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Latin at our Institute
If you are interested in the Latin language and its literature, the contexts in which it originated, its transformations and history (or, indeed, histories) of research on it as well as modern approaches to ancient texts, then you have come to the right place!
A long tradition
Latin studies research and instruction has a long tradition in Berlin. Classical Studies were one of the founding disciplines of the University of Berlin in 1810, with scholars such as Karl Lachmann, Moriz Haupt and Johannes Vahlen producing works that are still recognised and cited today. The founding of the Institute of Classical Philology at the turn of the 20th century led to Berlin's research on antiquity achieving a prominent international reputation. Here, Eduard Norden, who was appointed in 1906 and forced to retire in 1935, gave Latin Studies an independent profile with his research on Ennius and Virgil, rhetoric, stylistics and the history of religion. After the difficult conditions for Classical Philology in the education and academic system of the GDR, reunification created the basis for the re-establishment of Latin Studies at the HU in the 1990s, which quickly took a prominent place in the academic landscape. Anyone interested in the eventful history of Classical Philology at Berlin University (the original name of the Humboldt University) can read about it here.
Latin Studies today
Today, we at the Institute research the Latin language and literature with a focus on literary and cultural studies. We focus on the 'classics' of the late Republic (Cicero, Caesar) and early imperial period (Virgil, Ovid, Seneca, historiography, biography), but we also deal with lesser-known texts of the early Republic (Ennius), imperial period (Neronian bucolics, declamations) and late antiquity (Panegyrici Latini, Historia Augusta, Christian literature) as well as the rich neo-Latin literature (Petrarch, Erasmus of Rotterdam) and finally — with a view to the immediate present — the reception and transformation of antiquity and the history of our own discipline.
Unity and Diversity
What unites us is our interest in the pragmatics and performance of literature, that is to say, the question of how texts work and function in their original and later contexts. We examine the complete works of Ovid in their manifold dimensions (politics, religion, narratives, intertextuality and intermediality), the rhetorical strategies found in depictions of rulers, literary constructions of space and the constructions of gender in Latin literature. Other areas of specialisation include ancient literary theory, in particular Roman ideas of authorship, fiction and the literary figure, Roman philosophy and the relationship between pagan philosophy and early Christian thought, research in the field of linguistics and grammar as well as digital classics. Our Institute for Latin Philology is responsible for the publication of journals such as Gymnasium and academic book series. By cooperating with external partners such as the ancient studies portal Propylaeum or the German Association of Classical Philologists as well as schools in the Berlin area, we open ourselves up to the outside world and recognise the (specialist) political dimension of our work.
Quality of Teaching
The quality of our teaching in the areas of language and literature provides students with a solid foundation for their future careers. Our research also informs and expands our teaching. These include the ‘linguistics workgroup’, the joint teaching of traditional literary studies and digital methods in team teaching formats and the teaching focus 'Ancient Drama', in which we combine lectures with visits to ancient plays in Berlin theatres. Students can benefit from the Institute's exceptional location by attending courses organised by researchers and colleagues from the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, located across the street from our Institute, which collect various projects dealing with classical antiquity, such as the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. The close links with subject-specific didactics offer students aiming to become teachers an ideal education. We actively support student initiatives and projects; for example, this has recently included the workshop "How do we talk about (sexual) violence in ancient texts?". By participating in the Latinist Young Scholars Forum and the colloquium “Aquilonia”, we enable students and researchers to engage in professional and personal dialogue beyond the borders of Berlin.
Topicality of Ancient Texts
A central concern of ours is to emphasise the topicality of ancient texts in research and teaching and to make them accessible to a wide audience. We do this not only in cooperation with schools and educators in ancient languages, but also in collaboration with the Berliner Antike-Kolleg and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies at the HU.