Dave Oosterhuis, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Department Chair of Classical Civilizations

Dave Oosterhuis joined the faculty of Classical Civilizations at Gonzaga in the fall of 2010 and is excited to be part of a growing and dynamic department. He holds a BA (University of Iowa, 1992) and an MA in Classics (University of Minnesota, 2003),...

Portrait of David Oosterhuis, Ph.D.

Contact Information

  • Office Hours Fall 2024

    Mondays & Wednesdays: 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
    Tuesdays & Thursdays: 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.

    and by appointment. 

  • (509) 313-6873

Education & Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D. in Classical and Near Eastern Studies, University of Minnesota, 2007

M.A. in Classics, University of Minnesota, 2003

B.A. in Classics, University of Iowa, 1992


Dave Oosterhuis joined the faculty of Classical Civilizations at Gonzaga in the fall of 2010 and is excited to be part of a growing and dynamic department. He holds a BA (University of Iowa, 1992) and an MA in Classics (University of Minnesota, 2003), and a PhD from the University of Minnesota in Classical and Near Eastern Studies (2007). Before coming to Gonzaga he taught at Macalester College and the University of Saint Thomas, both in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He also taught Latin at Eden Prairie High School. He has spent two summers in Rome, one studying Latin and the other in the American Academy’s Summer Program in Archaeology. As part of the latter he participated in the joint SUNY-Buffalo/Univeritá di Siena excavations at Bomarzo in northern Lazio, an experience that, although enjoyable, reinforced his vocation as a philologist, not an archaeologist. As a former high school Latin teacher he believes strongly in outreach and has continued to visit schools and lecture on topics related to the ancient world. He has also spent five summers with Upward Bound programs, teaching disadvantaged high-schoolers the basics of Greek and Latin. His specialties are Augustan Rome and its reception, the poet Vergil and the body of literature around him (including biographies, commentaries, and apocrypha), the portrayal of ancient Rome in popular culture, and musical reception of the Classics.