About Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies
The Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies (WIHS) was established in 2010 as the first research center in North America dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the Hellenistic era. It seeks to function as an international networking hub for scholars and students, and to foster collaborative scholarly activities.
About the Hellenistic Age
The term "Hellenistic" was coined to refer to the period of history between the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE) and the death of Cleopatra VII (30 BCE), although the upper and lower limits of the Hellenistic era are currently open to debate. The historical circumstances of the Mediterranean world and the Near East shifted dramatically as a result of the career of Alexander, whose military campaigns stretched from Greece to India. The resulting Greco-Macedonian diaspora and the highly increased interactions between Mediterranean and Near Eastern cultures had a major impact on the political, economic, social, and religious lives of dozens of cultures and millions of people. This earliest forerunner of globalization has many lessons for our own era. Furthermore, the social, cultural, historical, and scientific developments of the Hellenistic Age profoundly influenced their neighbouring cultures and later Mediterranean civilizations - Roman, Jewish, Christian, Byzantine, Islamic - and through them have transmitted their influence into the contemporary world.
If you like to learn more about the Hellenistic Age, we would like to recommend the following introductory works:
- Green, Peter: The Hellenistic Age: A Short History, New York 2007.
- George Boys-Stones, Barbara Graziosi, Phiroze Vasunia: The Oxford Handbook of Hellenic Studies, Oxford: OUP 2009. (broadest range of historical, literary, and cultural topics of the Greek world, including the Hellenistic Age),
- Errington, R. Malcolm: A History of the Hellenistic World: 323-30 BC. Malden, Mass. 2008. (compelling narrative of political history)
- Erskine, Andrew: A Companion to the Hellenistic World, Cambridge and Malden MA 2003.
- Support and promote individual and collective applications to granting agencies and foundations that foster collaborative, interdisciplinary, and innovative projects.
- Attract and promote young scholars who are pursuing cutting-edge research in various areas of Hellenistic studies.
- Develop closer relations and project-specific collaboration with similar centres in Europe (esp. at Edinburgh and Exeter).
- Promote a deeper understanding and appreciation for the Hellenistic Age by means of community-focused presentations, lectures, and programs.
- Invite the participation of senior and junior colleagues by means of Visiting Professorships and Visiting (Post-)Doctoral Fellowships.
- Encourage research-related travel by our graduate and undergraduate students by means of financial support.
- Host and sponsor conferences at Waterloo and elsewhere that are based especially upon interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches.
- Disseminate knowledge by publishing conference proceedings in
- Obtain access to private, corporate, and institutional funding and other resources that advance the main objectives of the Institute.
- Develop electronic databases of resources in Hellenistic Studies that will be of benefit to the Research Associates and other scholars.
- Sponsor paper presentations and panel sessions at academic conferences.
- Director: Dr. Altay Coskun
Contact: acoskun (at) uwaterloo.ca - Secretary-Treasurer: Dr. Christina Vester
Contact: cmvester (at) uwaterloo.ca - Steering Committee:
- Dr. Sheila L. Ager
- Dr. Altay Coskun
- Dr. Andrew Faulkner
- Dr. Craig Hardiman
- Dr. Riemer Faber
- Dr. Christina Vester
The Mission Statement of the Institute
As the only institute for Hellenistic Studies in North America with a markedly interdisciplinary and collaborative focus, our mission is to function as a primary network-center in this field of scholarship.
In order to fulfill our mission we seek to:
Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies (WIHS)
Mrs. Brigitte Schneebeli, 519-888-4567 ext. 38377
ML 224
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada N2L 3G1