Tulane Department of Classical Studies

06/02/2026

Joe Park Poe, Professor Emeritus of Classical Studies at Tulane University, died on Saturday, May 23, 2026, at the age of 89.

As a scholar, Joe was recognized internationally among Classicists for the breadth and originality of his work. He published important monographs and articles on Greek drama, Latin elegiac poetry, the Aeneid, Senecan tragedy, and Roman topography.

Joe’s teaching style was exemplary of the “old school.” He always wore a coat and tie when he taught and never called a student by their first name. He painstakingly explained ablative absolutes, gerunds and gerundives, passive periphrastics, and futures less vivid as though such concepts really mattered, and to him they did. He was demanding but compassionate, serious but funny. He cultivated an atmosphere of mutual respect in the classroom, which made his students want to do their best.

Celebrate the life of Joe Poe, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home & Cemeteries.

05/07/2026

Classics in Motion
By Cameron Todd
Thursday, April 30, 2026

Classical Studies at Tulane connects ancient texts, artifacts, and performance with contemporary scholarship and public engagement.

05/06/2026

2,000-year-old Roman tombstone found in New Orleans returns home to Italy: ‘We are delighted’
BY POET WOLFE | Staff writer Apr 30, 2026

https://www.nola.com/news/ancient-roman-tombstone-returns-home/article_2730c55e-6443-4e21-9659-01c05b0de510.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2%2C000-year-old%20Roman%20tombstone%20found%20in%20New%20Orleans%20returns%20home%20to%20Italy%3A%20‘We%20are%20delighted’&utm_campaign=tulanetoday-6may2026-fsa -source=featured-3

05/05/2026

https://youtu.be/TxIzAfdJReo?si=DOa16TXTr6P3qK2J

Tulane professor gains worldwide attention after Roman artifact discoveryhttps://news.tulane.edu/news/tulane-scholar-gains-worldwide-attention-after-roman-ar...

04/09/2026

03/30/2026

The Department of Classical Studies at Tulane University presents the annual Classics Colloquium, featuring the keynote lecture, “A Haitian Oedipus in New Orleans” by Tom Hawkins (The Ohio State University) presented by The Classics Club.

Date ~ Thursday, April 9, 2026
Time ~ 5PM – 7PM
Location ~ Jones 108

Undergraduate students will present their presentations related to the ancient Mediterranean in a professional, but friendly environment of peers and professors while experiencing antiquity from different perspectives.

Keynote lecture, “A Haitian Oedipus in New Orleans” by Tom Hawkins (The Ohio State University) presented by The Classics Club:

New Orleans native Victor Séjour’s 1837 short story Le Mulâtre reimagines the Oedipal myth in the brutal context of the slave economy of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), fundamentally reframing the traditional themes of patricide and recognition. The narrative follows Georges, who unknowingly executes his father in a gothic spin on Sophoclean tragedy, where the final recognition is a visceral climax rather than an intellectual epiphany. Séjour uses the myth’s fascination with epistemological fallibility to confront the dehumanizing logic of slavery.

This in-person, non-ticketed event is free and open to the public. There will be no zoom component. Tulane University is committed to providing universal access to all our events on site. Please contact Elizabeth M Reyna ([email protected], 504-865-5719) the event organizer for accessibility accommodations. Please note that advance notice is necessary to arrange some accessibility needs.

03/06/2026

The Archaeological Institute of America New Orleans Society and the Department of Classical Studies at Tulane University present “From Metal to Money: How to Operate a Civic Mint in the Roman Empire” by Kenneth W. Harl, Professor Emeritus (Department of History, Tulane University).

Date ~ Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Time ~ 5pm
Location ~ Jones Hall 108

Based on analysis of the coins themselves, Professor Harl reconstructs how Greek cities in the Roman Empire manufactured and distributed bronzes coins. Not only do the coins reveal the stages of production by workers and the engraving of dies by artists, but they also offer a means of calculating the output of money. The scale of production and organization of labor are both far more impressive than hitherto realized. The coins struck by mint of Marcianopolis (today Devnya, Bulgaria) in the reign of the Emperor Macrinus (217-218) offer the test case for explaining how metal was turned into money.

This in-person, non-ticketed lecture is free and open to the general public. There will be no zoom component. Tulane University is committed to providing universal access to all our events on site. Please contact Elizabeth M Reyna at 504-865-5719 / [email protected] at least two weeks in advance of the event if you have accessibility needs and need a disability-related accommodation to participate. Please note that advance notice is necessary to arrange some accessibility needs.