Meet Our ALumni....
Craig Clifford, M.D., who graduated from UIC with a double major in Latin and Chemistry will be returning to UIC in fall 09 to pursue a PhD in Chemistry.
I started at UIC as a biology major. I had no clear idea about what course of study I wanted to pursue. I lacked focus and polish. To satisfy UIC's two-year foreign language requirement, I chose to study Latin. What very quickly became clear to me was that in studying Latin, and later ancient Greek and Classical literature, my professors did much more that simply teach me the content of a given course; they gave me the benefit of a solid education, one that prepared me to go out into the world and succeed at whatever I put my hand to. I learned how to speak, how to read, how to think critically thanks to a close study of ancient thinkers channeled through modern interpretation which gave me the confidence to apply to medical school. I always received a certain "WOW" response from my interviewers when they learned of my studies in Greek and Latin; they were genuinely impressed. What tended to give me an edge over stiff competition and set me apart from the rest was my Classics degree, which demonstrated intellectual curiosity on my part beyond the field of medicine and a willingness to pursue a rigorous and very rewarding course of study.
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Jennifer Larson graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UIC in 2004 with a double major in ancient Greek and Latin, taking her degree with distinction. She was the recipient of the Donald and Leah Riddle Prize, which is presented annually to the outstanding graduating senior. She studied law at the University of Chicago, where she was an editor of the Law Review, receiving her LLD in 2008. She is presently employed by the Wall Street law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, where she specializes in bankruptcy and securities litigation.
“I have never regretted my decision to major in Classics. Law school professors failed to intimidate me—after all, what’s more daunting than translating one-on-one with a professor who can read an ancient Greek or Latin text without a dictionary? Not only is Classics both an uncommon and highly regarded degree in general, but it demonstrates that a student has a strong work ethic and is committed to perfectionism. Classics is a highly favored major and that I was admitted to Chicago in large part because of my degree in Latin and Greek. My undergraduate degree was also a major factor in landing the job at my present firm. My undergraduate degree in Greek and Latin led to acceptances from the law schools at the universities of Chicago, Michigan, and a few others.
The main and lasting benefits of a degree in Classics, especially in language & literature, besides the pleasure of the studies themselves, are a more sophisticated world view, a rigorously analytical mindset, proof of an adventuresome intellect, a trained and purposeful perfectionism, and a flexible writing style. Training in reading texts closely provides practice in analysis within rigid constraints and yet without a single “right” answer to find. Thus studying classical authors prepares the mind to be both disciplined and creative. My Classics professors were, without exception, better and more demanding writing teachers than any English professor I encountered. I'll never forget Professor Dickie telling me that “things” are “what one sends to the laundry,” or Professor MacGregor telling me that if I could not translate my sentence into Latin, I was probably writing in abstractions. All the technical terms and advanced writing techniques I know, I learned in my Classics courses: synecdoche and asyndeton, anaphora and chiasmus. All have become tools I no longer use by inadvertence but with deliberation and an appreciation for their effectiveness.”
Lawrence Lahey graduated from UIC with College of Liberal Arts and Sciences honors in 1992. He majored in Classical Languages and Literature (Ancient Greek and Latin). He completed his PhD in Divinity (Early Christian and Jewish Studies) at the University of Cambridge in 2001, and most recently he has been a visiting Assistant Professor of Early Christianity at Tulane University in New Orleans (2006-2009). His revised doctoral dissertation, a critical Greek edition, with translation and study, of the sixth-century Dialogue of Timothy, A Christian, and Aquila, A Jew, is to be published by Mohr Siebeck Press of Tübingen, Germany. He is also contributing a chapter treating various ancient Christian polemical works with Judaism for the revised Patrology, a multi-volume work published by Cambridge University Press.
I was fortunate to have studied for my undergraduate degree in Classics at UIC because the training I received prepared me extremely well for the close work that I have since done with ancient Greek and Latin texts, first as graduate student and later as a publishing scholar. It was especially beneficial to have been taught in small classes, often by full professors who willingly shared their extensive knowledge. The upper-level courses in Greek and Latin that the department offered under the rubric of independent study (GKA 299 and LAT 299) provided excellent grounding for my graduate studies at the University of Cambridge in England.
Publications
The Dialogue of Timothy and Aquila: Critical Greek Text and English Translation of the Short Recension with an Introduction including a Source-critical Study. Revised PhD diss. (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck). Forthcoming 2009.
Abstract in The Bulletin of Judaeo-Greek Studies 26 (Summer 2001), 4-5.
Journal Articles/Book Chapters
- "The Controversial Literature between Christians and Jews." In Patrology (new edition), edited by Angelo Di Berardino (Cambridge University Press). Forthcoming 2009.
- "The Greek Additions to Daniel." In Handbook to the Septuagint, edited by James Aitken (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark). Forthcoming 2009.
- "Evidence for Jewish Believers in Christian-Jewish Dialogues through the Sixth Century (excluding Justin)." In volume one (of three) of Jewish Believers in Jesus: A History from Antiquity to the Present, edited by Oskar Skarsaune and Reidar Hvalvik (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2007), 581-639.
- Review Article on Jewish Christianity, including original research and reviews of Stephen G. Wilson, Leaving the Fold: Apostates and Defectors in Antiquity and Huub van de Sandt (ed.), Matthew and the Didache: Two Documents from the Same Jewish-Christian Milieu? Journal of Jewish Studies 57 (2006), 163-67.
- "Jewish Biblical Interpretation and Genuine Jewish-Christian Debate in The Dialogue of Timothy and Aquila." Journal of Jewish Studies, 51 (2000), 281-96.
- "Hebrew and Aramaic in The Dialogue of Timothy and Aquila." In Hebrew Study from Ezra to Ben-Yehuda, edited by William Horbury (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1999), 106-21.
Dictionary Articles
- "Timoteo e Aquila (dialogo di)" ["Timothy and Aquila (dialogue of)"] In Nuovo dizionario patristico e di antichità cristiane, vol. 3, diretto da Angelo Di Berardino, 2nd ed. aggiornata e aumentata. (Genova, Milano: Marietti, 2007).
- "Jewish Biblical Interpretation." In The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 3, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2008).
Book Reviews
- Daniel Boyarin’s Border Lines: The Partition of Judeo-Christianity in The Bulletin of Judaeo-Greek Studies 39 (Winter 2006-07), 22-24.
- David Rokéah, Justin Martyr and the Jews in The Bulletin of Judaeo-Greek Studies 32 (Summer 2005), 30-32.
- Andreas Külzer, Disputationes Graecae Contra Iudaeos: Untersuchungen zur byzantinischen antijüdaischen Dialogliteratur und ihrem Judenbild in The Bulletin of Judaeo-Greek Studies 28 (Summer 2003), 30-32.
- Simon Mimouni, Le judéo-christianisme ancien in The Bulletin of Judaeo-Greek Studies 24 (Summer 1999), 16-17.
- Christopher Stead, Philosophy in Christian Antiquity in The Classical Bulletin 73 (1997), 76-78.
Christine Stamison, who graduated with honors in 1982 with a double major in Ancient Greek and Classical Civilization and with a minor in Latin, is presently a sales and marketing executive for Global Information and Technology Company.
After graduation, I worked in academic libraries and earned a Masters degree in Library and Information Sciences. For the past 16 years I have been employed in both sales and marketing in the library industry, working for companies that help libraries manage their journal content. In my positions, I represent my company at all major conferences, participate in numerous speaking engagements, prepare companywide presentations, and write articles on behalf of the company. The well-rounded education I received at UIC in Classics and Classical Languages has made possible many successes in my business career. Studying Ancient Greek and Latin helped hone my analytical skills, gave me a better understanding of the importance of nuance in language and, most importantly, taught me how to think independently. In a time when we are bombarded with many bits of information, thinking clearly and distinguishing fact from fiction is a very marketable skill. My training in Classics has helped me become a more effective speaker, writer and promoter for my company.
Michelle Green, who graduated from UIC in 1998 with a double major in Latin and History, now teaches Latin at Evanston Township High School.
Michelle Green graduated from UIC with a major in Classics with a specialization in Latin and a second major in History, and she presently teaches Latin at Evanston Township High School. Immediately after graduation in 1998, Michelle pursued further studies in education and history and earned an MAT degree in history at UIC. As a member of the teaching staff at Evanston Township High School, she has created a Latin Club, sponsors a trip to Italy every other year, and has been awarded several times among the Who’s Who Among American High School Teachers by her students. Michelle feels that the diverse community at UIC facilitated her ability to teach Latin in the similarly diverse community found in Evanston. She has been able to use her experiences from UIC to help her students connect with the ancient culture and language.
Frank Redmond graduated from the Classics program in 2007 with honors. He presently works as a Project Coordinator for a business on Chicago's Near West Side.
My education in Classics has proven to be very useful in my position as a Project Coordinator. In my work, I am confronted by many different challenges, from many different areas of the business. My ability to wear simultaneously many hats in order to tackle these problems was augmented by my Classical training. In my present position, it is very important to have independent judgment, and the Classics program encouraged me to develop sound, solid skills of analysis, which have enabled me to make informed business decisions. Additionally, my training in Classics has equipped me not only to solve complex problems but also to see the big picture. Ancient Greek and Latin are not just to be studied for their own sake (as rewarding as that is). Everything has broader implications, especially advanced cultures from millennia ago. Studying Classics helps develop the habit of viewing everything in perspective, a quality greatly valued in the world of business.
If you graduated from the department of classics and have a story to tell, we would love to hear from you.
Contact us at classics@uic.edu
Department Administrator :Nichole Hinkley
Website Designer and Administrator : Ashish Sharma
