Division of Humanities & Social Sciences

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Dr. Sarolta Takács is a Professor in History and holds a B.A. in Classics from the University of California, Irvine, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Los Angeles. She taught at the University of Oregon, at the University of California, Los Angeles, Harvard University, and, before coming to the College of Staten Island, at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. At Harvard University, Dr. Takács served as an academic dean in residence (John Winthrop House) and at Rutgers University, she was the founding dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program and most recently the Director of the Modern Greek Studies Program. 

Dr. Takács’ research focuses on aspects of Roman and Byzantine history. One of her most recent books, published by Cambridge University Press (The Construction of Authority in Ancient Rome and Byzantium. The Rhetoric of Empire), deals with the power of rhetoric, how words and notions of virtue shaped the ancient but also our modern political discourse.  Another of her books, Vestal Virgins, Sibyls, and Matrons: Women in Roman Religion (University of Texas Press), looks at Roman women and the role they played maintaining Rome's socio-political structure as well as the understanding of the Roman self by means of religious rituals. Dr. Takács believes in the importance of making historical knowledge accessible to all levels of learners. In this spirit, she oversaw the creation of two sets of dictionaries, one for the ancient and the other for the modern world (ten volumes altogether), that introduce high school students to civilizations of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and the Americas (The Ancient World and The Modern World, M.E. Sharpe). Presently, Dr. Takács is exploring ancient Roman perception of space as well as the integration of computer generated modeling in the humanities and social sciences. 

As the daughter of a political refugee, an immigrant herself, and the first of her family to go to college, Dr. Takács is passionate about learning, knowing first-hand what it means to have access to educational opportunities that are deeply transformative.