Classics professor has her pick of three prominent fellowships

Erika Weiberg is having the sort of year that most scholars can only dream of. Weiberg, an assistant professor in Florida State University’s Department of Classics, has, in a matter of months, been awarded three prestigious fellowships: one from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), another from the Loeb Classical Library Foundation, and a third from the Center for Hellenic Studies.

The NEH fellowship will allow Weiberg, whose research focuses on ancient Greek poetry and drama, to have extended access to the resources of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in Greece. The school features two major resource libraries with a combined collection of more than 220,000 volumes dedicated to the ancient Greek world. The fellowship is only offered to between two and four highly qualified candidates per year, and those candidates are required to have already earned a terminal degree in their field.

Operating out of Harvard University, the Loeb Classical Library Foundation awards fellowships to qualified scholars to support research, publication and other projects in the area of classical studies. The foundation was established by banker and philanthropist James Loeb, who directed in his will that income from the Loeb Classical Library beyond what is needed for the maintenance and enhancement of the library should be used “for the encouragement of special research at home and abroad in the province of archaeology and of Greek and Latin literature.” Weiberg received the foundation’s highest level of funding at $35,000 for salary enhancement.

“These fellowships together will allow me to spend the entire year in Athens on research leave, where I will complete my book manuscript on wives of returning veterans in Athenian drama,” Weiberg said. “With this project, I aim to amplify the potential of ancient drama to critique endless war and to destigmatize the difficulty of reintegration for veterans and their families.”

In addition to the NEH and Loeb fellowships, the Center for Hellenic Studies offered Weiberg the opportunity to conduct research extensively at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. According to the center’s website, “The CHS fellowship program encourages and supports research of the highest quality on topics related to ancient Greece.” Unfortunately, Weiberg was unable to accept all three fellowship offers, so she will be declining this one.

“A fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to conduct research at ASCSA is one of the highest achievements in the Humanities,” said Daniel Pullen, chair of the FSU’s classics Department. “The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is the oldest of the American overseas research centers, and the premier research institute for the study of Greece. Not only will Weiberg be able to take advantage of the best libraries for the study of Greece anywhere in the world at ASCSA, she will be able to conduct field research in Greece for her project through the ASCSA.”

Pullen also described the research that the Loeb Classical Library Foundation Fellowship will allow Weiberg to conduct.

“This opportunity will provide Weiberg with the necessary funds to conduct her field research on ancient Greek theaters in Greece firsthand,” he said. “Weiberg joins the ranks of several FSU faculty who have received these distinguished awards funded through the sales of the famous ‘green and red’ texts of ancient authors, including Andrea De Giorgi, Laurel Fulkerson, James Sickinger, Francis Cairns and myself (twice).

“Receiving just one of these awards would be a great achievement, but to receive three is an outstanding achievement,” Pullen concluded.

Weiberg spoke with anticipation about her upcoming experiences.

“I am honored to receive this support for my research from these foundations, and am looking forward to conducting research at the outstanding Blegen Library amid the warm scholarly community at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens,” she said.

The Department of Classics is a department within the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida State University.