Faculty Profile

Christopher Francese

The Asbury J. Clarke Professor of Classical Studies (1996)

Contact Information

francese@dickinson.edu

East College Room 106
717-245-1202
http://blogs.dickinson.edu/francese/

Bio

My main teaching focus is on Latin literature and Greek and Roman Mythology. I also teach a course on a classical approach to public speaking. I have written books on ancient Rome and Latin literature: Ancient Rome: An Anthology of Sources (2014, with Scott Smith); Ancient Rome in So Many Words (2007), Parthenius of Nicaea and Roman Poetry (2001) and Latin and Ancient Greek Core Vocabularies (2020). I love working with secondary teachers and direct a series of professional development workshops for Latin teachers, the Dickinson Latin Workshops. My other passion is digital humanities, and getting students involved with the creation of high-quality resources for learners of Latin and Greek. I direct Dickinson College Commentaries, a series of online multimedia editions of classical texts, and co-direct Dickinson Classics Online, which provides resources for Chinese speaking students of Latin and Greek. I also produce the Latin Poetry Podcast, a series of Latin texts translated and read aloud in the original.

Education

  • B.A., Oberlin College, 1987
  • M.A., University of Texas at Austin, 1989
  • Ph.D., 1993

2024-2025 Academic Year

Fall 2024

CLST 100 Greek and Roman Mythology
An introduction to the study and interpretation of Greek and Roman myths, as they appear both in ancient sources and in later music, sculpture, painting, and literature. The course focuses on interpretive approaches that can help us to define the insights of these myths into to human psychology and the predicaments of men and women, and to apply those insights critically to our own time.

LATN 201 Introduction to Roman Prose
Review of syntax and selected readings from prose authors, with study of literary technique and discussion of supplementary readings in English. Prerequisite: 102 or the equivalent.

LATN 233 Roman Historians
Readings from Roman historians such as Sallust, Caesar and Livy, with study of Roman political values.Prerequisite: 202 or the equivalent.