Utah State University Classics Prof Awarded NEH Summer Institute Position

Utah State University Classics professor Mark L. Damen was selected to participate in the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute “Roman Comedy in Performance” at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. The 2012 NEH Summer Scholars program brings together leading experts in the field to practice scholarship through performance.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Norm Jones, head of the university’s History Department. “Individuals are not allowed to participate in more than one NEH Institute. Right now Mark is working on a book on ancient theater so this falls right into the world he operates in.”

Damen has been named a USU Mortar Board Outstanding Professor three times and received the Carnegie Foundation's CASE Teacher of the Year Award for Utah in 1999. His work has been widely published in publications such as “Classical Journal,” “Classical World” and “Theatre Journal.” Later this year, an article he co-authored with a USU student will appear in the “American Journal of Philology.”

Damen will join 24 other scholars for one month this summer to study the ancient Roman comic playwrights Plautus and Terence whose works shaped the way comedy is performed today. Participants will parse plays and discuss how the scenes were originally performed in Rome and how to perform them in the modern age — particularly the sometimes disturbing elements of the productions.

For instance, many Roman comedies make light of issues such as forced prostitution and rape.  This summer institute will explore how the genre of Roman comedy can be both entertaining and appalling. Scholars will discuss how Romans would have responded to these scenes and what the ancient plays communicate about our own society, according to the NEH Summer Institute website.

“Roman comedy is where sitcoms begin, but they are also a way of talking about social issues,” Damen said, adding that women in antiquity had very limited roles in society. “These comedies are often taking these roles and changing them.”

Scholars at the institute will read 27 different plays, review literature on how Plautus and Terence’s plays respond to their social environments and perform scenes to learn how variations can impact their tone and message. The performances will be videotaped and available to the public as research and teaching tools.

Damen, a professor in the history department, is no stranger to performance. He has acted in dozens of plays at USU and teaches courses on the ancient near east and pre-modern western civilization, classical drama, English etymology and Latin and Greek languages.  Each year he co-organizes an event called the Ludi Romani, or Roman Games, which are based off an annual religious festival in ancient Rome. The Ludi Romani is a game where alumni, students and professors assume roles of senators, generals, kings and gods and re-enact the period between the assassination of Julius Caesar until the Battle of Actium. 

“We try to teach things about the nature of the classics world by acting it out,” Damen said. “We are one of the few programs in the world where graduates can return as deities.”

The next Ludi Romani will be played Friday, April 20. Positions are still available for USU students and faculty.

For more information about the NEH Summer Institute visit (http://nehsummer2012romancomedy.web.unc.edu/).

To learn more about the Ludi Romani or sign up for a part visit (http://www.usu.edu/classics/ludiromani/index.html).

Related Links

Department of History
College of Humanities and Social Sciences  

Writer: Kristen Munson, (435) 797-0267, Kristen.munson@usu.edu

Contact: Mark L. Damen, mark.damen@usu.edu