Every year, Contexts for Classics invites students in all departments and programs (graduateand undergraduate) across the University of Michigan to take part in its Classical Translations Contest. We know that there are many people inspired by the beauty of other languages who wish to render them more freely and creatively than classwork often involves. This contest is intended to highlight the work of students who are interested in the process of translation as acreative, intellectually meaningful enterprise. In recent years, the contest has expanded beyond translations of ancient Greek, modern Greek, and Latin, to include languages taught in the departments of Middle East Studies and Asian Languages and Cultures.
This year, four prizes were awarded by the Department of Classical Studies, and two by theDepartment of Middle East Studies. Congratulations to the winners listed below, who have kindly agreed their translations to be made available for the community to view or download.
CLASSICAL STUDIES
GRADUATE STUDENT
GABRIEL KEY, Catullus 7 and 13: Gabriel Key (they/them) is currently enrolled in the Bridge M.A. in Classical Studies and will begin their Ph.D. in the Interdepartmental Program in Mediterranean Art and Archaeology in the fall of 2023. Their primary research interests include Early Italian archaeology, with a focus on archaeobotany and the lives of non-elites.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
BAINE LINSLEY, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 5.85-5.95: Baine Linsley is an undergraduate student in the college of LSA.
WILLIAM McCLELLAND, Euripides, Bacchae: Will McClelland (he/him) is a senior majoring in Classical Civilization with a minor in History. His primary research interests include Homeric poetry, Athenian tragedy, comparative historical linguistics, modern reception, the Mediterranean Bronze Age, and literature of the early Roman Empire. Following graduation this year, he will be pursuing a certificate in Classics at Columbia University. In his free time he enjoys film analysis, acting and directing for the stage, and playing guitar.
ELLIS MUCCHETTI, Virgil, Aeneid 1.1–156: Ellis (they/them) is a second year majoring in Classical Languages and Literature with a focus in Latin. They've tutored dozens of younger students and peers in Latin over the past six years, and plan to teach Latin at a middle or high school level. Outside of Latin, they play cello in the Campus Symphony Orchestra and RC chamber groups, and they are on the board of Friends of the Campus Farm.
MIDDLE EAST STUDIES
GRADUATE STUDENT
KEANU HEYDARI, Tarikh-e bist saleh: Konfederasion-e jahani-ye mohasselin va daneshjuyan-eirani, Hamid Shokat: Keanu Heydari is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History. His research focuses on French and Iranian cultural, intellectual, and migration history. Heydari’s dissertation examines Iranian students, political dissidents, and intellectuals in Europe after the 1953 coup d’état in Iran. Heydari was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and is an alumnus of the University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., History, French language minor, 2017).
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
AMIRA RABBAH, حاربيني يا نابئات اليالي/ Wage war on me oh disasters of the night by Antara ibn Al-Shaddad: Amira Rabbah is a senior in majoring in Biomolecular Science and minoring in Middle East Studies. It was during her three years of Arabic study at the University of Michigan that she developed an appreciation for Classical Arabic poetry. Her chosen work by the great warrior poet Antarah ibn Shaddad echoes themes of valor, chivalry, and horses. After graduation, Amira plans to apply to medical school.
