Classics Department
Nigel Nicholson
Walter Mintz Associate Professor of Classics
Greek and Latin literature, critical theory.
nigel.nicholson@reed.edu
Education
Courses Taught
Projects
Publications and Papers
Outreach Programs
Reed Latin Forum
Oregon and Washington high school students: look out for the Reed Latin Forum, held late in the fall every year. The whole department teaches in this every year, and it is an exciting venue for discussing classical topics, getting a taste of college life and meeting other classics students.
In past years, I have led seminars on the weirdness of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the shape
of Augustan ideology, the Roman experience of love, the poetess Sulpicia, and, most recently,
how Roman poets do nothing but talk about their own poetry! I have also lectured on Greek
and Roman athletics, a lecture that I also delivered to 54th Annual meeting of the Washington/British
Columbia Junior Classical League.
I am also available to lecture in local schools, and do so once or twice a year.
Middle School Outreach Program
I also regularly participate in Reed's middle school outreach program for students and their families. The day follows a particular theme, and in the past I have led discussions of ideology in painting; of ideas of youth, middle age and old age; on the relationship between war and sport; and, this year, of morality across national boundaries.
Humanities in Partnership
This is a great program that targets Portland residents who have been ill-served by the educational system, or have failed to take advantage of it. Essentially it is a version of the Reed Humanities program offered at a more convenient location, free of charge (thanks to OCH and the generosity of its donors), and I taught in this program during the first two years of its life.
