Vassar Info News

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY—Robert Pounder, professor emeritus of classics and currently special assistant to the President of Vassar College, will reflect on the personal and professional lives of four archaeologists, two of whom were Vassar alumnae, on Thursday, December 10. His lecture “Bert & Ida & Carl & Libbie: Four Lives in Archaeology,” sponsored by the Classics Department, is free and open to the public and will begin at 5:30pm in Taylor Hall (room 203).

Pounder’s lecture will shed light on the lives of four archaeologists who also comprised two prominent American academic couples—Bert Hodge Hill and Ida Thallon Hill (Vassar class of 1897), and Carl Blegen and Elizabeth Pierce Blegen (Vassar class of 1910). He will discuss their individual as well as collective influence on the progress of archaeology in Greece in the first half of the 20th century.

Ida Thallon Hill was Elizabeth Pierce Blegen’s professor during her freshmen year at Vassar. The two traveled together to Greece for archaeological research, where they met their future partners Bert Hodge Hill and Carl Blegen. After they married, the couples all lived together for the rest of their lives.

Pounder is currently working on a book on the academic and intimate personal relationships between the Hills and the Blegens, while also examining their influence on the study of Greek archaeology in early 20th century.

About Robert Pounder

Robert Pounder, professor emeritus of classics, first came to Vassar College to fill a temporary one-year position in 1973, while completing a Ph.D. degree at Brown University. In 1975 Pounder returned to Vassar for a permanent position, after briefly working as assistant to the director of the American School of Classical Studies in Greece.

In the late 1970s, Pounder created a very successful Greek archaeology survey course for the Classics Department. His main academic interest is the study of Greek inscriptions and has published many articles, reviews, and essays in such esteemed journals as Hesperia; The American Journal of Archaeology; Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies; The American Historical Review; and the Yale Review. He is currently working on a book on the four archaeologists featured in this lecture.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available. Directions to the Vassar campus are available online at www.vassar.edu/directions.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.