Bronwen Wickkiser, department chair and professor of Classics, has been named one of two Elizabeth A. Whitehead Distinguished Scholars at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA) for the 2023-24 academic year.
As a Whitehead Distinguished Scholar, this sabbatical appointment allows Wickkiser to pursue research on a project that utilizes the facilities of the ASCSA to enrich its academic program. Scholars also participate in the academic life of the school in a variety of ways, most directly by teaching a graduate seminar and working with students and members of the school during the winter term (late November to late March) and participating in school trips and excursions throughout Greece.
“To receive such a competitive appointment is quite an honor,” said Wickkiser. “I’m excited to share my knowledge in this venue. To be working with graduate students from U.S. Ph.D. programs and learning from research scholars promises to be a rewarding opportunity. I’m hopeful that my experience and mentorship coming from a liberal arts institution will help rising scholars find a voice that reaches specialist and non-specialist audiences alike. The future of Classics lies in raising interest among broad audiences.”
Her research project and graduate seminar seek to build a bridge between the modern health tourism industry in Greece and its roots in the distant past. She plans to explore how patients, practitioners, medical knowledge, and materia medica (physical objects like drugs, instruments, and the like) traveled across the ancient Mediterranean in a wider network of healthcare practices.
Wickkiser is a specialist in ancient Greek history and culture, especially in the areas of medicine and religion. Her first book, “Asklepios, Medicine, and the Politics of Healing in Fifth-Century Greece,” explored the appeal of healing deities in relation to the rise of Hippocratic medicine, while her second book, “The Thymele at Epidauros: Healing, Space, and Musical Performance in Late Classical Greece,” examined the interrelation of sound, architecture, and music therapy in the sanctuary of a prominent healing god. She has also co-edited a book about Greek religion, “Aspects of Ancient Greek Cult: Context – Ritual – Iconography.”
At Wabash, Professor Wickkiser teaches courses related to these topics, such as Uncovering Greek Religion (an immersion course that traveled to Greece in May), and Medicine, Magic, & Miracle: Healthcare in the Greco-Roman World (in conjunction with the College's Global Health minor).
Wickkiser is the third Wabash professor to be named a Whitehead Distinguished Scholar, joining Leslie and Joe 
Day. ASCSA is the leading American research center in Greece.
“Bronwen’s award not only recognizes her stature and reputation in our field, but also showcases the reach of Wabash Classics,” said Jeremy Hartnett, professor of Classics. “The ASCSA’s members who travel alongside and take a seminar with Bronwen are in for a real treat due to her keen intelligence, deep knowledge of Greece, creative scholarship and teaching, and abundant intellectual generosity.”
In 2019-20, she was a Mellon Pedagogy Leadership Fellow at Wabash, collaborating with colleagues here and at other institutions to think about how we attract and retain first-year students in the Beginning Greek sequence. In 2021-22, she was a Lilly Equity & Inclusion Pedagogy Fellow, working to diversify and enrich her course called Ancient Greece.
Dr. Wickkiser has received research fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and the Loeb Classical Library Foundation.