The Department of Classics and Religious Studies' Classics Club in the College of Arts and Sciences will team up with the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) for a reading of Hesiod's Works and Days in the first-ever CASNR Classics Crossover.
On March 12, 2020 students, university officials, and community members will gather at the UNL Dairy Store and participate in a public reading of the epic poem Works and Days.Written around 700 BCE, this poem is a letter addressed to Hesiod's brother to whom he offers advice concerning farming and morality. Drawing inspiration from Classics Club's recent Homerathons, CASNR and the department have joined forces to bring about the inaugural CASNR Classics Crossover.
At first glance it may seem strange: an area of study associated with the liberal arts and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources uniting over a poem. However, both sides feel that they have much to learn from one another.
Mike Lippman, associate professor of practice and the faculty advisor behind the student-run Homerathon, believes: “The CASNR Classics Crossover event shows that the two campuses [City and East] need not be ideologically separated.”
This event is specifically designed to bring together two groups of individuals to develop mutual appreciation for the other’s area of study. Tiffany Heng-Moss, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Recourses agrees, saying: “Here in CASNR, we are always excited to welcome other departments and colleges to East Campus, and to work across disciplines to expose students to interdisciplinary ways of learning. I love this collaboration, and I hope that students, faculty and staff from across UNL find it interesting and thought-provoking.”
Senior Brooke Mott, double majoring in classics and religious studies and fisheries and wildlife, has been assisting the CASNR student advisory board as they prepare for their event.
“While one major teaches me all the elements necessary for working in the environmental field,” she said, “the other has taught me skills in business, writing and all these wonderful things that are a part of the liberal arts.”
As a freshman, Mott took Lippman’s class on ancient Sparta to fill an academic requirement and, over the next few years, became heavily involved with the Classics Club. During her junior year in 2018, she had the opportunity to lead the Homerathon.
“I've gone from running an event all about Homer to researching least terns and piping plovers on the Platte River,” she said. “I wish more students felt they had the ability to explore different interests at UNL no matter how different they can be or even if they have to spend a lot of time running from city to east campus.”
