Lectures in English

Giorgi Barnabishvili is an M.A. student in Ancient Languages and Civilisations at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. He serves as Head of the Student Club at the Institute of Classical, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. In addition, he teaches Classical Civilisations, as well as World and Georgian History, at the European School (ASAS – American School of Advanced Studies). His research focuses on Xenophon’s Anabasis and Cyropaedia, examining their ethnical conceptualisations and the interplay between Xenophon’s works, other Greek historiographical perspectives, and Eastern sources.

Robert Conn received his M.A. in Classical Archaeology from Florida State University and his Ph.D in Classical Civilizations from the University of Florida. As a founding faculty member of Thaden School in Bentonville, AR, and the inaugural chair of the World Languages department, he cultivated a curriculum that has emphasized spoken Latin since the school’s inception in 2017. He is dedicated to integrating archaeology into his teaching, co-developing innovative courses such as The Culinary and Cultural Roots of Western Civilization. His interdisciplinary courses and projects bridge language, history, and archaeology, and he fosters engagement through student-centered activities, including games and a spoken Latin lunch, which is the focus of his talk this year.

James Karlin earned his BA in Classics from Kenyon College, with intensive coursework in Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit, and his MA in Eastern Classics from St. John’s College, where he studied the great books of India, China, and Japan, along with Classical Chinese. While his deepest academic passion lies in ancient texts and archeology, he practices the liberal arts pedagogical ideal of cultivating wonder and excellence across many disciplines, and has taught sixth through twelfth grade language, literature, history, arts, and science classes at classical charter schools and Jewish day schools for nearly a decade. Mr. Karlin currently leads Emet Classical Academy’s Classical Languages department.

Will Knispel is a junior at Ridgefield High School in Ridgefield, Connecticut. He is currently enrolled in Latin IV Honors as part of the University of Connecticut’s Early College Experience (ECE). This past summer, he participated in the Paideia Institute’s Living Latin in Rome High School program. Prior to high school, Will began learning Latin in his spare time with his older siblings. Over the past two years, he has earned maxima cum laude and summa cum laude distinctions on the National Latin Exam.

Will is the founder, on-site coordinator, and sole teacher for Connecticut’s first and only location of the Paideia Institute’s Teaching Literacy with Latin program. He is now in his second year of volunteering at the Danbury Grassroots Academy in Danbury, Connecticut, where he teaches Latin language and culture to selected at-risk students. Last year, Will taught seventh-grade students, and this year he has expanded the program to include both seventh and eighth-grade students. He prides himself on teaching Latin in an accessible, engaging way through interactive lessons and hands-on activities.

As a certified Emergency Medical Responder and aspiring physician, Will particularly enjoys studying the intersection of medicine, health, and the Roman Empire.