In the early years of Carleton’s history, proficiency in Latin and Greek were required of all Carleton students (although young women were allowed to substitute French for Greek), For the Congregational clergymen who founded the college, Greek was essential not only as a language of classical literature, but also (and perhaps primarily) as the original language of the New Testament. This emphasis on training in classical languages as a preparation for the reading and appreciating of Scripture is reflected in the Carleton College Seal.
In the twentieth century, however, the emphasis shifted firmly toward acquiring the ability to read classical authors, both in the original and in translation. In the middle of the twentieth century, the Classics Department was home to the academic world’s only endowed chair in biography, Dr. Christopher Mierow, and offered courses in linguistics and Sanskrit in addition to courses in Latin and Greek.
Throughout the department’s history, its faculty have compiled a distinguished record of scholarship, teaching, and service to the college (with Horace Goodhue serving as dean of the college for fifteen years and David Porter serving as acting president).
1868-1870
From 1868 to 1870, Latin and Greek were taught at Carleton by Rev. Charles Seccomb (1817-1900), who also served as the college’s financial agent from 1867 to 1870.
1870-1910
Greek
Horace Goodhue served Carleton College as a Professor of Greek from 1870 to 1906. In 1891, Professor Goodhue was chosen as Dean of the College, but continued to teach in the Department of Greek and Latin, which received departmental status that same year. In their history of Carleton College, Leal Headley and Merrill Jarchow write: “In a period when the Greek language and the heroes of it literature assumed major proportions in the curriculum, Professor Goodhue was the acknowledged leader of the faculty.”
After Professor Goodhue’s retirement in 1906, Greek was taught at Carleton by George B. Hussey (1906-1907) and Margaret Holman (1908-1910).
Latin
Alice L. Armsby (1853-1933) received her B.A. from Oberlin College in 1876 and served Carleton as an Instructor of Latin from 1876 to 1885, when she married Professor A.H. Pearson of the Carleton Chemistry Department.
Louisa Holman Richardson served Carleton as an Instructor and Professor of Latin from 1885 to 1904. She received her B.A. (1883) and Ph.D. (1901) from Boston University. In 1890, Dr. Richardson was awarded the first European Fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW), which she used to study at Newnham College, Cambridge. After leaving Carleton in 1904, she married Everett O. Fisk and became the vice president and treasurer of the Fisk Teachers Agency (1915-1955). In 1922 she was elected to the Board of Trustees of Boston University. At Carleton she also served as “acting lady principal” from 1891 to 1902.
Lucia E. Danforth, ’88 (1865-1944) served Carleton as an Instructor of Latin from 1891 to 1904. She received her B.L. (1888), B.A. (1896) and M.A. (1904) from Carleton, and her Ph.D. (1909) from Illinois Wesleyan University. During her time on the faculty at Carleton, she also served as preceptress of the Academy. Upon her resignation from Carleton in 1904, the entire student body signed a petition asking her to stay. A letter of recommendation written for Miss Danforth in 1904, signed by President Emeritus Strong, Dean Goodhue and several members of the faculty, concludes: “Her loyal devotion to Carleton, her unstinted toil and sacrifice to it, her sunny, genial spirit, her Christian character and life, have been a daily help and inspiration to us all, and have left their impress upon hundreds of minds and upon the institution.”
In the half-decade after the departures of Dr. Richardson and Miss Danforth in 1904, Latin was taught at Carleton by James T. Fairchild (1903-1906) and Frederick J. Fairbank (1906-1910).
Alice Armsby Pearson, Louisa Holman Richardson and Lucia E. Danforth were all original members of The Monday Club, a women’s study club founded in the early 1890s by Margaret Evans, the dean of women at Carleton, The club also included among its early members Isabella Watson, Mrs. Goodhue, Mrs. Strong (the wife of Carleton’s first president), and Mrs. Emily Skinner, who endowed Skinner Chapel. From 1894 to 1897, the women of The Monday Club devoted their weekly meetings to the reading and discussion of Greek tragedy.
Margaret Evans wrote in 1895: “Women realize, too, that the classic past has lessons of value preserved only in its literature, that although the other things of the classic age have passed away, the spiritual forces there embodied still have power in all human life.” In her minutes from a meeting in March 1897, the club secretary reported an experience which may be familiar to many students: “The plot…as found in Iphigeneia at Aulis was first discussed; that is, the members were closely questioned on the subject, but as most of them had forgotten to look the matter up, the examination would have been an ignominious failure had not the leader been ready to fully answer all the questions asked, which made a very interesting, if one-sided, exercise.” The Monday Club survives to this day as The Margaret Evans Huntington Club.
1910-1920
Arthur Leslie Keith served Carleton as a Professor of Greek and Latin from 1910 to 1922. He received his B.A. (1898) and M.A. (1908) from the University of Nebraska and his Ph.D. (1910) from the University of Chicago. He is the author of Simile and Metaphor in Greek Poetry from Homer to Aeschylus (Menasha, WI: George Banta Publishing Co., 1914). According to a recommendation (1909) from the head of the Department of Latin at the University of Chicago: “He has no personal defects.”
1920-1950
Herbert Pierrepont Houghton (1880-1964) was a Professor of Classics at Carleton from 1923 to 1950. Dr. Houghton came to Carleton from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he served as president from 1918 to 1920. He received his B.A. (1901) and M.A. (1904) from Amherst College and his Ph.D. (1907) from the Johns Hopkins University. At Carleton, Dr. Houghton taught courses in Greek, linguistics , Anglo-Saxon and Sanskrit. He was also an expert on the Basque language. His publications include: The Moral Significance of Animals as Indicated in Greek Proverbs (Amherst: Carpenter and Morehouse, 1915); The Coptic Verb, Bohairic Dialect (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1959) and Introduction to the Basque Language, Labourdin Dialect (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1961).
Charles Nelson Smiley (1873-1943) was a Professor of Classics at Carleton from 1926 to 1940. He received his B.A. (1897) from Drury College, his M.A. (1903) from Harvard University and his Ph.D. (1905) from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Smiley served as the president of the Classical Association of the Midwest and South (CAMWS) in 1917. His publications include Horace: His Poetry and Philosophy (New York: Kings Crown Press, 1945). His wife, Bertha Shutts Smiley (also pictured), a pianist, was a member of the music faculty at Carleton.
Charles Christopher Mierow (1883-1961) was the Ambrose White Vernon Professor of Biography at Carleton from 1934 to 1953. Dr. Mierow was trained as a classicist, having received his B.A. (1905), M.A. (1906) and Ph.D. (1908) from Princeton University. He also held an LL.D. (1927) from University of Colorado, an L.H.D (1933) from University of Denver, and an honorary Ed.D. (1934) from Colorado College. He was also an ordained Congregational clergyman.
Before coming to Carleton, Dr. Mierow served as dean and acting president (1923-1925) and as president (1925-1934) of Colorado College in Colorado Springs. At Carleton he held the first (and perhaps only) chair of biography in the academic world, endowed by the Ambrose White Vernon Foundation “to foster the study of great men in a free, humanistic manner.” His courses at Carleton included: “Representative Americans,” “Representative Men of Antiquity,” and “Representative Personalities of the Middle Ages.” He also served as president of CAMWS in 1936.
Dr. Mierow was a popular teacher at Carleton, and in 1951 was given the unprecedented honor of a plaque presented by the student body, engraved “with deepest affection for your friendship and inspirational leadership.” His publications include: St. Jerome: The Sage of Bethlehem (Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Co., 1959) and The Hallowed Flame (Evanston: Principia Press of Illinois, 1955), which includes brief biographies for a general audience.
As of June 2000, four copies of Dr. Mierow’s biography of St. Jerome were available through Alibris.com
1950-1960
Charles Sanford Rayment (1907-1991) received his B.A. (1928) from Harvard University and his M.A. (1937) and Ph.D. (1941) from the University of Michigan. In his first fifteen years at Carleton (1947 to 1962), Dr. Rayment was the only permanent member of the department and was responsible for the steady growth of the classics at Carleton which led to the appointment of David Porter in 1962.
In a typical year in the period between 1947 and 1962, Dr. Rayment taught six to seven Latin courses, three to four Greek courses, a course in Greek literature in translation and a number of independent studies. He also managed to publish extensively in Classical Weekly and Classical Bulletin.
1960-1990
Dr. David H. Porter (1935-2016) came to Carleton in 1962, where he was a professor of Classics until 1987. Dr. Porter earned his B.A. in 1958 from Swarthmore College and his Ph.D. in Classics in 1962 from Princeton University. His role as a Classics professor was monumental and students recount their fond memories of class renditions of The Odyssey under his direction.
Dr. Porter was also characterized by his love of music, being a highly talented pianist and harpsichordist. In addition to Dr. Porter’s role in the Classics Department, he also held an appointment in the Carleton’s Music Department. After serving the college as interim president from 1986-1987, Dr. Porter moved to Skidmore College where he was president from 1987-1999.
Dr. Jackson Bryce (1944-2022) graduated summa cum laude with his A.B. in Latin from Catholic University of America in 1966, his A.M. and Ph.D. in Classical Philosophy from Harvard University in 1968 and 1974 respectively.
While at Carleton his enthusiasm for Classics was prominent starting at the college in 1972 and retiring in 2012. Many of his former students recall his joyful demeanor and outlook on life. In addition to his Classical studies, Professor Bryce was also a talented bassoonist and held a position in the Carleton music faculty in addition to his role in the Classics Department.
Dr. Linda Clader graduated from Carleton in 1968 and then earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1973. In addition to teaching introductory language classes in Greek and Latin, Dr. Calder also taught advanced courses such as those on Homer, Virgil, and Catullus.
While at Carleton, Dr. Clader published “Helen: Evolution from Divine to Heroic in Greek Epic Tradition.” In addition to her interest in Classics, Dr. Clader has a strong interest in religion and during her time at Carleton published the following book on preaching: “Voicing the Vision: Imagination and Prophetic Preaching.”
Dr. Nancy Wilkie began teaching at Carleton College in 1974, where she remained until 2012. Dr. Wilkie earned her A.B. from Stanford University in 1964 and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Greek (history minor) in 1975. While at Carleton, Dr. Wilkie established the archeology minor and served as the co-director of Carleton’s Archeological Department.
Dr. Wilkie has had a significant impact on both the fields of Classics and Archaeology. Dr. Wilkie acted as president of the American Archaeological Institute of America from 2000-200 and she was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003 to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee.
Dr. Clayton “Chico” Zimmerman earned his B.A. in 1984 from Duke University and his M.A. (1986) and Ph.D. (1989) from the University of North Carolina. In 2011, Dr. Zimmerman was appointed to the Hazel Lillian Amland Grose Professor of Classics.
Dr. Zimmerman started at Carleton in 1989 and has since taught a wide variety of Classics courses ranging from introductory classical language courses in Greek and Latin to advanced courses focussing on Euripides and Plato. His research interests include Hellenistic Greek poetry and mythography, among others. In addition to being a dedicated Classics professor, Dr. Zimmerman has a strong interest in pedagogy and acted as the Coordinator of the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching as well as a mentor to Carleton’s first Houston Posse.
1990-Current
Dr. Clara Shaw Hardy earned her B.A. from Oberlin College in 1983 and her Ph.D. from Brown University in 1990. Dr. Hardy teaches a series of different introductory classical language courses as well as advanced courses and courses in translation such as Gender and Sexuality Antiquity and Images of Woman in Antiquity.
Dr. Hardy’s primary research interests include performance of Greek and Roman drama, Athenian Social history, and gender studies. Dr. Hardy’s most recent publication, titled “Something Mythic: The Power of shared stories in Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire” was published in 2024.
Dr. Alex Knodell is the Director of Carleton’s Archaeology Department, having graduated with his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2007 and his Ph.D. from Brown University in 2013.
Dr. Knodell teaches both classes in the Classics Department and the Archeology Department. Dr. Knodell has research interests in archeology as it relates to pre and post Mediterranean history and early Greece.
Dr. Jake Morton earned his B.A. in Latin from the University of Montana in 2001, his M.A. in Classical Studies from the University of Colorado in 2009, and his Ph.D. from the Department of Ancient History in 2017 from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Morton teaches Classical language courses in addition to introductory and advanced courses in ancient archaeology. His primary areas of research include Greek and Roman history, and ancient food and foodways and ancient topography.
Sources
- Headley, Leal A. and Jarchow, Merrill E. Carleton: The First Century. Northfield, Minnesota: Carleton College, 1966.
- Carleton College Archives
Compiled by Rob Hardy. Photographs from the Carleton College Archives.