UNDER CONSTRUCTION👷‍♀️⚒️

In crafting this collection of assignments in anticipation of this portfolio, I wanted to ensure that I had a variety of different kinds of media. In my time at Skidmore I have written dozens of papers, many of which in my Classics courses. While I am proud of the work I have done, perusing a portfolio that is entirely academic papers was not an experience I wished to bestow upon a reader of my work. Rather, I wanted for the readers of this site to have an immersive experience that blends both academic and creatively driven pieces of work. I have completed many assignments over the course of my education. Especially for Classics I had many different projects to choose from in curating this portfolio. So, whether it was a podcast, an essay, a StoryMap, or a presentation, the pieces I selected ensured that the spread of my work was not too monotonous.

As I previously stated, I wanted variety in my work. Variety to the point that no two pieces were too similar. If you have already read about one essay, what would persuade you to read about another? The seven pieces I chose were all created between the fall of my sophomore year and the fall of my senior year. The idea is that with each project, the scope and goal would become bigger, more complex. For example, my first piece, the Homeric Hymn to Eurydice, was a humble project. It had few components which took considerably less time to craft than the next assignment, an essay titled, “Not Just a Fanfiction: A Cross-Comparison of the Aeneid and the Odyssey.” My hope was to show how with each assignment, the effort required, and the time committed would compound, showing my commitment to both the major and my passions.

I considered many different orders to place my works in, and all of them had merit. I could have placed them in order of favor, but that suggests to a reader that there are pieces more worth engaging than others, which simply is not true. I considered placing them in order of size, from smallest commitment to largest, but I felt that as the larger projects go, there would be no discernable pattern to a point, and I did not want to risk the portfolio appearing haphazardous, which is also far from true. I settled on the idea of chronology. As someone who loves archaeology, chronology is a pattern that I am drawn to, with the idea of growth, change, and evolution feeling familiar. There really was no competition in whether I would choose ascending time or descending time because I wanted to display my earlier work first in order to showcase the complexity of later work, so that my very own evolution could become apparent.

What do I want people to take away from the portfolio? Firstly, I want them to recognize how academia has changed. Older generations of scholars are more familiar with traditional projects. They are more familiar with an essay or a thesis on a complex topic that takes weeks and weeks to write, an oral presentation, or some other well loved, but overdone form of project. I know that many current professors, even many at Skidmore, are more inclined to use these projects in their pedagogical approaches, however what the Skidmore College Classics Department has allowed for me to do is explore my interests in non-conventional ways. Through the department I have been able to curate and record podcasts, explore ancient Roman culture through Minecraft, and present on site at historical monuments in both Italy and Greece. Academia is no longer limited to the traditional methods of showcasing one’s learning, and my academic history corroborates that.

Secondly, I hope that from this portfolio people are able to see how my interests have evolved over the course of my education. In my early years at Skidmore I was solely interested in Roman art, religion, and culture. This is prevalent when looking at pieces such as my “Not just a Fanfiction” and my temple of Vesta presentation. However, starting in my Junior year I start to explore Greek art, religion, and culture through projects such as the “Votives With Motives” podcast and ultimately my capstone, Cassandra as a Muse. If you had told me in freshman year that my capstone would be focused on a Greek mythological figure, I would never have believed you. The expansion of my academic palate is shown so beautifully within this portfolio.

As I approach the end of my time at Skidmore, I realize that soon I may be ending my journey studying Classics. I do not have an official plan as of yet for continuing my education, and it is likely that Classics may not be where I pursue a higher degree, so part of the purpose of this portfolio may be wrapping up the experience all together. In many ways I have the Classics Department to thank for keeping me exactly where I needed to be so that I could grow into the student I became. Part of the reason why I stayed at Skidmore after my first year was the opportunities that the Classics Department provided for me. The ability to travel and explore my interests beyond Skidmore was a highlight of my Classics education. Wherever I end up, I hope that I will have as many opportunities to learn alternatively and express my learning in creative formats as this department has given me.