Camille Reiko Acosta, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles, is this year’s winner of the Mary Isabel Sibley Fellowship, which recognizes exceptional young scholars in the field of French or Greek language, literature, and culture. Acosta earned her master’s degree in classical archaeology from the University of Oxford, and her past recognitions include the Classics Bursary for Ancient Greek award, the Adrian Condie Travel Award, and the Cota-Robles Fellowship.
CAMILLE REIKO ACOSTA
University of California, Los Angeles
Acosta will use the $20,000 stipend to complete research for her doctoral dissertation in archaeology, “Death and Migration in Classical Athens.” Her scholarship focuses on the burial practices of migrants in the Greek world from 500-300 BCE, and her project aims to “gather all known migrant graves in Classical Athens, using archaeological data to reconstruct the actions and rituals which took place at the funeral,” Acosta explained.
Her research aims to enhance the existing body of scholarly work on this subject by creating a comprehensive record of migrant burials and cemeteries in Classical Athens. Based at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, she will analyze archaeological and historical materials to explore the circumstances of migrant burial and compare local and foreign traditions.
ANNIE LAURENS DE SAUSSURE
Lafayette College
Annie Laurens de Saussure, an assistant professor of French at Lafayette College, has received the 2021 Walter J. Jensen Fellowship in recognition of her exceptional work as a scholar and teacher of French language, literature, and culture. This fellowship provides a stipend and round-trip travel to France for six months of continuous study.
De Saussure will use the $16,900 stipend for her project, “Race, Radio, and the Republic: Decolonizing French Airwaves 1970-1990,” which she describes as examining “the cultural, literary, and social dimensions of the radios libres movement by highlighting the ways in which marginalized groups engaged in radio-activism to ensure that their voices would be heard and to contest the highly centralized institution of French broadcasting.” Drawing on French broadcast programming as well as archival documents and audiovisual materials, de Saussure will conduct extensive archival study in France at INAthèque, Centre des Archives Contemporaines, and the Maison de la Radio to focus on French literature and literary history, postcolonial theory, and media history.
In addition to publishing a scholarly monograph, de Saussure plans to incorporate her research into her teaching to help equip students with a strong basis for scholarly inquiry and French cultural exploration.