Dickinson Summer Latin Workshop 2026: Apuleius, Apologia (Pro se de magia)

July 13–18, 2026

The Dickinson Workshops are mainly intended for teachers of Latin, to refresh the mind through study of an extended text, and to share experiences and ideas. Sometimes those who are not currently engaged in teaching have participated as well, including students, retirees, and those working towards teacher certification.

Engraved Gem with Chnoubis. A.D. 100–250. Getty Villa, Gallery 216, 83.AN.437.54. Oval stone engraved on each of its sides. On the obverse is the image of a lion-headed Chnoubis serpent, crowned by twelve rays. Horizontal inscriptions flank each side of the figure: XNOY __ MIS (Chnoumis, a variant for Chnoubis). On the reverse is a Chnoubis-sign (three parallel crooked lines with a crossbar running through them). Image and description source: Getty Museum.

The text for 2026 will be Apuleius’s Apologia, a courtroom speech delivered in the mid-second century AD in the Roman province of Africa by the author, orator, and philosopher Apuleius of Madauros. Apuleius is better known today for his beloved novel, Metamorphoses or The Golden Ass. He stood accused of successfully using magical means to entice a wealthy widow into marriage in an effort to control her very substantial fortune. His accusers were relatives of Pudentilla, including her son (by her first husband) Pudens, and members of her first husband’s family. The judge in the case was Claudius Maximus, who is known to have been governor of the province of Africa in AD 158-159, and is likely the same Maximus to whose teaching Marcus Aurelius pays tribute in Book 1 of the Meditations. The speech is unique in Latin literature, a literary-rhetorical tour de force, and a fascinating mine of information about ancient Roman daily life, magic, religion, toothpaste, and many other topics.

Moderators:

  • Thomas D. McCreight, Associate Professor of Classics, Loyola University Maryland
  • Odessa Asp, Latin Teacher, Tuscarora High School, Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia
  • Keziah Armstrong, Latin Teacher, Shenendehowa High School, Saratoga County, New York

Fees, Meals, Facilities, and Lodging

The fee for each participant is $600 for those attending in person, $400 for those attending online. The fee for in person attendees covers lodging, breakfast and lunch in the Dickinson cafeteria, the facilities fee, which allows access to the gym, fitness center, and the library, as well as wireless and wired internet access while on campus. The fee does not cover the costs of books or travel, or of dinners, which are typically eaten in the various restaurants in Carlisle. Please keep in mind that the participation fee, once it has been received by the seminar’s organizers, is not refundable. This is an administrative necessity.

Lodging: accommodations will be in a student residence hall near the site of the sessions.

Daily Routine

The first event for those attending in person is an introductory dinner at 6:00 p.m., July 13. Starting July 14, sessions will meet from 1:00p.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, with mornings left free for preparation. The final session ends at 4:30 p.m. on July 18.

To Register

Please email Mrs. Stephanie Dyson, Classical Studies Academic Department Coordinator (dysonst@dickinson.edu). Include your email, physical address, phone number, and the name of the workshop you plan to attend. A non-refundable fee is due by June 1, 2026 in the form of a check made out to Dickinson College, mailed to Stephanie Dyson, Department of Classical Studies, Dickinson College, Carlisle PA 17013.

For more information, please contact Prof. Chris Francese (francese@dickinson.edu)

2026 Dickinson College Commentaries High School Online Internship Program

Dickinson College Commentaries (DCC) provides Latin and Greek texts for reading, with explanatory notes, essays, vocabulary, and graphic, video, and audio elements. The commentaries are peer reviewed and edited, and freely available at dcc.dickinson.edu.

The DCC High School Online Internship program is meant to give you a chance to contribute to the site, learn digital humanities skills, improve your Latin (or Greek), and collaborate with others under the supervision of professional classicists. You will receive credit on the site for all contributions.

East College is home to Dickinson’s Classical Studies Department and is the mother ship of DCC.

The projects are flexible enough to allow students of different levels of Latin from intermediate to advanced to meaningfully participate, and to give scope to those with special artistic, technical, linguistic, or research skills. The application process is simple and requires no essay or letters of recommendation.

Eligibility: Open to all rising High School Juniors and Seniors who have completed Latin 3.

Dates: June 22–July 31, 2026 (6 weeks)

Time commitment: approximately 10 hours per week. The projects will involve a mix of independent work done on your schedule and mandatory Zoom meetings for approximately four hours per week.

Pay: this is an unpaid internship

Projects for 2026:

  • Catullus: edit notes and vocabulary on poem 64, add hyperlinks and media enhancements for this and other Catullus poems
  • Ilias Latina: edit notes and vocabulary on this Latin version of the Iliad, add hyperlinks and media enhancements
  • Core vocabulary images: create original artwork for words in the DCC Latin Core Vocabulary to help people remember them
  • Anthon Greek Reader: read and edit notes and vocabulary for an introductory reader for learners of ancient Greek, add hyperlinks and media enhancements
  • Caesar, Gallic War Book 2: read and edit notes, add hyperlinks and media enhancements
  • Augustine, Confessions: read and edit notes and vocabulary, add hyperlinks and media enhancements
  • Vergil, Aeneid: read and edit notes and vocabulary, add hyperlinks and media enhancements
  • Use AI to harvest and reformat notes from older commentaries on Trimalchio’s Dinner Party (Petronius, Satyricon) and possibly other texts

Application Deadline: March 15, 2026

Apply here: https://forms.office.com/r/CYrvfkA2c5

The 2025 DCC High School Internship Program Is a Wrap

It has been a wonderful summer for philology here at DCC. We hosted seventy-five high school students from seventeen states for online internships. They contributed to eight ongoing projects. Here are some sample quotes from participants:

Attic red-figure otter fragment showing a boy reading from a scroll

Attic Red-Figure Cup Fragment
about 470–450 B.C.
Akestorides Painter (Greek (Attic), active about 470 – 450 B.C.).

“This project gave me hope for the study of Classics. There are no students at my school that share my excitement, but here I found other people like me from all over the country. I loved to see everyone ‘fighting’ to take the next sentence.”  (Ben Olson, Loyola Academy, Wilmette, IL)

“I got much better at sight reading and got more familiar with Medieval Latin and Latin in general.” (Cricket MacDonald, Concord Carlisle High School, MA)

“I really enjoyed communicating with my team about the projects but being able to actually finish each sprint on my own… I’m glad that I could help the process of organizing it.” (Josephine Xie, St. Andrew’s School, Middletown, DE)

“Lucy McInerney was great to have as the leader for my group! She was very passionate about the subject… which really enhanced the overall experience.” (Alexander Korb, Irvington High School, NY)

“One thing I really enjoyed about the program was how flexible it was… The mix of early morning meetings and asynchronous work worked well… and Mr. Karper’s enthusiasm for Ancient Greek made every session fun and engaging.” (Milin Torgalkar, Rye Country Day School, NY)

“The most valuable lesson I took away from DCC is that there is so much more nuance to Vergil than meets the eye… Selecting commentaries and translating the lines so closely really makes you recognize the small details.” (Sophie Yang, Lawrenceville School, NJ)

Huge thanks are due to everybody involved, especially our crack team of supervisors, who met with the students on Zoom for 3-5 hours per week, read with them, used their feedback to edit and create notes, and in many cases mentored them in the process of writing their own notes in the DCC style and edited their work.

  • Ashley Roman Francese (Adjunct Faculty in Classical Studies, Dickinson College)
  • Luther Karper (PhD in Ancient History, Brown 2019; Web Developer with Schweb Design, LLC, based in Shippensburg, PA)
  • Lucy McInerney (PhD in Classical Philology, Brown 2025; Assistant Director Norman M. Eberly Multilingual Writing Center and Writing Program, Dickinson College).
  • Bret Mulligan (Associate Provost for Faculty Scholarship and Professor of Classics at Haverford College; PhD in Classical Philology, Brown 2006)
  • Alvaro Pires (PhD in Classical Philology, Brown 2025; Adjunct Faculty, Writing Program, Dickinson College)

Be on the lookout for their work to appear on the site as soon as final editing is finished.

Dickinson Summer Greek Workshop 2025: Iphigenia in Tauris

Dickinson College Summer Greek Workshop July 14-18, 2025

on Zoom

Moderators:

Dr. Emily Kearns, Senior Research Fellow in Greek Literature and Language, St. Hilda’s College, University of Oxford

Dr. Scott Farrington, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Dickinson College.

young woman in flowing ancient Greek dress with corona, pointing forward

R. Geike as Iphigenia in the Cambridge Greek Play production of Iphigenia in Tauris, 1894.

Euripides’ Iphigenia in Tauris provides a variety of rewarding avenues into the study of Euripides and of Greek tragedy. Already in the fourth century, Aristotle noted the thrill and intrigue of the inexorable progress of the siblings’ recognition, and Euripides’ inventive employment of anagnorisis and other structural elements of tragedy has fascinated readers ever since. Throughout this play are intricately wrought themes exploring the nature of human sacrifice, sanctuary, and cult, the complications of familial obligation and legacy, and the shadowy, shifting line between Greek and barbarian identities. Perhaps most notably, like many of Euripides’ plays, Iphigenia in Tauris presents a catastrophe averted, thus sharpening our conception and understanding of what precisely makes a tragedy “tragic.”

Dr. Emily Kearns has published widely on Greek religion, Homer, and tragedy. She is the author of The Heroes of Attica (University of London, Institute of Classical Studies) and Ancient Greek Religion: A Sourcebook (Wiley Blackwell). Her commentary on Euripides’ Iphigenia in Tauris (Cambridge University) appeared in the Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics Series in 2023. She is currently working on a book about blood in the ancient world.

The workshop is intended for intermediate and advanced readers of Greek who have an interest both in sharpening their language skills and exploring the themes and issues of the play in depth. Sessions will consist of translation and discussion.

The workshop will take place on Zoom July 14-18, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4). Each daily session will be comprised of two 1.5 hour periods of translation and discussion with a 15-minute break in between. We hope that the Zoom format will allow participants from around the world to join.

Please direct any questions to Prof. Scott Farrington, Department of Classical Studies, Dickinson College (farrings@dickinson.edu).

To register, a fee of $200.00 is due by June 13, 2025. It will not be possible to process refunds after that date. We prefer to collect the fee in the form of a check made out to Dickinson College and mailed to Stephanie Dyson, Department of Classical Studies, Dickinson College, Carlisle PA 17013. For international participants, and for others for whom paying by check is not feasible, other forms of payment are possible.

2025 Dickinson College Commentaries High School Online Internship Program

Dickinson College Commentaries (DCC) provides Latin and Greek texts for reading, with explanatory notes, essays, vocabulary, and graphic, video, and audio elements. The commentaries are peer reviewed and edited, and freely available at dcc.dickinson.edu.

The DCC High School Online Internship program is meant to give you a chance to contribute to the site, learn digital humanities skills, improve your Latin, and collaborate with others under the supervision of professional classicists. You will receive credit on the site for all contributions.

Statue of founder Benjamin Rush (1746-1813), in front of the East College building. East College is home to Dickinson’s Classical Studies Department and is the mother ship of DCC.

The projects are flexible enough to allow students of different levels of Latin, from intermediate to advanced, to meaningfully participate, and to give scope to those with special artistic, technical, linguistic, or research skills. The application process is simple and requires no essay or letters of recommendation.

Eligibility: Open to all rising High School Juniors and Seniors who have completed Latin 3. Graduating seniors may also apply.

Dates: June 23–Aug 1, 2025 (6 weeks)

Time commitment: 10–15 hours per week. The projects will involve a mix of independent work done on your schedule and mandatory Zoom meetings for approximately five hours per week.

Pay: this is an unpaid internship

Projects for 2025:

  • Select, edit, and enhance notes on Vergil’s Aeneid
  • Create images and other enhancements for the DCC Core Latin Vocabulary
  • Edit and enhance notes for Aesop’s Fables in the Latin version of Elegiac Romulus.

Application Deadline: Feb. 15, 2025.

Apply here: https://forms.office.com/r/sWvT11BXt7

Dickinson Latin Workshop 2025: Vergil, Georgics Book 4

July 7–12, 2025

The Dickinson Workshops are mainly intended for teachers of Latin, to refresh the mind through study of an extended text, and to share experiences and ideas. Sometimes those who are not currently engaged in teaching have participated as well, including students, retirees, and those working towards teacher certification.

gold ring with bee design

A Greek gold ring, 3rd c. BC, in the collection of the Getty Museum.

The text for 2025 will be Vergil’s fourth Georgic, which poetically discusses the honeybee hive, its “customs, activities, peoples and wars” (mōrēs et studia et populōs et proelia). It also contains a memorable account of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The workshop will be conducted both in person and online. For those attending in person, there will be an optional field trip to an apiary and a walk to look for plants and trees mentioned in the text. If time permits, we will read sections from Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 10 about Orpheus and Eurydice.

Moderators:

Elizabeth Manwell, Professor of Classics, Kalamazoo College

Christopher Francese, Asbury J. Clarke Professor of Classical Studies, Dickinson College

Fees, Meals, Facilities, and Lodging

The fee for each participant is $600 for those attending in person, $400 for those attending online. The fee for in person attendees covers lodging, breakfast and lunch in the Dickinson cafeteria, the facilities fee, which allows access to the gym, fitness center, and the library, as well as wireless and wired internet access while on campus. The fee does not cover the costs of books or travel, or of dinners, which are typically eaten in the various restaurants in Carlisle. Please keep in mind that the participation fee, once it has been received by the seminar’s organizers, is not refundable. This is an administrative necessity.

Lodging: accommodations will be in a student residence hall near the site of the sessions.

Daily Routine

The first event for those attending in person is an introductory dinner at 6:00 p.m., July 7. Starting July 8, sessions will meet from 1:00p.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, with mornings left free for preparation (or for field trips for those attending in person). The final session ends at 4:30 p.m. on July 12.

To Register

Please email Mrs. Stephanie Dyson, Classical Studies Academic Department Coordinator (dysonst@dickinson.edu). Include your email, physical address, phone number, and the name of the workshop you plan to attend. A non-refundable fee is due by June 1, 2025, submitted either electronically at this link, or in the form of a check made out to Dickinson College, mailed to Stephanie Dyson, Department of Classical Studies, Dickinson College, Carlisle PA 17013.

For more information, please contact Prof. Chris Francese (francese@dickinson.edu)

Dickinson Summer Greek Workshop 2024: Xenophon, Cyropaedia

DICKINSON SUMMER GREEK WORKSHOP: JULY 2226, 2024 

Moderators: Prof. Norman B. Sandridge (Howard University) 

Prof. Scott Farrington (Dickinson College) 

For the 2024 Dickinson Summer Greek Workshop we will read selections from Xenophons Cyropaedia, “The Education of Cyrus. Xenophon’s consideration of the best education for a just ruler, often described as a “historical romance,” contains elements of biography, philosophy, history, fiction, and political science. The crown jewel of Xenophon’s literary output, the Cyropaedia enjoyed great popularity in Republican Rome, was considered essential reading by Scipio, Cicero, and Cato, and has much to offer Hellenists of every stripe. Book cover for Loving Humanity, Learning, and Being Honored: The Foundations of Leadership in Xenophon's Education of Cyrus (Hellenic Studies Series) showing a Persian king in a garden.

Leading our workshop will be Prof. Norman B. Sandridge (Howard University), author of Loving Humanity, Learning, and Being Honored: The Foundations of Leadership in Xenophon’s Education of Cyrus (Center for Hellenic Studies, 2012). 

The workshop will take place on Zoom from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. EDT. We hope that this format will allow participants from around the world to join us. 

TO APPLY: Please email Mrs. Stephanie Dyson, Classical Studies Academic Department Coordinator (dysonst@dickinson.edu). Include your email and the name of the workshop you plan to attend. A non-refundable fee of $200.00 is due by June 1, 2024, in the form of a check made out to Dickinson College, mailed to Stephanie Dyson, Department of Classical Studies, Dickinson College, Carlisle PA 17013. 

 

Dickinson Summer Latin Workshop 2024: Luisa Sigaea

July 9–14, 2024

The Dickinson Workshops are mainly intended for teachers of Latin, to refresh the mind through study of an extended text, and to share experiences and ideas. Sometimes those who are not currently engaged in teaching have participated as well, including students, retirees, and those working towards teacher certification.

The 2024 workshop will be conducted both in person ($600) and online ($400) and consist of readings from Luisa Sigaea de Velasco. (biography from womenwriters.nl.)

painted portrait of a woman in high collar dress, with Latin text at the side from her book,

Source: El Plural.com

Luisa Sigea is a very unusual example of a female scholar for both Portugal and Spain. Educated by her father, Diego Sigeo, Luisa was particularly famous for knowing Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldean, and Arabic as well as some modern languages. In 1542, she went with her sister to Queen Catarina’s court. Here they were at the service of the king’s sister, D. Maria of Portugal. Luisa had access to the royal library and could dedicate herself to her literary pursuits. Her most famous works, produced during these years, are: Duarum Virginum Colloquium de vita aulica et privata, a bucolic dialogue filled with classical topoi, and Syntra, a poem dedicated to her patron (D. Maria). We also have some letters, including letters sent to Pope Paul III. Sigea was by far the best and most renowned female scholar of her age.[1]

Texts for the workshop will be provided, based on the best modern editions.

Moderators:

Leni Ribeiro Leite, Associate Professor of Classics, The University of Kentucky

Ashley Roman, Adjunct Professor of Latin, Dickinson College

Fees, Meals, Facilities, and Lodging

The fee for each participant is $600 for those attending in person, $400 for those attending online. The fee for in person attendees covers lodging, breakfast and lunch in the Dickinson cafeteria, the facilities fee, which allows access to the gym, fitness center, and the library, as well as wireless and wired internet access while on campus. The fee does not cover the costs of books or travel, or of dinners, which are typically eaten in the various restaurants in Carlisle. Please keep in mind that the participation fee, once it has been received by the seminar’s organizers, is not refundable. This is an administrative necessity.

Lodging: accommodations will be in a student residence hall near the site of the sessions. The building features suite-style configurations of two double rooms sharing a private bathroom, or one double and one single room sharing a private bathroom.

Daily Routine

The first event for those attending in person is an introductory dinner at 6:00 p.m., July 9. Starting July 10, sessions will meet from 1:00p.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, with mornings left free for preparation. The final session ends at 4:30 p.m. on July 14.

To Register

Please email Mrs. Stephanie Dyson, Classical Studies Academic Department Coordinator (dysonst@dickinson.edu). Include your email, physical address, phone number, and the name of the workshop you plan to attend. A non-refundable fee is due by June 1, 2024 in the form of a check made out to Dickinson College, mailed to Stephanie Dyson, Department of Classical Studies, Dickinson College, Carlisle PA 17013.

For more information, please contact Prof. Chris Francese (francese@dickinson.edu)

[1] Sofia Frade, “Hic sita Sigea est: satis hoc: Luisa Sigea and the Role of D. Maria, Infanta of Portugal, in Female Scholarship,” in Women Classical Scholars: Unsealing the Fountain from the Renaissance to Jacqueline de Romilly ed. Rosie Wyles and Edith Hall (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), p. 48. (preview from OUP)

Conventiculum Dickinsoniense 2024

July 15-21, 2024
20 people eating at round tables

The Conventiculum Dickinsoniense is an immersion seminar designed for those who want to acquire some ability at ex-tempore expression in Latin. A wide range of people can benefit from the seminar: professors in universities, teachers in secondary schools, graduate students, undergraduates, and other lovers of Latin, provided that anyone who considers applying has a solid understanding of the grammatical essentials of the Latin language. A minimum requirement for participation is knowledge of Latin grammar and the ability to read a Latin text of average complexity – even if this reading ability depends on frequent use of a dictionary.  But no previous experience in speaking Latin is necessary. Sessions will be aimed at helping participants to increase their ability to use Latin effectively in spoken discourse and to understand others speaking in Latin. After the first evening reception (in which any language may be spoken), Latin will be the language used throughout the seminar. Participants will be involved in intensive activity each day from morning until early evening (with breaks for lunch and mid-afternoon pauses). They will experience Latin conversations on topics ranging from themes in literature and art all the way to the routines and activities of daily life, and will enjoy the benefits of reading and discussing texts in the target language. Activities will involve both written and spoken discourse, both of which engage the active faculties of expression, and each of which is complementary to the other. The seminar will not merely illustrate how active Latin can be a useful tool for teachers, it will show how developing an active facility in Latin can directly and personally benefit any cultivator of Latin who wishes to acquire a more instinctive command of the language and a more intimate relationship with Latin writings.

Moderators:

Prof. Milena Minkova, University of Kentucky

Prof. Terence Tunberg, University of Kentucky

We can accept a maximum number of 35 participants. Deadline for applications is June 1, 2024. The participation fee for each participant will $600. The fee includes lodging in a single room in campus housing (and please note that lodging will be in a student residence near the site of the sessions), two meals (breakfast and lunch) per day, as well as the opening dinner, and a cookout at the Dickinson farm. Included in this price is also the facilities fee, which allows access to the gym, fitness center, and the library, as well as internet access. The $600 fee does not include the cost of dinners (except for the opening dinner), and does not include the cost of travel to and from the seminar. Dinners can easily be had at restaurants within walking distance from campus.  Please keep in mind that the participation fee of $600, once it has been received by the seminar’s organizers, is not refundable.  This is an administrative necessity.

Registered participants should plan to arrive in Carlisle, PA on July 15, in time to attend the first event of the seminar. This first event is an opening dinner and welcoming reception for all participants, which will begin at about 6:00 p.m., in which all languages are acceptable. The actual workshop sessions (in which Latin will the exclusive language) will begin early the next morning on July 16.

For more information and application instructions write to: Professor Terence Tunberg:

terence.tunberg@gmail.com

Conventiculum Dickinsoniense 2023

CONVENTICULUM DICKINSONIENSE

July 16-21, 2023

The Conventiculum Dickinsoniense is an immersion seminar designed for those who want to acquire some ability at ex-tempore expression in Latin. A wide range of people can benefit from the seminar: professors in universities, teachers in secondary schools, graduate students, undergraduates, and other lovers of Latin, provided that anyone who considers applying has a solid understanding of the grammatical essentials of the Latin language. A minimum requirement for participation is knowledge of Latin grammar and the ability to read a Latin text of average complexity – even if this reading ability depends on frequent use of a dictionary.  But no previous experience in speaking Latin is necessary. Sessions will be aimed at helping participants to increase their ability to use Latin effectively in spoken discourse and to understand others speaking in Latin. After the first evening reception (in which any language may be spoken), Latin will be the language used throughout the seminar. Participants will be involved in intensive activity each day from morning until early evening (with breaks for lunch and mid-afternoon pauses). They will experience Latin conversations on topics ranging from themes in literature and art all the way to the routines and activities of daily life, and will enjoy the benefits of reading and discussing texts in the target language. Activities will involve both written and spoken discourse, both of which engage the active faculties of expression, and each of which is complementary to the other. The seminar will not merely illustrate how active Latin can be a useful tool for teachers, it will show how developing an active facility in Latin can directly and personally benefit any cultivator of Latin who wishes to acquire a more instinctive command of the language and a more intimate relationship with Latin writings.

Moderators:

Prof. Milena Minkova, University of Kentucky

Prof. Terence Tunberg, University of Kentucky

We can accept a maximum number of 35 participants. Deadline for applications is June 1, 2023. The participation fee for each participant will $400. The fee includes lodging in a single room in campus housing (and please note that lodging will be in a student residence near the site of the sessions), two meals (breakfast and lunch) per day, as well as the opening dinner, and a cookout at the Dickinson farm. Included in this price is also the facilities fee, which allows access to the gym, fitness center, and the library, as well as internet access. The $400 fee does not include the cost of dinners (except for the opening dinner), and does not include the cost of travel to and from the seminar. Dinners can easily be had at restaurants within walking distance from campus.  Please keep in mind that the participation fee of $400, once it has been received by the seminar’s organizers, is not refundable.  This is an administrative necessity.

Registered participants should plan to arrive in Carlisle, PA on July 16, in time to attend the first event of the seminar. This first event is an opening dinner and welcoming reception for all participants, which will begin at about 6:00 p.m., in which all languages are acceptable. The actual workshop sessions (in which Latin will the exclusive language) will begin early the next morning on July 17.

For more information and application instructions write to: Professor Terence Tunberg:

terence.tunberg@gmail.com