Every year, Contexts for Classics invites students in all departments and programs (graduate and undergraduate) across the University of Michigan to take part in its Classical Translations Contest. We know that there are many people inspired by the beauty of other languages who wish to render them more freely and creatively than classwork often involves. This contest is intended to highlight the work of students who are interested in the process of translation as a creative enterprise. In recent years, the contest has expanded beyond translations of ancient Greek, modern Greek, and Latin to include languages taught in the departments of Middle East Studies and Asian Languages and Cultures.
This year, five prizes were awarded in Classical Studies and Modern Greek, one in Asian Languages and Cultures, and two in Middle East Studies. Congratulations to the winners listed below, who have kindly agreed their translations to be made available for the community to view or download.
Classical Studies/Modern Greek
Graduate Students
Tyler Dunston, Syntra by Luisa Sigea
Tyler Dunston is a fourth-year PhD student in English Language & Literature at the University of Michigan, where he also teaches at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. Before coming to U of M, he completed his MFA in poetry at Boston University. He is currently at work on a dissertation tentatively titled The Poetics of Suspension as well as a collection of poetry.
Caroline Porter, Catullus 5
Caroline Porter is a first-year MFA fiction candidate in the Helen Zell Writers' program. She is currently at work on a novel about coastal erosion in North Carolina and the intensity of female friendship, as well as a collection of short stories.
Undergraduate Students
Joana Hila, ‘Biography of an unimportant relative’ by Katerina Iliopoulou
Joana Hila is a sophomore in the College of LSA majoring in Psychology on the pre-med track.
Christiana Kapetaneas, ‘4 Argonauts’ by Giorgos Seferis; and ‘The complaint of the rhapsodic Syrian refugee’ (original on YouTube)
Christiana Kapetaneas is a junior double majoring in Biology, Health and Society, and Modern Greek Language and Culture. She plans on pursuing a career in the medical field as a physician. She is passionate about Greek culture and language and has always desired to learn more about her family history. She decided to translate poems that reflected the feelings that refugees experience throughout their lifetime because, during her college experience, she was given the opportunity to learn about the history of Greece and her own family's immigration stories, which both express similar emotional ties. She is planning on writing an honors thesis connecting medicine and Greek culture and history, combining both of her passions.
Anastasia Papageorgiou, ‘Wandering journal’ by Jacques Lacarrière, Hans Christian Andersen, and Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Anastasia Papageorgiou is a dual degree student through the School of Information and Literature Science and the Arts. She is pursuing majors in User Experience Design, Arts & Ideas in the Humanities, and Modern Greek with a minor in Computer Science. After completing her undergraduate degree, she plans to complete her master’s in Human-Computer Interaction with the hope of one day working in the healthcare industry. Outside of class, she enjoys reading, drawing, attending hockey games, and spending time with her friends.
Asian Languages and Cultures
Undergraduate Student
Michael Delphia, ‘Nogi Sanzetsu’ by Nogi Maresuke
Michael (Mikey) Kosei Delphia is a junior majoring in Asian Studies, Economics, and History. His primary research interest is the Japanese Empire and how its history intersects with migration, ethnic relations, and mass politics. In the future, he hopes to work toward a PhD in history and research transnational interactions in northeast Asia.
Middle East Studies
Graduate Students
Nour Kazbour, ‘Master of the Taa‘biin’ by Sa‘eed bin al-Musayyib
Nour Kazbour is currently a dual J.D candidate and M.A. in Arabic studies candidate. She studied Arabic every semester of her undergraduate studies where she developed a passion for the language. She aims to bridge her law degree with her Arabic studies in order to offer specialized services for the Arab-American and Muslim-American communities.
Allen Kendall, Job 40
Allen Kendall just finished his fifth year in the Interdepartmental Program in Ancient History and is a member of the Judaic Studies graduate certificate program. His research interests typically focus on gender power and perceptions of monarchy in Egypt and the Levant. He is writing a dissertation (tentatively titled "The Shifting Nature of Ptolemaic Queenship") that examines the changing roles and growing power of Ptolemaic royal women over the course of the dynasty, focusing on what precisely it meant to be "queen" in this period.
