Dr. Ray Van Dam to Lecture on Rome and Constantinople

by Jaime Bates, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

Dr. Ray Van Dam, history professor at the University of Michigan, will give two lectures on "Rome and Constantinople: Rewriting Roman History during Late Antiquity" at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, and Thursday, Feb. 26, in Kayser Auditorium at Baylor University Hankamer School of Business. The Charles Edmondson Historical Lecture Series is sponsored by the Baylor history department and is free and open to the public.

Van Dam received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University in 1977. He is currently the director of the Interdepartmental Program in Greek and Roman History and adjunct professor in the department of classical studies and department of near Eastern studies, at the University of Michigan. He specializes in the late Roman Empire, religion and society, as well as the Greek East under Roman rule.

Van Dam is the author of several books, including Families and Friends in Late Roman Cappadocia, Becoming Christian: The Conversion of Roman Cappadocia and his latest book, The Roman Revolution of Constantine.

The Charles Edmondson Lecture series began in 1977 and is funded by an endowment established by Dr. E. Bud Edmondson of Longview, Texas, to honor his father, Charles S. B. Edmondson.

"The lecture series aims to bring a distinguished historian to Baylor who is at the forefront of his field," said Dr. Ken Jones, assistant professor of classics and history at Baylor. "The lectures offer an opportunity for our guest to share important research with the Baylor community and our faculty and students to make contact with an eminent scholar in their field of interest."

"I hope that those in attendance will gain a greater appreciation for a pivotal point in ancient history as the Roman Empire came to be a Christian empire," said Jones.

For more information on the lecture, visit www.baylor.edu/history or contact Ken Jones at (245) 710-6299.