Building on the exceptional legacy of the Program in Early Cultures, the Center for Global Antiquity was launched in 2025 as an interdisciplinary hub for the study of ancient worlds. I am deeply grateful for the leadership of CGA's inaugural director Amy Russell, whose energy and commitment established the institutional structure that we needed to support our intellectual collaborations. As I assumed the directorship of the Center this past summer, I was reminded of how much silent work goes into sustaining the interdisciplinary conversations that make this university such a distinctive place. I'm grateful to everyone at the Joukowsky Institute, most notably Sarah Sharpe and Amy Gerhard, for so diligently undertaking that labor.

 

We have an exciting year ahead, with many announcements about upcoming events to come! 

 

In the meantime, I wanted to bring your attention to a series of recent developments:

 

As many of you saw in the Provost's announcement last week, CGA has accepted the opportunity to host the Premodern China Initiative, which aims (among other things) to support research on the diverse archaeological cultures and Sinographic traditions of China. Hosting PCI will help to ensure that East Asian traditions constitute a vital dimension of the Center's comparative and trans-regional conversations.

 

This fall, Sloane Geddes is joining us as CGA's first postdoctoral fellow. Funded by the Cogut Institute and hosted by the Department of Classics and CGA, Dr. Geddes is planning several events over the coming two years that bring Sanskrit courtly poetry and Kashmiri birch bark manuscripts into dialogue with other historical traditions and contemporary theoretical perspectives. Please join me in welcoming her!

 

The long-running Cultures and Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean (CRAM) workshop, now hosted by CGA, is looking for presenters. If you are interested in presenting a work in progress or would like to contribute thoughts about CRAM's future direction, please reach out to Jae Han, who will be running the workshop this academic year.

 

Last year Prof. Russell organized a series of conversations on the meaning and scope of a "global" approach to the study of antiquity. I encourage you to watch highlights of these conversations here.  

 

The Center only works insofar as it supports the research and learning of the entire community of scholars at Brown engaged in the study of ancient worlds, however the boundaries of those worlds might be defined. Please do not hesitate to write to me with any suggestions for how we might do that more effectively. 

 

I encourage you to forward this message to anyone at Brown who might be interested in participating in our events. They can register to become a CGA affiliate here.
 

All best,

Jeff