Classicist Brings Dead Language to Life for Students by Sue Angell
Biographical Information: • B.A., Swarthmore College (Greek) • Spent a year abroad in Athens at the American School of Classical Studies • M.A., University of Pennsylvania (Latin) • Ph.d., University of Pennsylvania (classical studies) Related Links: • Department of Classics		MARCH 12, 2003--Benjamin Lee, the newest addition to Oberlin's Department of Classical Studies, brings his enthusiasm for Latin language and culture to the classroom. Lee, who has recently accepted a position at Oberlin as Assistant Professor of Classical Studies, is determined to make this "dead language" live for his students. "I am interested in how Latin prose begins to change around the first and second centuries A.D.," Lee says. "The authors from this period, particularly in North Africa, start to play with language, like Joyce or Faulkner--making up word forms and shapes, taking an artistic attitude toward the Latin language as a whole. They feel free to change the word-forms they receive. This change is very refreshing for students after reading classical authors like Cicero." A Q&A with Benjamin Lee Research Interests: Apuleius and Beyond From Elementary Latin to The Rhetoric of Myth Suggested Reading Keeping up with the Local Obies
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