scholars.

Do you need to add another GPAC course to your Fall schedule? Consider taking Beginner Hebrew I!

Please join us on Tuesday, March 21st at 6pm for a distinguished lecture on "Thinking About Slavery in Ancient Greece: An Anthropology of the Implicit" by Prof. Paulin Ismard from Aix-Marseille University on Zoom.

https://chs.harvard.edu/event/thinking-about-slavery/

Check out Prof. Eric Cline's The Ancient Near East Today news story: "Tree Rings, Drought, and the Collapse of the Hittite Empire". https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2023/02/tree-rings-drought-hittite-collapse

[📷: Lion Gate, Hattusa, early 14th century BCE.. (KapuskaCoFabli / Wikimedia Commons)]

Looking for courses in ancient Latin or Greek this summer? Check out the offerings at Catholic University of America! If you are a CANES major or minor, please reach out to Prof. Elise A. Friedland at [email protected] if you have any questions. https://greek-latin.catholic.edu/academics/summer/index.html

Save the date! We'll be hosting a celebration in honor of our 2023 graduates on Saturday, May 20 from 10am-11:30am. More details to come.

You are invited to attend an upcoming GW University Seminar next Monday, February 6th at 6pm called "Living and Thinking Under Catastrophe: Combative Decoloniality as Counter-Catastrophic Thinking, Creation, and Action", featuring Dr. Nelson Maldonado-Torres. Prof. Ebtissam Oraby will be moderating this event. Be sure to register on Zoom to attend!

https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAvcOGgqzMqHNHAFq2wGiPsAC0MGWt2oNDq

Don't miss out— The American Center of Research in Amman, Jordan, has extended its deadline for fellowship applications to next Tuesday, February 7th! For more information and to apply, go to acorjordan.org/fellowships-2.

Check out GW Today's news story "The Real Ancient Apocalypse", highlighting Professor Eric Cline's works, such as the upcoming sequel to his book “1177 B.C.".

The Real Ancient Apocalypse | GW Today | The George Washington University CCAS’ Eric H. Cline asks why civilizations collapse and what happens afterward. (Hint: It’s not aliens.)

Did you know that FLAS fellowships are available to GW graduate students studying the Middle East? Awards will cover up to 20 credits for the academic year with an estimated $20K annual stipend. Apply today or before February 1st. To find out more, visit go.gwu.edu/FLAS.

Tutoring will begin next week in Rome Hall 676. Our student tutors know the struggle of learning a new language and are here to help you along the way. Visit go.gwu.edu/cnelctutoring for their tutoring hours!