Classical Religious News
Department Chair Professor Joe Rife elected a member of German Archaeological Institute
Jan. 21, 2026—We are pleased to announce that Prof. Joe Rife has been elected a Corresponding Member of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, the research institution under Germany’s Federal Foreign Office with several branches located globally. The position is a rare honor bestowed on select foreign scholars. In Joe’s case the membership recognizes his ongoing and emerging collaborations with the Universities of...
Principal Senior Lecturer Chiara Sulprizio awarded inaugural award from the Archaeological Institute of America’s Outreach & Education Committee
Jan. 14, 2026—The department is delighted to share that Chiara Sulprizio is the recipient of the inaugural Silver Public Engagement Award for the 2024-25 academic year from the Archaeological Institute of America’s Outreach & Education Committee. This award recognizes the broad and important range of outreach conducted by AIA members, which benefits a range of non-specialist audiences including...
Classical and Mediterranean Studies hosts international colloquium on Latin philology
Oct. 13, 2025—The Vanderbilt Department of Classical and Mediterranean Studies hosted an international colloquium on September 29 and 30, with scholars visiting from the U.S. and Europe to share work on Latin philology, textual criticism, and commentary-writing. Supported by a grant from Vanderbilt’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation, Prof. James Zainaldin organized the colloquium, building on the success of...
Assistant Professor James Zainaldin publishes Cambridge monograph on Roman “arts and sciences”
Feb. 21, 2025—The Department congratulates James Zainaldin on the publication in the past week of his monograph The artes and the Emergence of a Scientific Culture in the Early Roman Empire with Cambridge University Press! Zainaldin’s book reconsiders ancient Latin writings on disciplines including medicine, architecture, agriculture, land-surveying, and the art of war to make a new argument for the...
Assistant Professor James Zainaldin wins international research scholarship
Jan. 13, 2025—Professor James Zainaldin has received a junior research scholarship from the Fondation Hardt pour l’étude de l’antiquité classique in Geneva, Switzerland, to support a scholarly stay at the the Fondation’s world-renowned research library. Professor Zainaldin will be visiting the Fondation Hardt later in 2025 to advance his research on the ancient Greek and Roman traditions...
Senior Lecturer Jason Harris receives the Harriet S. Gilliam Award for Excellence in Teaching
Dec. 13, 2024—Jason Harris has received the 2024 Harriet S. Gilliam Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Lecturer or Senior Lecturer. The award recognizes a continuing-track faculty member on a full-time, multi-year contract who has achieved excellence in teaching undergraduates. The Department congratulates and thanks Prof. Harris for his many years of mentoring students, increasing enrollments, and...
Undergrad Eleanor Vander Laan ’24 wins the 2024 Cooley Prize
Apr. 23, 2024—On April 22, 2024, the Department of Classical and Mediterranean studies presented Eleanor Vander Laan with a new award to recognize academic excellence and extraordinary service by a graduating senior major. They are a graduating senior majoring in Classical and Mediterranean Studies, as well as Educational Studies and History. Eleanor maintained a perfect GPA across...
Assistant Professor Katherine D. Van Schaik Publishes New Book
Jan. 12, 2024—In How to Be Healthy, Adjoint Assistant Professor of Classical and Mediterranean Studies and Vanderbilt University Medical Center practicing physician Katherine D. Van Schaik presents a collection of Galen’s enduring insights about how we can take care of our bodies and minds, prevent disease, and reach a healthy old age. The second-century Greek physician Galen—the most...