About The Center

NYU’s Center for Ancient Studies was created by the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) in 1996 to promote interdisciplinary and cross-cultural study of the past. The Center does this by promoting collaboration among those FAS departments and programs which focus, in whole or in part, on antiquity and its reception in the modern world. These include Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian Studies, Anthropology, Art History, Classics, Comparative Literature, English, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, and the Onassis Program in Hellenic Studies. The Center also collaborates with NYU units outside of FAS, such as NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts and the newly established Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (set to open in 2008).

The Center builds on rich resources both on and off the NYU campus. NYU’s Bobst Library, for example, has significant holdings on antiquity including papyri and manuscripts, and is also a partner institution in the Advanced Papyrological Information System (APIS). The University also has a collection of ancient art and inscriptions. Finally, a number of scholarly organizations relevant to antiquity are based at the Center, including the American section of the Institute for Etruscan and Italic Studies, the Aquila Theatre Company, and the professional journals Classical World and Etruscan News. In addition, the Center also benefits from colleagues and connections at leading institutions in the city, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the American Numismatic Society, and the New York Public Library, to name just a few.

The Center’s activities include: interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as an undergraduate minor in Ancient Studies; scholarly lectures and workshops, including annual Lewent Conferences and Ranieri Colloquia; research and travel grants for students; occasional visiting scholars; and summer seminars for college faculty from across the United States (in collaboration with the Faculty Resource Network). The Center also produces occasional publications.

The Center was established with generous funding from two NYU alumni: Salvatore Ranieri (B.A. '70) endowed the Angelo J. Ranieri Directorship in Ancient Studies and the Antonina S. Ranieri International Scholars Fund; Rose-Marie Lewent (B.A. '45) endowed the annual Lewent Conference in Ancient Studies.

The Center's Director is Matthew S. Santirocco, Seryl Kushner Dean of the College of Arts and Science, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, and Professor of Classics. For more information about the Center and its activities, please email ancient.studies@nyu.edu.