Brown, assistant professor of Egyptology in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies, describes himself as a social historian. His research uses archaeology and written records to understand how ancient Egyptians lived outside the royal courts that dominate popular images of the period.

Our most popular articles from the summer of 2026 share a theme: people and ideas thrive with the right support. From a new chapter for Classics and Religious Studies to mathematics outreach, these stories show how expertise, mentorship, and community create new possibilities across CLAS and beyond.

11 undergraduate students participate in internships abroad in summer 2026, thanks to support from the Dr. Ken Magid Scholarship. The fund was established by the late Linda Baker (BA English ’68) in memory of her former mentor, author and child behaviorist Dr. Kenneth Magid.

Four University of Iowa students have been awarded the Leona Zaharis Scholarship to support their study abroad experiences in summer and fall 2026.

Two CLAS academic partners are now one department. As of July 1, Classics and Religious Studies have merged into the Department of Classics and Religious Studies—building on years of shared teaching and research between the two fields.

Homer’s 12,000-line epic poem The Odyssey is back in the spotlight with this summer’s Hollywood release of filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s adaptation.

The Department of Religious Studies recognizes our 2026 student award winners.

Kristy Nabhan-Warren discussed how the state of the world is driving an increase in Catholic Church membership with more than a dozen Iowa news outlets over the last week.

The three-year project, titled “AI Models with Reinforcement Learning to Edit Text in Damaged Manuscripts,” will produce software capable of reconstructing missing or illegible sections of historical documents.

Emily Wilson, PhD, a distinguished classicist, professor, and author working as the department Chair of Classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, visited the University of Iowa on March 12 to discuss her approach to retranslating Homeric poems.