Emerging Scholars of Late Antiquity: A New Feature of "Studies in Late Antiquity"
by Kristina Sessa, Co-editor-in-chief, Studies in Late Antiquity
Issue 9.1 marks a new stage of Studies in Late Antiquity’s mission to expand the study of Late Antiquity to new communities of scholars. In 2023–24, we inaugurated the Access Mentorship Program (AMP) with the aim of diversifying the field of late ancient studies. Each year, SLA solicits applications and invites a small cohort of high school or undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds to participate in a year-long research experience. Each mentee is paired with a seasoned scholar whose teaching and research complements their area of interest. Mentor and mentee then work together throughout the academic year on the mentee’s chosen research project. The final presentation of the research can take any number of forms: a long-form academic essay, a shorter analysis of a specific text or object, an online exhibition, a blogpost, a website, or even a podcast. SLA subsequently presents the research in the pages of the journal or on an appropriate platform, thereby offering the mentee a hands-on experience in academic publishing. It is our hope and intention that the mentorship program will generate not only additional lines on CVs but also expanded opportunities to access resources and networks that have traditionally been available to a relatively limited cross-section of the student population.
In the current issue, we are excited to present the very first project to emerge from AMP: a study of Apuleius’s The Golden Ass by Cecilia Reitter. Reitter is presently a first-year student at Columbia University, where she is majoring in Classics. She participated in AMP as a high school senior in Columbus, Ohio. Her essay, “Bildungsroman in Antiquity? Reexamining Apuleius’s The Golden Ass,” emerges out of her mentorship with Professor Ellen Finkelpearl of Scripps College and Professor Catherine Conybeare of Bryn Mawr College. High-school students and undergraduates interested in applying to AMP should visit our website at https://online.ucpress.edu/sla.
We invite you to read Cecilia Reitter's piece and other articles in issue 9.1 for free online for a limited time. To ensure ongoing access to SLA for you, your colleagues, and students, ask your library to subscribe.
About the Author
Kristina Sessa is Professor of History at The Ohio State University and co-editor of Studies in Late Antiquity. She is currently writing a book about disasters in Late Antiquity.