spotlight
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...
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...