Research at Brandeis

The Brandeis libraries house many materials that are of interest to the Classical scholar.

Research Fellows


The Eunice M. Lebowitz Cohen Fellowship in Classical Studies

Map of Rome in 14 C.E.
Map of Rome in 14 C.E. (the time of Augustus' death), marble, 1932, on brick wall in front of the Basilica of Constantine, Rome (Photo by Ann Raia, 1999), courtesy of the VRoma Project.

The Eunice M. Lebowitz Cohen Fellowship in Classical Studies is an exciting offering from our most generous donor. Classical studies majors (and in some cases, minors) are eligible to compete for one of four slots as year-long Lebowitz Cohen Fellows. In this, the program's third year, we will select up to four fellows who will work toward completion of a classics research or creative project, in conjunction with a Classicist Faculty Mentor (one from our current faculty or, in special cases, a classicist from another department).

You create the project. Here are some possibilities to give you a sense of how narrowly-defined, ambitious or academic your project can be:
  • Read one writer or one work in depth, in Ancient Greek or Latin, and write a research paper
  • Design a new classical studies course, complete with bibliography and syllabus
  • Annotate an epic or other major work of history, science or literature for uploading as a Web page on the classical studies Web site
  • Compile a source book on one aspect of Classical history and host a spring symposium on the topic
  • Compile a portrait of a famous Roman or Greek using all of the Classical fields: art, archaeology, architecture, drama, history, language, literature, philosophy, poetry, prose, etc.
  • Read or translate Greek and Latin poetry and put together a bi- or tri-lingual spring reading of poems for the Brandeis public
  • Create a Trojan Horse, Roman temple or Greek theatre
  • Stage a Greek or Roman play in the original language or in English, using your own or another's translation
  • Compile a source book of modern poems with classical themes; analyze their derivation and reliance on Classics to express the Modern
  • Research a group of objects from the Ancient Artifact Study Center

Each fellow will meet with their mentor on a monthly basis throughout the academic year, and is expected to complete a tangible project to be submitted no later than May 15. Fellows and mentors will meet as a group for dinner twice each semester to discuss the rigors of research, the serendipitous discovery, what to do when your research carries you away from your work and academic scholarship in general.
The last of these events gives fellows an opportunity to present their research to the group.

The fellowship stipend is $750; reimbursement for modest research expenses will be considered. Applications are due at the end of March, with selections announced in mid-April. The program officially runs each academic year from fall through spring.

The Department of Classical Studies is pleased to accept applications for the 2011-12 Eunice M. Lebowitz Cohen Fellowship in Classical Studies. Please download the following three forms: Information, Application, and Mentor/Recommender. If you have any further questions, please contact Heidi McAllister.

A list of current Eunice M. Lebowitz Cohen Fellows can be accessed on our Prizes & Awards page.

 

Scholarships and Fellowship Opportunities at Brandeis

Most scholarships and fellowships offered to undergraduates who have matriculated at Brandeis are coordinated by the Office of Academic Services.  See their Web site for further information about scholarships and fellowships to support your research in classical studies.

If you plan to conduct Classical research at Brandeis, in addition to the Eunice M. Lebowitz Cohen Fellowship program, you should consider the following programs run by Academic Services:

Photo of students
Lee Marmor ’10, Sarah Costrell ‘10, and Caitlin Dichter ’10 repair an ancient Greek libation vase (a lekythos).
Lee Marmor ’10 (now an M.A. student in classical archaeology at Tufts University), Sarah Costrell ‘10 (now a post-bac in math at Smith College), and Caitlin Dichter ’10 (now an M.A. student in museum studies at George Washington University) were interns at the Classical Artifact Research Collection (CLARC) in 2009-10.

They won a highly competitive research grant for a project on “Leisure and Pleasure in the Ancient Greek and Roman World."  The students created a prize-winning poster and mounted a stunning exhibit in the Brandeis library (selected from more than 800 ancient objects in CLARC).

Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow supervises the work of CLARC interns in a pre-professional program designed for students interested in museum work generally, artifact preservation and conservation, creation of a digital object database, photography, and collection management. At most universities, such opportunities would only be available to graduate students.