People

Ombretta Frau has published extensively on nineteenth and early twentieth-century Italian cultural history, modern philology, Pirandello, and Italian women writers. At Mount Holyoke, Frau’s courses include literature for children, material culture, fascism, women, theater, and travel literature. Her classes incorporate many pedagogical tools, including film, music, and web design, and she believes in creating a relaxed and friendly classroom atmosphere that encourages communication. Frau is a frequent collaborator of the Mount Holyoke Art Museum and she keeps a blog that is on the Italian Huffington Post.

Bettina Bergmann is the Helene Phillips Herzig '49 Professor of Art History. She teaches courses in Greek and Roman art and modern collecting and museum practices. Her research focuses on the relations among ancient Roman architecture, gardens, painting, and literature. Bergmann uses three-dimensional models to suggest how fragments in museums appeared in their original contexts. A current project explores representations of the world in Roman art.

In addition to teaching Greek and Latin language and literature at all levels, Paula Debnar offers a variety of courses on the ancient Mediterranean taught in English, including "Gods and Mortals: Myth in Ancient Art and Literature," "Athenian Democracy," and writing intensive first-year seminars on the ancient Greek world, such as "Homer's Iliad: A Big Fat Ancient Greek War?" and "Socratic Questions."

Mark Landon's interests range from classical languages and literature to the archaeology of the Greek and Roman world. He once spent several months exploring the subterranean water tunnels beneath the ruins of ancient Corinth, a task that required many flashlight batteries and a high level of tolerance for the company of bats. Since 2000 he has been a visiting professor at Mount Holyoke, where he describes himself as the academic equivalent of an annoying dinner guest who never goes home.

Geoffrey Sumi teaches Greek and Latin at all levels, while his interest in the political and social history of the ancient world is reflected in the courses he teaches in translation: The Roman Empire; Sport, Society, and Politics in the Roman World; and From Hoplites to Legions: Warfare in the Greek and Roman World.