Poetry, Politics, Plague, and More
Students from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, hosted undergraduates from more than a dozen other colleges and presented their own papers during the 13th Annual Tennessee Undergraduate Classics Research Conference in March.
“This conference is a competitive event featuring outstanding undergraduate research from across the country,” said Assistant Professor Jessica Westerhold, faculty sponsor from the Department of Classics. “It offers a space for undergraduate scholars of the ancient Mediterranean to share their work, build a network, learn from each other, and have an academic conference experience that is friendly and welcoming. It also provides the undergraduate organizers from UT with the experience of putting together a national scholarly event that easily translates into designing and organizing similar events for any institution and industry.”
A selection committee reviewed nearly 50 submissions for 2025. It invited 20 presenters from as far away as Texas and New York, along with seven from UT. Panels featured research in areas such as archeology, religion and literature, and a lunchtime workshop offered an opportunity to ask questions about classics as a career.
The keynote lecture, “Small but Mighty: Terracottas in Corinthian Ritual Practice,” was delivered by Assistant Professor Theodora B. Kopestonsky of Wabash College.
Undergraduate Research Experience
UT sophomore Gabby Puckett was one of the first-time presenters. “Conferences that focus on undergraduate research are incredibly valuable to show off early research that many students wouldn’t consider ‘research enough’ to submit to a bigger conference,” she said. “Imposter syndrome is a huge thing for undergraduates pursuing research opportunities, and these conferences provide so much validation for early research.”
Puckett is pursuing a double major in anthropology and religious studies, with a double minor in classical civilizations and Judaic studies. Her research compared ancient and contemporary plague personifications. “Focusing on this gave me a new perspective on the function of plagues as moral and social contagions rather than just the physical contagions that we know them to be,” she said.
Interdisciplinary Projects
Ethan Peebles, a UT senior majoring in classics and religious studies, gained experience as both a presenter and a member of the student organizing committee for the event.
He wrote his paper while studying archeology, Greek literature, and religion during two semesters at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, an experience funded partly by departmental scholarships.
“My research was on the theological poetry of Gregory of Nazianzus, a fifth century bishop in Anatolia,” Peebles said, noting that Gregory had studied classical literature in Athens. “I analyzed its place in Greek didactic poetic tradition and ecclesiastical politics in the wake of the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople I.”
“The presentation showed me clear methodological and ideological differences between how I engage subjects in the religious studies department and how students in classics departments approach the same matters,” Peebles observed.
“One of the things I appreciated most about presenting in this conference was practicing answering unanticipated questions and simply interacting with young scholars from other institutions,” said Evan Shannon. He is completing a dual degree in classics and religious studies at UT, and his research focused on the role that semi-divine heroes such as Herakles and Helen of Troy play in Greek myth.
“I think this conference is a wonderful venue for any undergraduate student to gain experience, and I want to especially encourage students with interdisciplinary projects or interests to attend and submit abstracts,” Shannon said. “Classics is a field especially and uniquely enriched by others, and interdisciplinary students and projects always bring something exciting and new.”
In addition to the professional experience and opportunity to connect with peers, Peebles noted another benefit of the experience. “It is also fun,” he said.
The 13th Annual Tennessee Undergraduate Classics Research Conference was sponsored by the Department of Classics Enrichment Fund, with generous co-sponsorship by Bettye Beaumont, the UT College of Arts and Sciences, UT Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, the Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts, and the Departments of Africana Studies, English, History, Political Science, Religious Studies, and World Languages and Cultures.
By Amy Beth Miller
