Foreword from McGill Le message de McGill

One of the earliest sacrifices made to the pandemic was the 12th annual Montreal Classics Colloquium, slated to take place only days after Quebec’s social distancing mandates went into effect. It is an understatement to say that we were disappointed to cancel this event after months of hard work. Regardless, as responsible members of our community, we knew it was the right thing to do.

This journal intends to preserve some of the presentations that would have taken place, and showcase the great intellectual labour that goes into this event year after year. The colloquium is often the crowning achievement of our year, bringing together students from all over the city to convene and talk about the things that we love. We have always boasted an incredibly inter-disciplinary panel of speakers, and this year would have been no different. With topics ranging from Roman history to Greek philosophy to Medieval reception to material culture and archaeology, the colloquium demonstrates the great diversity of not only our students but our range of interests. It has always represented to me the beauty of studying classics as an undergraduate or early graduate student— our interests are ever changing and developing.

On a personal note, the colloquium has defined my undergraduate experience. I have taken part in organizing or assisting or presenting every single year of my time at McGill, and to witness such an amazing community come together and pull off this event has been my proudest achievement. As my own cohort and I move on to the larger world of academia or anything else that may come to greet us, I know that the communities we’ve built with events like the colloquium will always be there to support us and cheer us on. It is always a pleasure to come together with the amazing classics students of Concordia and UdeM. Our collaboration works to make classics less insular, and more community-focused. I cannot wait to see where else our efforts will lead and the new creative forms this event will take.

I wish this year’s students the best of luck with the 2021 colloquium, in whatever form it may take to accommodate our unique circumstances and our new normal. I know that they will be well equipped and supported not only by each other, but also by the amazing professors and graduate students. I would like to extend special thanks to McGill’s Director of Classical Studies Professor Lynn Kozak for their constant encouragement and availability with resources. I would also like to thank my colleague Emma Davidson, the editor of Hirundo: McGill’s Classical Studies Journal, for graciously allowing papers which were already published in the journal’s 18th volume to appear here as well.

With all this said, I hope you enjoy a selection of what 2020’s colloquium would have been, and marvel with me at the stellar research produced by this year’s speakers.

Neha Rahman President of the McGill Classics Students’ Association, 2018-2020