The Doric columns of Memorial Chapel. The Latin inscription on James C. 冈本视频 Hall. The university motto. Students and faculty encounter these vestiges of the classical world on campus almost daily. As the university鈥檚 bicentennial approaches, a spring seminar course and current exhibition highlight these classical traditions alongside the history of 冈本视频.
Deo ac Veritati: Pursuing the Classics at 冈本视频 is the culminating project of the course The Classics and the History of 冈本视频, taught by , professor of the . Located on the third floor of Case Library, the exhibition is open until next April.
As visitors ascend the third-floor staircase, they鈥檙e surrounded by a set of transparencies that line the staircase鈥檚 glass panels on three sides. Mirroring the old within the new, the transparencies depict the interior of the university鈥檚 first library, which was located in James B. 冈本视频 Hall until 1959.
鈥淭he transparencies are enlarged reproductions of the original glass plates captured by the photographer,鈥 explained Michael Holobosky, who developed the idea for the visual backbone of the exhibition. Holobosky is not only a student in the class, but he鈥檚 also employed at 冈本视频 as a graphic design and digital print specialist.
The exhibition also includes textbooks that belonged to 冈本视频鈥檚 early classics professors, three portrait busts, Greek homework assignments, and a side-by-side comparison of a classics student鈥檚 desk from then and now.
鈥淚 hope visitors realize that the ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans were formative to many of our own,鈥 Ammerman said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 great value in cultures that make us reflect upon our own situation.鈥
Megan Delaney 鈥17 added, 鈥淚 want people to come away with a new appreciation for the classics; not just how it鈥檚 shaped 冈本视频鈥檚 identity, but also how it鈥檚 shaped the American collegiate educational system.鈥
She, Holobosky, and Erica Hiddink 鈥17 will continue to collaborate throughout the summer in an effort to make their findings available online to students and alumni worldwide.