2025 CAAS Best Paper Awards

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The CAAS Program Committee Awards Subcommittee is pleased to announce the recipients of the Best Paper Awards presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting. The awards recognize excellence in the following categories:

Post-Ph.D.

  • Molly Jones-Lewis (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
    “How to Spin a Thread: Experimental Research in Greek and Roman Wool Processing”
  • Pamela Zinn (Texas Tech University)
    “Platonic Love and Lucretius”

Graduate Student

  • Kathryn Stutz (Johns Hopkins University)
    “Nobler Than Thetis’s Son? Classicizing Monuments in Nineteenth-Century Baltimore”

K–12 Educator

  • Nathan Moore (Calvary Day School)
    “Constantius II and King Ahab in the Writings of Lucifer of Cagliari”

The Subcommittee congratulates all award recipients for their exceptional contributions to the field. 

Chair: Andrea Kouklanakis; members: Sarah B. Ferrario, Tyson Sukava, and Konstantinos P. Nikoloutsos (ex officio).

Antiquity in Media Studies (AIMS): Call for Papers for 2026 Spring Conference Series

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Antiquity in Media Studies (AIMS) seeks proposals for a new monthly conference series, running on the last weekend of every month from February through April 2026: February 28-March 1, March 28-29, and April 25-26. The AIMS virtual conference series remains free and open to all, and welcomes proposals on any topic related to the reception of the ancient Mediterranean world in modern media.

For the AIMS 2026 monthly conference series, we invite various formats for the presentation of research, pedagogy, and creative responses to the reception of Mediterranean antiquity, including but not limited to: individual 20-minute papers, three-paper panels, roundtables, workshops, poster sessions, lightning sessions, play-throughs, live multiplayer games, technical demonstrations, creative showcases, creator interviews, and other activities that can fit within a 60-90-minute time slot and be delivered remotely at this online conference series. With conference events spread across three months, presenters will choose their preferred presentation day.  

The AIMS conference series is held online using a mixture of live and pre-recorded elements. Note: 20-minute paper presentations are pre-recorded and circulated prior to the live presentation day. This hybrid format accommodates as many participants as possible, regardless of geographic location/time zone, professional rank, access to travel funds, mobility impairment, and other factors implicated in the traditional conference format. We welcome proposals from all scholarly ranks, including early-career scholars, independent scholars, as well as working professional craftspeople/artists. We invite scholars from marginalized groups, along with people who traditionally have been able to participate in academic activities with relative ease. Our conference committee remains our Board of Directors and all members of the DEI committee. This group reviews proposals and assists with scheduling conference events.

There will be two deadlines for proposals: priority and regular. The priority deadline will be January 9, 2026; presenters can expect to be notified by January 23, 2026. For any remaining slots, the regular deadline will be January 30, 2026; presenters can expect to be notified by February 9, 2026. In keeping with AIMS’ ethos of promoting accessibility, it is our regular practice to allow the chance for presenters to revise and resubmit their conference proposal before a final decision is made.

For the full CfP, see the AIMS website: https://antiquityinmediastudies.wordpress.com/2024-conference-cfp/ 

Please upload your conference proposal at the following link: https://forms.gle/GXGVSuS9CnVL5bct7.

Questions about AIMS or the 2026 Conference Series? Please contacts the AIMS President at president-aims@proton.me. 

Tribute in Memory of Professor Timothy Renner, Past CAAS President

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Below is a statement from Professor Victoria Larson at Montclair State University on the recent passing of our beloved colleague, Professor Timothy Renner:

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of Professor Timothy Renner, long-time member and Chair for twenty-seven years (1980-2007) of the Department of Classics and General Humanities.

“Graduating magna cum laude in Latin/Classics with a concentration in archaeology from Yale University in 1968, and armed with a doctoral dissertation from the University of Michigan on Greek papyri, Tim’s first job was a one-year instructorship (1972-73) at Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, followed by another one-year instructorship (1973-74) at Rockford College (now University), at Rockford, Illinois. It was at that point, in September, 1974, that Tim took up what would turn out to be a fifty-one year career at Montclair State College (as it was then), joining a department of one—David Kelly—its two senior faculty members (Doris Kibbe, Carolyn Boch) having just retired.

“From 1974 on, Tim would invest all his dogged and indefatigable energies into expanding the department and growing its potential, building it up eventually to twelve tenured faculty. Teaching ancient history and civilization courses was just the beginning of what he did for the Department and University, his contributions to “service” on campus, as well as to his field more generally, being impressively many and varied. At Montclair, he was a member of numerous Department and University committees, the founding force behind the Center for Heritage and Archaeological Studies, enthusiastic promoter of its interdepartmental Archaeology minor, and founder of the local society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) and its lecture series at Montclair. He was the Director of the Institute for the Humanities from 1984 to 2008, and Co-Director from 2008-2010. From the late 1980’s onwards, he regularly spent his entire summer “break” digging at the New Jersey Archaeological Consortium excavation at Tel Hadar in Israel, and in more recent years participated with his colleague Professor Deborah Chatr Aryamontri in many seasons at the University’s excavation at the Villa of the Antonines site outside Rome. He was President of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States (CAAS) from 1989 to 1990 and Chair of the Cultural Diversity Subcommittee of the American Classical League from 2005 to 2010. He was President of the American Society of Papyrologists from 1998 to 2002, and for many years a co-editor of this society’s scholarly journal, the Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists (BASP).

“Many by-now-well-established scholars are grateful to Tim for his friendly mentorship as they were beginning their careers. And all of us will miss his inspiring drive to keep on doing what needs to be done—and more—always with implacable and wry good humor.

“The department is planning a celebration of Professor Timothy Renner to be held on campus early in the Spring semester.”

CAAS Nominations Committee 2025 BALLOT

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An important announcement from CAAS Executive Director Mary Brown:

“Dear current Members who work/reside in the CAAS Region, for your review is the proposed ballot recently approved by the Executive Committee. Keep in mind that eligible Members with the affirmation of 15 total eligible Members may nominate candidates. If you want to do so, contact Executive Director Mary Brown with your nominee/s by December 10, mbrown@sju.edu.”

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1atw1uQ9c4h4p93BLtuL-JCqPWVfJXyhvcIdacBYchFM/mobilebasic

December 12 Deadline for AAR’s 2026 Classical Summer School

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The deadline to apply for the American Academy in Rome‘s 2026 Classical Summer School is Friday, December 12, at 11:59 pm EST. Both the AAR and CAAS offer partial and full scholarships for the AAR’s summer session. To learn more about the Classical Summer School, visit https://www.aarome.org/apply/2026-classical-summer-school. To learn more about CAAS’s Hahn Scholarship, visit https://caas-cw.org/caas/scholarship/.

CUNY’s Graduate Student Conference: Call for Papers

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Thalassocracy and the Power of the Sea
CUNY Graduate Center
Date: April 24, 2026
Keynote Speaker: Elizabeth Irwin, Columbia University

The Oxford English Dictionary defines thalassocracy as “Mastery at sea; the sovereignty of the sea.” But the power of the sea entails more than just political and naval supremacy. The sea means different things to the inhabitants of the ancient world: it begins as a barrier, serves as a food source, and becomes a superhighway. Through it all, poets imagine the sea as an alien world, the home of monstrous creatures, divine beings, and the spirits of the dead.

This year, the Classics Department at the CUNY Graduate Center invites papers that explore the nature of thalassocracy and the power of the sea in the history, rhetoric, poetry, and mythology of the Greek and Roman world. We welcome submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

● Gods and goddesses of the sea
● Maritime monsters
● Oceanus as world’s end
● Insularity both as an expression of connectivity and as an indicator of isolation
● Trade, migration, and warfare
● Material culture of the Mediterranean basin
● Ships and the art of ship building

We welcome submissions from graduate students and advanced undergraduates specializing in the ancient world (Classical and Near Eastern Studies, history, archaeology, anthropology, religious studies, philosophy, comparative literature, etc.). We are especially interested in scholarship that employs interdisciplinary approaches to the ancient world.

Submission Guidelines:

Presentations will be 15 minutes in length, followed by 5 minutes for questions.

Please submit abstracts of no more than 300 words (plus a select bibliography) in PDF format to cunyclassicsconference@gmail.com no later than Monday, December 8th. Decisions will be made anonymously. Kindly include your full name and affiliation in the body of your email.

For questions, please contact the co-organizers: Andrew Hagerty (ghagerty@gradcenter.cuny.edu) and John Griffin (jgriffin1@gradcenter.cuny.edu).

The Vergilian Society Is Seeking Tour Directors

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Would you like to direct a tour or workshop for the Vergilian Society in 2027? Find out more about submitting a proposal using the flyer attached to this post.

If you have any questions about proposal submissions, please contact the Chair of the Villa Management Committee, Ian Lockey, at ianl@friends-select.org.

You can find previous tour details at https: //www.vergiliansociety.org/previous-tours/

VS DIRECTORS ADDownload

Seeking Applicants for CAAS Executive Director – Deadline September 15, 2025

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CAAS is seeking applicants for a new Executive Director to begin their term on January 1, 2026. This is a stipendiary position. Details about the position and the application process are included in this document. If you have questions about this position or the application process, please contact current CAAS President Karen Hersch at khersch@temple.edu. The deadline for applications is September 15, 2025.

CAAS.ExecutiveDirector.Advert.8.7.25.docxDownload

The 2025 Fall Meeting of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States

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When: Thursday, October 9, to Saturday, October 11, 2025

Where: The DoubleTree by Hilton Washington DC Silver Spring (Silver Spring, MD)

Registration: The deadline to register for the 2025 Fall Meeting is September 25, 2025. Register at this link or by navigating to the Members’ Area and clicking on “Conference.” Please note that meals are not included in the cost of registration and must be selected immediately below the registration section of the form.

Hotel Reservations: The deadline for hotel reservations in the CAAS block is September 18, 2025. Contact the DoubleTree by Hilton Washington DC Silver Spring at 1-800-HILTONS and request the room block set aside for CAAS, October 9-12, or reserve your room online using this link: https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/classical-association-atlantic-states/

Program: View or download the program (final as of 10/13/25) in PDF form or view a web-based version by following the links below:

Exhibitors & Vendors: For information about signing up as an exhibitor or vendor, please contact our Executive Director, Mary Brown, at mbrown@sju.edu.

We look forward to seeing you in Silver Spring this October!