People

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.

In addition to teaching elementary and intermediate Latin, Bruce Arnold has created innovative courses, including his first-year seminar, Greek Tragedy, American Drama, and Film, which examines the critical influence of the three most important Athenian dramatists, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, on the works of Nobel winner Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and important filmmakers, who have tried to recreate the powerful atmosphere and impact of the Greek tragic theater or reworked the tragic themes of classical myth for their own purposes in the modern age.

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.