For more information, contact Ken Wolf, LAMS Coordinator


LAMS as a Field of Study

LAMS as a scholarly field is dedicated to a deeper understanding of the greater Mediterranean worlds of Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Early Modern period. Modeled on Classics, LAMS is multi-disciplinary, focused on the Mediterranean and Near East, and grounded in the original languages. Picking up where Classics traditionally leaves off, LAMS examines the history and culture of the Greek, Latin, and Arabic heirs to the Roman and Persian empires up into the seventeenth century. As a result, LAMS provides the "big picture" for 1) the rise of Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism, and Islam; 2) their interactions with one another; and 3) their processing of the Hellenistic, Roman, Persian, and "Germanic" cultural legacies. This approach to the medieval studies in consistent with some of the most recent trends in the field, as illustrated by a recent Roundtable sponsored by the American Historical Association (March 23, 2021): "Teaching the Medieval as Mediterranean: Reorienting the Metanarrative"


LAMS as a major at the Claremont Colleges

LAMS as a major is administered by the Classics department at Pomona College, but students from any of the Claremont Colleges may major in LAMS. Harvey Mudd students who want to pursue a LAMS major would normally do so as part of a double major.

To complete the LAMS major, a student is required to complete Nota bene:
The LAMS thesis is a year-long project. A thesis proposal (which also identifies the primary and secondary readers) is due on April 15 of the junior year and the thesis itself is due on April 15 of the senior year. The LAMS thesis should be modeled on the scholarly articles that appear in the principal medieval studies journal in the United States, Speculum: it should, in the end, be about the same length and "density" as a Speculum article and it should be formatted according to the Speculum style sheet. LAMS students are especially encouraged to use their theses to showcase their linguistic skills (particularly in Greek, Latin, or Arabic) to their theses.

Nota bene:

LAMS as a minor at the Claremont Colleges

To complete the LAMS minor, a student is required to complete Nota bene: Students may not count toward the LAMS Minor any course used to satisfy the requirements for their major.


LAMS faculty at the Claremont Colleges

History

Shane Bjornlie (History, Claremont McKenna College): Late antique and early medieval history

Heather Ferguson (History, Claremont McKenna College): Early Islam, Ottoman Empire

Carina Johnson (History, Pitzer College): Habsburg Empire

Corey Tazzara (History, Scripps College): Early Modern Italy

Ken Wolf (History & Classics, Pomona College): Medieval Mediterranean history, medieval Christianity


Literature

Marino Forlino (Italian, Scripps College): Italian, Renaissance literature

Jordan Kirk (English, Pomona College): Medieval English literature

Tessie Prakas (English, Scripps College): Early Modern English literature

Ellen Ketels (Literature, Claremont McKenna College): Medieval English literature

Colleen Rosenfeld (English, Pomona College): Early Modern English literature


Religious Studies

Ahmed Alwishah (Philosophy, Pitzer College): Medieval Islamic Philosophy

Esther Chung-Kim (Religious Studies, Claremont McKenna College): Reformation

Gary Gilbert (Religious Studies, Claremont McKenna College): Judaism and Early Christianity

Luis Sales (Religious Studies, Scripps College): Non-Western early Christianities

Jamel Velji (Religious Studies, Claremont McKenna College): Medieval Islam, apocalypticism

Dan Watling (Religious Studies, Pomona College): Medieval Islam


Archaeology, Art, and Music

Michelle Berenfeld (Classics, Pitzer College): Late Antique art and archaeology

Donna Di Grazia (Music, Pomona College): Renaissance music history

George Gorse (Art History, Pomona College): Renaissance art and architecture


Affiliated Faculty

Chris Chinn (Classics, Pomona College): Latin literature

Chanchal Dadlani (Art History, Pomona College): Islamic and South Asian Art

Nicola Denzey Lewis (Religion, Claremont Graduate School): Late Antiquity

Bassam Frangieh (Arabic, Claremont McKenna College): Arabic and Arabic literature

Benjamin Keim (Classics, Pomona College): ancient Greek history

Ryan Milov-Cordoba (Classics, Scripps College): Arabo-Greek philosophy

Richard McKirahan (Classics, Pomona College): ancient Greek philosophy

Arash Khazeni (History, Pomona College): Middle Eastern, South Asian history

David Roselli (Classics, Scripps College): Greek literature


Current LAMS Students (majors and minors) at the Claremont Colleges








LAMS Emeriti




























LAMS as an Inter-Collegiate Scholarly Community

The primary purpose of LAMS is to provide a cohesive, inventive undergraduate curriculum that embodies the goals of a liberal arts education. But LAMS has also hosted symposia and workshops on specific topics. The first of these (LAMS I, 2013) focused on the "Life and Legacy of Constantine," in commemoration of the 1,700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, and featured a keynote address by Ray Van Dam. The theme of the second (LAMS II, 2015) was "Religious Boundary Maintenance" with Brian Catlos as the keynote speaker. The third such gathering (LAMS III, 2017), co-hosted by the Mediterranean Seminar, was titled "Culture Wars," with keynote addresses by Michael Bonner and Yitzhak Hen. LAMS IV (2019) featured a reunion of professors and current graduate students each of whom was once an undergraduate at one of the Claremont Colleges. The theme was, appropriately enough, "Legacies," and the keynote speakers, all alumni of Pomona College, were Robert E. Bjork (Arizona State), John Eldevik (Hamilton College), Adam Schor (University of South Carolina), and Adam Goldwyn (North Dakota State). In September 2019, LAMS hosted a special "Equity in Academia" workshop," organized by three LAMS alumnae. It focused on the specific challenges faced by women pursuing academic careers.

               
               




LAMS also hosts occasional visits by scholars who give public presentations and attend LAMS courses.
  • Stephen Shoemaker (University of Oregon), "The Beginnings of Islam and the End of Days: Muhammad as Eschatological Prophet," January 30, 2012.
  • Fred M. Donner (University of Chicago), "The Origins of Islam, Revisited," Ena H. Thompson Lectureship, February 27 - March 4, 2012.
  • Mark Pegg (Washington University, St. Louis), "Violence as Redemption: Holiness, Heresy, and Persecution in the Middle Ages," November 5, 2012.
  • Teofilo Ruiz (UCLA), "The Other Middle Ages," Phi Beta Kappa Lecture, April 22, 2013.
  • Karen Sullivan (Bard College), "The Eucharist and the Holy Grail: The Sacrament and the Sacred in Medieval Literature," November 11, 2013.
  • Caroline Bruzelius (Duke),"Building on the Inquisition: How Poor Friars Paid for Expensive Churches in the Middle Ages," Phi Beta Kappa lecture, March 11, 2015.
  • Joshua Tate (SMU), "Magna Carta and the Origins of Due Process," September 14, 2015.
  • Roberta Morosini (Wake Forest), "The Poet, the Prophet, and the Painter: Visualizing Islam in Late Medieval Florence," October 10, 2017
  • Marcia Colish (Yale), "The Medieval University," November 6, 2017.
  • Christine Ames (University of South Carolina), "The Skeptical Inquirer: Asking about Heresy, Asking about Religion," March 26, 2018.
  • George Gorse (Pomona College), "A Republic Becomes a Monarchy: The Virgin Mary as 'Queen of Genoa,' 1637, A Global Iconography," September 23, 2018.
  • Luis Sales (Scripps College), "Normalizing Islamic Rule: Systems Intelligence (SI) and the Microbehavioral Cultivation of Permeable Christian Identities During the Umayyad Caliphate," October 9, 2018.
  • Caroline Winterer (Stanford University), "Are We Rome? What the Rise and Fall of Rome Tells Us about the Fate of America," April 15, 2019.
  • Glen Cooper (BYU), "'Render unto Galen the Things that are Caesar's!' The 'Body Politic' Metaphor in Arabo-Byzantine Medicine and Philosophy." October 25, 2021.
  • John Eldevik (Hamilton College): "Wonder and Power: Prester John and the Global Imagination in Twelfth-century Europe," September 26, 2022.
  • Ana C. Núñez (Stanford University, doctoral candidate): "Queens of the Medieval Holy Land: Female Rule & Political Culture in the Kingdom of Jerusalem." January 29, 2025.











For more information, contact Ken Wolf, LAMS coordinator




Alumni Trips

Since 1999 the Pomona College Alumni Travel Program has been sponsoring alumni trips with specifically medieval themes. The walking trips are designed by Peter Watson (Duende Travel) in consultation with Ken Wolf. For photos from these expeditions, click on the link below.

Scholarly Resources and Tools

Opportunities for LAMS students
    Journals for Publishing Undergraduate Research

  • Vexillum: The Undergraduate Journal of Classical and Medieval Studies
  • Dies Legibiles: An Undergraduate Journal of Medieval Studies (Smith College)
  • Sententiae, Harvard's undergraduate Medieval Studies journal
  • a list of journals that publish undergraduate research (University of North Carolina)
  • another list of journals that publish undergraduate research (University of Nebraska)

    Summer Programs

  • Yale Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship: the Religious Studies Department ay Yale is happy to participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program which provides current undergraduates with the opportunity to learn about the kind of work one can expect to do in graduate school in Religious Studies. Successful applicants interested in any field of Religious Studies would spend eight weeks in June and July at Yale and would work closely with a faculty mentor. During their time at Yale, the student would conduct research on a topic of their choosing in a field of Religious Studies and would produce a paper.

  • Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) at UC Irvine: UC Irvine's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program offers undergraduate and master's diversity students an opportunity to work closely with faculty mentors on research projects and provides an intense course of graduate preparation workshops. The program, which is designed for students who plan to pursue a Ph.D. or M.F.A. degree and enter academic careers, provides the tools needed to facilitate application, admission, and enrollment to graduate school. The SURF program is open to virtually all academic fields at UC Irvine. Qualified students with interest in pursuing their graduate program at UC Irvine are especially encouraged to apply. Testimonial from a LAMS student who actually experienced this program: "The eight week program consists of graduate school prep and research itself. Students are required to write research statements and personal statements. They are also required to take a GRE course and the GRE itself (both of which are paid for by the program). Students also participate in their own independent research, which culminates in a research symposium where participants present on their research. The stipend is $4000 and housing is included."

  • Archaeological Institute of America, Undergraduate Fieldwork Scholarship: The Los Angeles County Society of the AIA invites applications from current local student members for 2 scholarships for $1,000 each. This award to support participation in an archaeological field project in summer or fall of 2019, with preference given to those without prior field experience. These scholarships are to assist undergraduates gain their first field experience to explore professional training and a career in an archaeology-related field, and to encourage student membership in the AIA ($40: http://www.archaeological.org/join). Awards can be used to cover any eligible expenses (upon presentation of receipts) including travel, accommodation or tuition costs directly related to fieldwork participation. Student awardees will submit a brief report about their project at the AIA-LAC Fall Garden Party and in the LA County Society Newsletter. Please send applications (cover letter with narrative, completed form) to: Paul D. Scotton (paul.scotton@csulb.edu)

  • The Leonard E. Boyle, O.P. Toronto-Rome Diploma Programme in Manuscript Studies: PIMS (The Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies) has long enjoyed a reputation for providing the best training possible in those technical fields that made its students uniquely qualified to pursue original research amongst the manuscript survivals from the medieval period, namely, Latin Palaeography, Diplomatics, Codicology, and Textual Editing. Over the last decade and more, the Institute has transformed itself into a research institution offering fellowships to young post-doctoral students and visiting scholars. But the Institute has now developed a new curriculum that will make training in these technical disciplines available again, and in an expanded fashion, leading to a formal credential in Manuscript Studies. The programme is open to all qualified applicants who feel they would benefit from it: those just embarking upon their graduate careers who realize that such training would be a valuable precursor to the work they are soon to undertake; those already enrolled in graduate programmes elsewhere who have recognized the need to acquire skills that their own programmes do not provide; those who have already earned their degrees and are in full-time posts but may be looking to enrich themselves. Given that many of these potential applicants will have other obligations during the fall and spring semesters, this new programme in Manuscript Studies is designed to run in the form of intensive summer courses in order to make it accessible to as many candidates as possible.

    Language Programs

  • U.C. Berkeley Greek and Latin Summer Workshops: Since their founding over forty years ago, the Workshops have successfully guided thousands of students to basic proficiency in Greek and Latin. Our time-tested formula prepares students to enter directly into upper-level language classes—or simply to continue reading texts on their own. Replacing more than two semesters of regular language work, these immersive ten-week programs require a significant commitment of time and intellectual energy. In the first six weeks, students master the essentials of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary; in the last four weeks, they put their new knowledge to work reading extensively in selected texts (poetry and prose; students choose two of four options). In addition to six hours of class work every day, students are expected to spend several hours daily in study and homework preparation. Classes are small, though, and students can count on having plenty of individualized support throughout their journey. Beyond the classroom, guest lectures from distinguished Classics faculty members offer context and insight into cutting-edge research, and regular social events provide a venue for further discussion and camaraderie. In 2018 the Department will offer up to eight tuition rebates of $3,000. Two of these are reserved for UC Berkeley students, while the rest are open to all.

  • Catholic University of America: graduate programs in Greek and Latin with a Late Antique and Medieval focus

  • Middlebury Summer Study: Arabic: In the Arabic School, you'll master not only vocabulary and syntax, but how to use the language to engage effectively with Arab culture. The focus will be on Modern Standard Arabic during your five daily classroom hours, with optional sessions offered in colloquial dialects such as Moroccan, Egyptian, and Syrian. Outside the classroom, you'll select from a wide array of in-language cocurricular activities—including calligraphy, cooking, cinema, music, and the Qur'an—each designed to help you build new vocabulary while developing cultural fluency. With connections to prominent universities across the globe, the Arabic School draws from among the leading scholars of the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the United States, and Canada. Our faculty will support you at every step, helping you perfect your Arabic as you dive into Arab culture for eight or six intensive and fruitful weeks. The Arabic School offers an MA degree program in Arabic studies or Arabic language pedagogy (TAFL).

  • Critical Ancient Hebrew, Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, online course: Ancient Hebrew is best known as the vehicle for religious texts in Judaism and related traditions: the Bible and its rabbinic commentaries, liturgical poetry, legal codes, and other religious genres. Hebrew literacy not only enriches one’s understanding of Judaism, but also early Christianity and other Jewish-Greek cultures. In this course, we will take a significant step in that direction, introducing ourselves to Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew in a rigorous, hands-on, reader-oriented way. We will cover the alphabet, grammar, morphology, syntax, and other linguistic features of both stages in ancient Hebrew, allowing students to read prose texts of the Bible and the ancient rabbis, such as the Book of Ruth and rabbis’ commentaries on biblical texts, as well as their own stories. Alongside a strong focus on the tools that students will need to read Jewish religious texts (which formed, in turn, not only Christianity, but also diverse cultures of the Jewish diaspora in Europe, North Africa, and around the world), we will explore Hebrew’s historical development in the context of its relationships to dominant languages and cultures. In this sense, Critical Ancient Hebrew is also an introduction to the history of the Israelites and the Jews as small minorities who formed cultural contact-zones within vast multiethnic empires. What can a study of the Hebrew language and its context teach us—not only about Hebraic history and culture, but also about the processes by which cultures and languages interact, conflict, and, across time, are mutually transformed? Critical Ancient Hebrew is organized across three, 12-week trimesters: Winter (February 15th–May 2nd), Summer (May 23rd-August 15th), and Fall (September 12th-December 12th). Students may enroll in the program in its entirety or on a trimester-by-trimester basis. Our textbook will be Thomas Lambdin’s Introduction to Biblical Hebrew and Miguel Pérez Fernández’s An Introductory Grammar of Rabbinic Hebrew, to be supplemented throughout by readings from the Hebrew Bible and its rabbinic commentaries. The class size is capped at 12 students. Enrollees will have the opportunity to enroll in specialized reading groups in Fall 2024. Payment plans are available; email info@thebrooklyninstitute.com for more information.

  • Turkish Language and Culture Program, Bogazici University (Istanbul) : In effect since 1982, the annual international summer program in Turkish Language and Culture is an accredited program which offers courses at three basic levels of language instruction taught by university staff specialized in teaching Turkish as a foreign language. The program provides intensive instruction in Turkish to adult learners while offering them an opportunity to have first-hand experience with the Turkish culture. Courses are offered at elementary, lower and upper intermediate and advanced levels with a minimum of 5 students. Class size is limited to approximately 10 students. Each level receives 160 hours of instruction during the program. Classes are held on weekdays 9am - 1pm. Students meet with their teaching assistants for one hour in the afternoons for free conversation. Weekly Turkish / English lectures are given by scholars specialized in their fields on various aspects of the Turkish culture ranging from economics, history, literature, fine arts, architecture and others. Weekly Turkish film sessions are scheduled for Monday afternoons. Participation in cultural events in the city and daily excursions to historic and/or recreational sites may be organized on demand and interest. The cost of these excursions is not included in the course fees.

    Post-Bac and Bridge Programs

  • Classical Studies post-baccalaureate program at Columbia: The Post-baccalaureate Certificate Program in Classics at Columbia University provides college graduates with the opportunity to improve their facility with ancient Greek and Latin, and to expand their knowledge concerning the ancient world. Designed primarily for students interested in preparing for graduate-level study of Classics or related disciplines such as Ancient History, Art and Archaeology, Philosophy, Religion, or Medieval Studies, the program also accommodates qualified individuals with different educational goals and professional objectives, such as careers in secondary education.

  • Classical Studies post-baccalaureate program at Penn: Prepare for graduate-level studies in Classical Studies, archaeology, ancient history or related fields with Penn's Classical Studies post-baccalaureate program. We offer Ivy League preparation in Greek and Latin to equip you for the post-secondary school application process and beyond. Our program is the oldest of its kind in the world and draws on Penn's resources - a leading Classical Studies Department, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology and the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts - to prepare you to become a competitive candidate. Our flexible program focuses on immersive, full-time study in residence for two semesters, during which you may choose Greek and Latin classes at a variety of levels. You may enroll in the program for up to four semesters, depending on your needs and developing interests. You are assigned to a dedicated faculty advisor who works closely with you to ensure you are taking the best classes for your needs and connects you to important resources both inside and outside of the University. Penn's Classical Studies department fosters a close community of scholars and professors and opens the doors to the ancient world.

  • The MICHHERS Program: The University of Michigan invites outstanding individuals underrepresented in their field of study to apply for the Michigan Humanities Emerging Research Scholars Program (MICHHERS). The MICHHERS program is designed to encourage undergraduate, recent B.A.s, and Master's students from diverse cultural, economic, geographic, and ethnic backgrounds to consider pursuing a doctorate degree in Humanities. Students interested in the fields of English, History, and Linguistics are eligible. This summer research experience will help students learn about the various fields within their chosen discipline along with the latest methodologies and developments from faculty in individual departments. Students will have the opportunity to work on a piece of their own scholarship in consultation with U-M faculty and graduate students in their field.

  • Minority Scholarship in Classics and Classical Archaeology: The Committee on Diversity in the Profession of the Society for Classical Studies (SCS) invites applications from minority undergraduate students from across North America for scholarships to be awarded for Summer 2019. The purpose of the scholarship is to further students' study of classics or classical archaeology with opportunities not available during the school year. Eligible proposals might include (but are not limited to) participation in classical summer programs or field schools in the Mediterranean or language training at institutions in the U.S., Canada, or Europe. The maximum amount of each award will be $4,500. Please note that there is an important change this year to the application requirements. We still require two letters of recommendation. However, we are no longer requiring that at least one letter come from a member of the SCS. Membership in SCS is not required for either of the letter-writers this year. We hope that this change will open up the scholarships to more applicants.

  • UCLA Post-Bac Scholarship: The Department of Classics at UCLA is pleased to announce the following opportunity designed to advance the department's goals of diversity and inclusion. The department is offering a one-year tuition scholarship for our post-baccalaureate program in Classics for the academic year 2022-2023, designed to benefit a promising candidate for graduate work who needs an extra year of preparation in the ancient languages before applying to graduate programs in Classical Studies. Members of groups who contribute to the University's diversity--including members of groups that have been historically and are presently underrepresented in the academy (e.g., racial and ethnic minorities and individuals from low income backgrounds)--are especially encouraged to apply. Applicants should have completed a bachelor's program or equivalent in Classics or a related field and must be legally authorized to work/study in the United States at the time of submitting the application.

    Masters Programs

  • Funded Masters in Early Christian Studies at Notre Dame: The M.A. degree in Early Christian Studies (ECS) is a two-year interdisciplinary program offered jointly by the Departments of Classics and Theology, with the participation of faculty in several other departments. The program is designed to prepare beginning graduate students for the advanced study of early Christianity and late antiquity in various disciplines and areas of interest. The program is multidisciplinary in its course offerings but interdisciplinary in its basic orientation. It provides training in philology, theology, history, liturgy, art history and philosophy. In addition, students pursue advanced studies in at least two ancient languages relevant for early Christianity (typically, Latin and/or Greek and/or Syriac and/or Hebrew and/or Arabic). Each student develops a curriculum to meet individual needs in consultation with the director of the ECS program and other faculty advisers.

  • Bridge MA in Classical Studies at Michigan: The Department of Classical Studies at the University of Michigan is pleased to announce an exciting opportunity for students interested in pursuing advanced degrees in Classical Studies. The Bridge MA degree program is a fully funded, three semester program designed to assist promising students in Classical Studies, Ancient Philosophy, Ancient History, or Greek and Roman Archaeology in developing the Ancient Greek and Latin language skills needed to pursue a PhD in Classical Studies."We are seeking exceptional students with demonstrated potential for graduate study. Individuals from non-traditional backgrounds, ethnically diverse cultures, or first generation college students are particularly encouraged to apply. Our goal is to attract diverse scholars with unique experiences who are likely to continue and make a valuable contribution to our PhD programs in Classical Studies."

  • Oxford MPhil in Islamic Studies and History: The course of study focuses on the political, social, and intellectual history of the central Islamic lands (Egypt, the Fertile Crescent, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Central Asia and Anatolia) up until c. 1800, and differs from analogous MPhil courses at other universities in the significance it places on language instruction in classical Arabic, Persian and Turkish, and the study of primary sources.

  • Ertegun (Oxford): Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities : A wonderful opportunity (recently enjoyed by one of our recently-graduated LAMSters) to spend a year doing graduate work at Oxford. Applications may be made by those in fields covered by the following Faculties: Classics (including classical archaeology); English Language and Literature; Fine Art (DPhil in Contemporary Art History and Theory only), History (including History of Art and the History of Architecture); Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics; Medieval and Modern Languages (covering most European languages and their literature); Music; Oriental Studies (including Far Eastern and Middle Eastern Studies, and the study of a wide range of languages); Philosophy; Theology and Religion; and the Film Aesthetics and Women's Studies interdisciplinary courses.

  • University of Edinburgh Masters' programs in Late Antique, Islamic, and Byzantine Studies: The Master's in Late Antique, Islamic and Byzantine Studies (LAIBS) offers you the opportunity to study a seminal period of world history, and the rich cultures of the long Late Antiquity and the Islamic and Byzantine Middle Ages, at an advanced level through taught courses and independent research. The programme involves two semesters of teaching followed by an individual research project and can be tailored to suit you.

  • MARS: Medieval and Renaissance Studies at University College London: This is a rigorous and friendly MA program based in Bloomsbury, in London, close to the British Library, the British Museum and a number of London’s important collections and libraries. The programme is interdisciplinary, with the chance to study medieval languages, palaeography, and book studies, as well as modules in history, literature, archaeology, and history of art, as well as research supervision in a wide range of disciplines. MARS make extensive use of London collections in its teaching. The MARS programme can be taken either full time over one year, or part-time over two years. Applicants are eligible for a range of scholarships. In addition to the programme-specific Chattaway scholarship, the UCL history department can distribute up to 6 Baxendale scholarships, which will cover the full home tuition fees for the year’s MA. All applicants to the MARS MA are eligible to be considered for these scholarships. Those who have been awarded a scholarship will be notified by the end of June.

  • Duke University: Master's in Digital Art History: The "Wired!" Lab at Duke University offers a Digital Art History track as part of the Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies' Master of Arts degree in Historical and Cultural Visualization. The 18-month Digital Art History program integrates historical disciplines and the study of cultural artifacts with digital visualization techniques for the analysis and presentation of research. The program builds on courses and well-developed strengths at Duke University, and requires 10 courses over three semesters in addition to summer research. Students affiliate with an existing faculty research initiative, from which they will develop their own independent research project for the M.A. thesis. Common themes that unite the various projects are the visualization of process, the representation of change over time, recontextualizing displaced objects and object biographies. The M.A. prepares students for future work in such fields as public history, city planning and architectural design, cultural heritage, museum exhibition design and visualization-based journalism, and provides a springboard for more advanced study in art history, archaeology, architectural history and visual studies. Limited funding may become available in the form of grants and assistantships to students upon positive progress in the program.

  • Masters in Ancient/Medieval History at Cal State, Long Beach: "We are pleased to share the news that, thanks to a generous bequest from our late colleague Professor David Hood, our department will be once again offering an M.A. field in ancient and medieval history beginning in Fall 2022. Our program is ideal not only for students who are considering an academic career who need to build their skills before making the jump to a Ph.D. program but also for those planning careers (e.g. library/information science, secondary education, museum/archival work) for which an advanced degree in history gives them a leg up, or for those simply interested in pursuing historical knowledge beyond their undergraduate education. Past M.A. graduates in ancient and medieval fields have gone on to doctoral programs at Princeton, Yale, Fordham, Cardiff, and UC Riverside, among others. Other graduates of the broader M.A. program are successful secondary teachers and community college faculty, as well as professionals working in government, private research firms, business, museums, and the National Park Service. Our department offers a rigorous five-semester program in which students learn historical methodology, primary research skills, and historiographic analysis while building content knowledge in two geographic fields (U.S. History, World History, Modern European History, and either Ancient or Medieval history). For students interested in Ancient or Medieval history in particular, our broader campus community provides additional opportunities, including instruction in Latin, ancient Greek, and numerous modern languages, as well as strong collaborative relationships with the CSULB Medieval & Renaissance Studies Center and the Classics and Comparative Literatures departments, giving students the opportunity to participate in conversations and research across multiple disciplines. Our core faculty in the field are: Marie Kelleher (medieval Iberia and the Mediterranean, women’s & gender history, legal history); Mik Larsen (social history of the Roman Empire, ancient Mediterranean religion, ancient historiography and rhetoric). We will be welcoming students with an interest in the Ancient and Medieval fields for Fall Semester 2022, with applications due in February 2022."

  • Museum Studies at CGU: Museum Studies investigates the history and political role of museums, the interpretation and display of cultural productions, and topics of concern to museums as cultural organizations, using a multidisciplinary, practice-based approach to understand the historical development of this evolving field. The theoretical and applied aspects of the concentration in Museum Studies give students the opportunity to participate in multidisciplinary graduate coursework in the humanities, social sciences, curatorial methods, and management in addition to hands-on, practical learning through the optional internship. Students learn about the history and political role of museums, the interpretation and display of a wide variety of cultural productions, and topics of special concern to museums as cultural organizations. The concentration emphasizes critical, theoretical, and practice-related developments in the ever-changing field of museums, exhibitions, and sites of public memory. Students will acquire the knowledge and expertise to meet the challenges confronting arts and cultural organizations today. The School of Arts & Humanities offers the concentration in Museum Studies to students in the Applied Women’s Studies, Cultural Studies, English, History, and Religion programs. The concentration is awarded in conjunction with the degree and is noted on the transcript as an additional area of qualification.

    PhD Fellowships

  • PhD Fellowships at Bryn Mawr College: The Graduate Group in Archaeology, Classics, and History of Art at Bryn Mawr College invites applications from outstanding candidates who are interested in pursuing graduate study in one of the three disciplines. The Graduate Group, established in 2004, provides a forum for interdisciplinary collaboration and research and promotes a strong scholarly community among its students. In addition, the unique combination of three prestigious graduate programs in the context of a small teaching- and research-intensive liberal arts college fosters a special experience. Students can enjoy close faculty mentorship as well as a significant degree of freedom in crafting their program of study and research. The Graduate Group offers several PhD fellowships including the so-called Arete Fellowships for exceptional applicants to any of the three programs, the NEH-sponsored Multidisciplinary Fellowships for students who would like to conduct graduate work in more than one discipline, and curatorial internships in Bryn Mawr's Special Collections and several Philadelphia-based museums. Other funding opportunities (research fellowships, teaching assistantships, and travel grants), both for domestic and international students, are available through the Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. All admitted students are fully funded for six years (23-25k for 12 mos.) and also receive a health insurance subsidy and tuition award.

    Post-doctoral Fellowships

  • Post-Doctoral Mellon Fellowships at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto : The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City has generously funded annual postdoctoral Fellowships at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies for nearly a decade. The grant provides for up to four Fellowships each year, to be used for research at the Institute in the medieval field of the holder’s choice. Mellon Fellows will also participate in the interdisciplinary Research Seminar.The Mellon Fellowships are intended for young medievalists of exceptional promise who have completed their doctoral work, ordinarily within the previous five years, and have defended their thesis successfully before the 1 February application deadline, and may include those who are starting on their professional academic careers at approximately the Assistant Professor level. Fellowships are valued at approximately Can $40,000.

LAMS Affiliations:
  • CMRS Center Early Global Studies (UCLA): The Center assists scholars, students, and the larger community to acquire a deeper understanding of issues rooted in the past that resonate yet in our world today. It sponsors lectures, seminars, conferences, and fellowships for visiting professors, post-doctoral scholars, graduate students, and researchers. The academic journals Viator and Comitatus are edited and published by the Center, as are a range of books and monographs. The Center promotes and encourages interdisciplinary and cross-cultural studies of the period from Late Antiquity to the middle of the seventeenth century.

  • USC Dornsife Center for the Premodern World: The Center for the Premodern World at USC creates space and offers resources for the study of cultures and civilizations, beginning with the earliest historical eras up to the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern world. The Center aims to have a truly global reach in terms of areas of research and as such has the potential to involve over forty faculty on campus in its activities. Already it co-sponsors an interdisciplinary research seminar on the Premodern Mediterranean. The director hopes to expand the number of such seminars and also to bring to campus a series of internationally recognized scholars to offer public lectures and to work closely with faculty and graduate students on their own academic projects. The Center also anticipates inaugurating major initiatives in the digital humanities, including collaboration with Doheney Library's Special Collections Department to increase access to the university's collections of medieval manuscripts and early printed books. Finally, the Center will seek ways to promote scholarship which is serious and which also has the potential engage a wide, cultural audience. Few symbols of the ancient world are as powerful, haunting, and evocative as the city of Troy. It is both fitting and ironic that USC, a new Troy in the relentlessly modern city of Los Angeles, would create a space for the study of premodern dreams and their enduring legacies.

  • The Mediterranean Seminar: based at the Center for Mediterranean Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the department of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, The Mediterranean Seminar sponsors a range of activities and programs related to the study of the Mediterranean as a region, with an emphasis on the Pre-Modern and Early Modern periods.

  • Medieval Institute (Notre Dame): The Medieval Institute promotes research and teaching on the multiple cultures, languages, and religions of the medieval period. Offering both undergraduate and Ph.D. programs, the Institute facilitates the activities of the largest contingent of medievalists at any North American university. Over sixty faculty medievalists, from a dozen different departments, create a vibrant, interdisciplinary, intellectual community that sponsors frequent speakers, conferences, and other events. The outstanding medieval studies library collection attracts researchers from around the world.

  • Centre for Medieval Studies (Toronto): The Centre for Medieval Studies was envisaged by its founders not just as an institutional umbrella for traditional departments but as a meeting point at which topics and issues for multiple disciplines would be explored and studied in depth. Medieval Studies in Toronto has an international reputation, resting on the wide-ranging interests of its faculty, the calibre and preparation of its graduates, and its outstanding library facilities. The Centre coordinates a program that includes various resources of the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies and of a wide variety of participating departments and programs within the University of Toronto. The Centre also sponsors several major research projects, and is home to a large body of scholars, numerous publication series, and to medieval drama and music groups. The Centre represents a large and highly interactive community of professionals who work in widely diverse area.





For more information, contact Ken Wolf, LAMS Coordinator