Department of Ancient Studies Stellenbosch

Today is your LAST CHANCE to RSVP for in-person attendance of our annual Living Antiquity Lecture, presented this year by the wonderful Prof. Jacqueline Klooster. If this is the first you’re hearing of this, you should probably get onto our mailing list. DM us (on Instagram) for more details. Please note that this event will also be live-streamed. We’ll post the link to our bio closer to the time.

Prof. Amy Russell is visiting tomorrow to talk to us about how scale matters. Join us in the Ancient Studies Department (or online at the link in our bio!) around 17h10, and stay for light refreshments after the seminar. All are welcome.

On Tuesday, 21 July, students and staff from Ancient Studies and Drama had the privilege to take part in a workshop run by Rush Rehm, professor of Theater & Performance Studies and Classics at Stanford University. We read and performed a selection of choruses from Aeschylus' Agamemnon under Rush's expert guidance. What an enlightening and unforgettable experience. And a huge thank you to Rush for his time, infectious enthusiasm and guidance. We hope we may do this again someday!

Staff and students (and graduates) of the department at the Road House Cinema to watch Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ last night (17/07). Have you seen it? Tell us what you thought of it in the comments ⬇️.

🎲✨ Calling all strategists, adventurers, and board game enthusiasts! ✨🎲

Join Guild and the ASC for an unforgettable Board Game Night filled with friendly competition, great company, and plenty of fun!

Whether you're building settlements in Catan, attracting wildlife in Wingspan, battling it out in Uno, or trying something completely new, there's a game for everyone.
And for those looking for a truly legendary experience, we have a special surprise in store: an epic Dungeons & Dragons session that you won't want to miss! 🐉⚔️

🍕 Snacks will be available for purchase, so come hungry and ready to play.

Bring your friends, meet new people, and enjoy an evening of games, laughter, and adventure. Whether you're a seasoned gamer or just looking for a fun night out, we'd love to see you there.

🎲 See you there!

We are excited to have Prof. Bang for a seminar about his ideas on The Roman Empire in World History! Join us in the Ancient Studies Department (or online in the link in our bio!) for a seminar exploring the cultural and societal connections of Rome and other Afro-Eurasian empires.

Good turnout at Open Day today. We hope to see many of you in our first-year classes next year!

We have another research seminar next week and you’re invited. This one features the research of one of our postdocs, Marlene Meyer. She’ll address us on the topic ‘Sitting on Unity: How the Placement of the sema tawy Motif influenced its Iconography’.
This one’s online only (link in bio).

Recently, Dr. Westwood was featured on the podcast Dialogues in Judaic Studies, which is hosted by Ari Barbalat, available on Buzzsprout, Spotify, etc.
They spoke about her monograph, Moses among the Greek lawgivers, published in 2023, based on her doctoral thesis. She mentioned it was fun to revisit this book and its ideas in a completely different format.

About Dr Ursula Westwood: After doing her undergrad in Classics and French at UCT, and then an MPhil in Greek and Roman history at Oxford, Dr. Westwood completed her DPhil in Ancient History in 2020 at Oxford University, under the supervision of Professor Martin Goodman. She then joined the Ancient Studies Department in Stellenbosch in July 2022 after a few years of teaching Greek and (some) Latin for the Oxford Classics Faculty.

Swipe through our first batch of photos. Enjoy this look at our Honours Students’ outing to Social History Resource Centre in Cape Town, on 4 February this year.