May 14, 1999
Professor Davina McClain gears up for exciting summer
by Richard Hipp, A’00–Intern in the Office of Publications and Public Affairs
Loyola
Classical Studies Chair T. Davina McClain will conduct “Context of
Greek Myth,” a Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute
for Teachers, during the summer. McClain is one of three Loyola professors
chosen to offer a 1999 LEH Summer Institute. McClain’s institute
is offered for elementary, middle, and high school teachers; librarians;
and administrators to develop in-depth understanding of the historical,
social, literary, and world contexts of Greek myth. Participants will
use both traditional sources and on-line resources on Greek history, culture,
literature, and myth. The class includes in-class work, a trip to the
New Orleans Museum of Art to view a collection of Greek art, and a trip
to the French Market to search for Mardi Gras doubloons with mythological
themes. McClain was encouraged to apply for the institute by Professor
of History Mark Fernandez who taught an LEH institute last summer.
McClain, originally from Texas, received two concurrent bachelor’s degrees, one in classical studies and one in history in 1986 from Trinity University. Two years later she earned a master’s in Latin, and in 1994, a Ph.D. in classical studies, both from Indiana University. She says her interest in classical studies was sparked by four years of taking Latin in high school. She had known that she had wanted to teach since third grade, but it was not until taking Latin that she knew what she wanted to teach. While at Trinity University she had a history professor named John Martin who she says helped her develop as a scholar by making her rewrite a journal submission eight times. But it was a geology professor who urged her to go to graduate school. “I’ve tried to follow their lead in my own teaching and encouragement of students,” she says.
While at Indiana University, she began teaching. From 1987 to 1994 McClain served as an associate instructor for the department of classical studies. After leaving Indiana she became a visiting assistant professor at Hobart and William Smith colleges. She came to Loyola in 1995 and became the chair of the classical studies department at the beginning of the fall 1998 semester. She says coming to Loyola has been a very rewarding experience, and she would like to complete her teaching career at Loyola. “I love having the opportunity to work in this department,” she says. About living in New Orleans she says, “It’s a place that offers a lot of opportunities and a lot of distractions.”
Since she has been here, she and Professor Connie Rodriguez have rewritten the classical studies curriculum and brought Eta Sigma Phi, the classical studies honors society, to Loyola. She also arranged to bring the Aquila Theatre Company to Loyola for a performance of Aristophanes’ The Birds as part of the Biever Lecture series. With the re-establishment of the major three years ago, the classical studies program has now grown to 22 majors and 12 minors.
The worst thing about being at Loyola University and in New Orleans is the fact that she has to be separated from her husband who teaches at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. But the separation has offered opportunity: she will be taking three Loyola students to Italy and Greece on a program run by St. Anselm College. St. Anselm has run a study session in Italy and Greece for three years, and McClain and her husband have now brought the two schools together to allow Loyola students the opportunity to see Italy and Greece. McClain, who has only been to Italy once and never been to Greece, is also looking forward to the experience.
McClain has many areas of special interest including historiography, women’s studies, Latin literature, and the Greek novel. She has contributed many essays to various periodicals focusing on classical studies and has written a book, Livy: Book 1, with Julia Haig Gaisser for Bryn Mawr Commentaries. She is also currently working on a book titled The Depiction of Women in Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita. She has taught classes on the Latin and Greek languages, directed readings of famous classical writers such as Livy, Virgil, Ovid, and Plato, and has developed courses on Greek culture, Roman culture, and the ancient novel. She is a member of the American Philological Association, Classical Association of the Middle West and South, American Classical League, and Louisiana Classical Association.
“The students here are wonderful and individual and the more willing they are to be themselves the easier it is to work with them and challenge them and help them do whatever they want to do with their lives,” she says.