Classical Studies

Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and Classics Lab Update

Posted by ehusleto
Student sitting with ancient world artifacts.
Lead Lab Intern Cole Himmelheber with some of the artifacts in the AMCA Lab.

By: Elijah Smith, Class of 2026

Since opening its doors, the Butler University Ancient Mediterranean Cultures and Archaeology (AMCA) Lab staff has handled, refurbished, interpreted, and cataloged various historical artifacts from the Ancient World. Located on the third floor of Jordan Hall, the Lab has employed many student interns to help AMCA Director, Archaeologist, and Classics Professor, Lynne Kvapil with the collection. Dr. Lynne Kvapil. Students earn credit or receive an hourly wage for their work. Recently, I spoke with two of the interns: junior History Major and Classics Minor, Cole Himmelheber, and junior Anthropology, and Criminology and Psychology majors and Sociology minor, Emma Podvorec.

The day-to-day activities of the lab vary based on what is needed. The Lead Intern, Cole, delegates and makes sure that everything is running smoothly and efficiently. The list of projects can be extensive but rewarding ranging from simply updating information in the in-house database to working directly with an artifact. Currently, Emma is working with an Egyptian funerary cone which she describes, as “my baby. So I’ve been like translating the hieroglyphic setter on that and then on any other artifact from different museums across the world to see how that works.” Cole is working with Boaty, an ancient Egyptian model boat, to refurbish it. The antiques are stored at a specific temperature range. The interns carefully avoid chipping the wood or paint and constantly check for mold. They are also working on display cases for the front of the Archeology Lab to present artifacts to the Butler Community. As Cole describes it, “Once that is completed, it might be just outside the door, but it is a mobile display case. So, there are many opportunities to integrate the wider Butler community to what we’re doing. We can see a lot of our little treasures in here.”

The Lab doesn’t just deal with artifacts, they also develop and cultivate a variety of research texts for students to utilize. While every college has a library students can pull from the HAC department has a unique one in the AMCA Lab. Previous students have used lab resources for final papers/projects, Butler Summer Institute research, and thesis work. Curious? Just stop by the Lab or email Dr. Kvapil.

 

Classical Studies

Posted by Elly Fieffer

Classics is the study of the ancient Mediterranean with a focus on Greek and Roman culture, history and language to learn how these ancient civilizations valued knowledge and organized their societies to understand ourselves. Through the past we ask questions about our values and where they come from and why we hold on to certain ones. The Classics program at Butler offers students hands-on experiences both on campus and abroad. Locally, students can work for the Classics Lab, a curatorial and research position to develop the repository of physical artifacts for students to study. For students interested in travel, there is an archaeological field school in Greece or study abroad course in Rome. Classics students not only learn academic skills but develop an imagination of the past that helps them to see a broader future.

All of Butler’s Offerings

https://majors.butler.edu/?_ga=2.190916522.1607322230.1643036455-1766424400.1573842097

Official Department Page

https://www.butler.edu/arts-sciences/history-anthropology-classics/ 

Classical Studies (Major and Minor)

Ancient Languages Track –  Classes primarily focused around learning the ancient 

languages of Greek and Latin

Ancient Cultures Track – Classes have a wider scope of culture, language, and 

Influence of the Ancient Civilizations

https://www.butler.edu/arts-sciences/history-anthropology-classics/classics/curriculum/

Wendy Vencel ’18

Posted by Elly Fieffer

This interview with Wendy Vencel was conducted November 2021

Describe your current work? Have you completed any post-graduate training or education? 

After Butler, I earned my Masters from the University of Edinburgh in Medieval History, focusing on genders in early medieval Scotland. Currently, I teach courses through Ivy Tech Bloomington’s Center for Lifelong Learning. Over the summer I taught Greek Myth & Art for their “College For Kids” program and now I am teaching Exploring Epics: Beowulf for adults. I am also currently applying to PhD programs in Public History where I will focus on the use of material culture in the study and presentation of history. 

What did you learn through your major that you find useful today? 

There is one major skill that I learned from my double major in history and classics that I have consistently used since graduating: being able to hold small group discussions. It is easy to blurt something out in class or crank out a paper, but it takes time to develop discussion skills and be able to express your thoughts and engage with the thoughts of others. I not only was this useful during my master’s program, where every course was discussion based, but also in the professional world when having to work collaboratively and efficiently with colleagues. 

Describe a transformative experience you had at Butler? 

I would have to say that Dr. Scarlett’s Historiography course was a transformative experience. I was really shy and soft spoken my first two years at Butler, but Historiography really forced me out of my comfort zone and got me to engage with history on a whole new level than before. I think if it wasn’t for that course, I wouldn’t have decided to pursue a master’s and not a PhD. 

Is there anything you wish you would have done differently? 

I wish that I had made more of an effort my first two years at Butler to connect with other students in my departments. Once my cohort finally started to do things together, the last two years flew by! It was a big help when studying or going through finals because we were, mostly, all in the same classes together. It also helped so much more to have people to bounce project ideas off of! 

What advice would you give to current students?

1) Make use of department resources and alumni/ae connections! If there is a conference outside of Indy or a study abroad opportunity you want to take, see about applying for some funding. 2) Go to department events (even if they aren’t BCRs!)! Not only will you definitely learn something, you might find a new interest that isn’t covered in your classes. They are also great opportunities to chat with professors and network, and you never know when those connections might come in handy! 

Is there a question you wish I would have asked? What is it and how would you answer it?

I wish I had asked more about student life at Butler and the transition from a high school mindset to a college one. I definitely think that that is partly why I struggled my first two years. So ALWAYS ask the schools/departments that you are applying to to put you in touch with current students, and don’t be scared to ask them those sorts of questions because the sooner you figure out how to best do college for you the better.

Dr. Kvapil’s Women & Antiquity and Other Courses

Posted by Elly Fieffer

The Classics faculty at Butler help students see the unseen. While the world recognizes the impacts of these ancient civilizations, there are stories hidden in the well-known narratives. The Classics Lab and Independent Studies courses are working with ancient artifacts the department received from the local art museum to add important details into the modern stories about the ancient classics. Some civilizations have had their stories dominated and replaced by larger, known civilizations. The Greeks and the Romans, while fascinating on their own, oftentimes are guilty of this narrative “collecting,” directing the modern world to  the stories we now know. Classics teaches us that there is more than just a single narrative.

Dr. Lynne Kvapil, one of our Classics faculty, offers a course called Women in Antiquity which  pulls out some of those unseen stories: women’s stories. We know women existed, but oftentimes their work and their narratives have been erased, unless it served a purpose for the men telling their tales. The class analyzes real and mythological stories to understand the expectations for women in these ancient cultures. Dr. K shows how even  Cleopatrata’s story has been changed to serve the purpose of others. as an illustration that even prodeomient women in history have their narratives told and changed for them.

Women in Antiquity was last offered Spring 2021, Independent Studies are typically available every semester

Elly Fieffer’s Research: The Development of Women from Myth to Film

Posted by Elly Fieffer

My research project this semester is titled the Classical Divinity of the 1940’s Femmes Fatales where I compared a few ancient Greek goddesses to a few “killer” leading ladies in the postwar era United States. I compare the goddess Aphrodite to Lilly Powers of Baby Face, who is gorgeously powerful, Hera to Brigid O’Shaughnessy of The Maltese Falcon, practically perfect and cunning, and lastly Thetis to Gilda of Gilda with untamable ambition. There was so many comparisons that I did not think of when starting this project, but the more I worked on it, I began to even surprise myself with how similar the two pieces were to each other.

This project was super fun for me because it combines some of my interests from a young age and how my thoughts have developed over time. I remember calling my mom early in the semester, panicked about not knowing what to do. She told me to explore something new, but something I already loved so it didn’t feel like work. Taking her advice, I started piecing ideas together. I started with a timeframe and some general interests. I’ve always really loved the American 1920s through the 1950s. Freshman year I took a class with Dr. Deno called Reel America where we analyzed American history through film, so when I started thinking about this timeframe, I thought why not attach the film aspect to it and explore women’s roles. I was also really attached to the idea doing something with mythology, but I wasn’t quite sure what to do since it was so broad. After working through a variety of ideas, the project before you is what came to light.

I would love to turn this into thesis and expand into the modern era, looking into different genres and touch on a few other films from this era that I wanted to incorporate, but did not get a chance to include this time around.