SASA Reading Groups
& Master Classes
Together with you, we are proud to celebrate
SASA's 6th Year of Reading Groups!
Applications are Now Open for Summer 2025 Reading Group Leaders!
SASA is seeking 11 Reading Group and Master Class Leaders.
(Paid Position)
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6 three-week Reading Groups
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5 Master Classes
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Lead a weekly discussion group of 3 hour-long sessions or a one-time 2 hour discussion group via Zoom on an ancient history topic of the Group Leader’s choice.
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Made possible by a grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
Click the PDF below to read more details about the position:
Reading Groups Master Classes
Links to the application forms are provided in the above PDFS.
SASA Reading Groups are proud to be sponsored by
Through this project, we aim to continue to open the world of Ancient Studies to students in high school, college and beyond. Each group is led by a SASA Educational Ambassador, a dedicated PhD student specialising in that particular area of study.
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Groups are set up as informal discussion sessions in which participants examine the themes and ideas in the weekly readings, as guided by the Educational Ambassador.
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Reading materials are supplied in digital format by the Educational Ambassador several days in advance of each meeting to allow participants to prepare for discussion during the live session, hosted on Zoom.
SASA Reading Group & Master Class Archive
(Click the image to view the Live Syllabus, when available from groups!)
The Search for the Golden Fleece: Jason and the Argonauts
Led by John Haberstroh
A Brief Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphic Writing
Led by Catherine Wilde
Politics Past and Present: The (Non)Difference
Led by Georgina Longley
Loving, Losing, Remembering: Kālidāsa’s The Recognition of Śakuntalā
Led by Tuhin Bhattacharjee
An Introduction to Ancient Near-Eastern Music ‘Theory’: Understanding Musical Inscriptions
Led by Dylan Gibson
Gifts, Leadership, and Survival: A Journey Through the Persian Empire with Xenophon
Led by John Haberstroh
Taking Care of Egypt, Taking Care of the Home: The Power of Elite and Royal Women
Led by Luiza Silva
Long ago, in a Galaxy Called the Milky Way: Creation Stories Around the World
Led by Shane M. Thompson
The Ancient Library of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Led by Tine Rassalle
“In Their Proper Place": Women in Ancient Egypt
Led by Theresa Tiliakos
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Gilgamesh Flood Story
Led by Martin Worthington
Something Wicked?
An Introduction to Greco-Roman Magic
Led by James Gilmer
The Ancient Olympic Games
Led by John Haberstroh
Representations of “the Other” in ancient Egyptian literature
Led by Kate Minniti & Briana Jackson
Arrian’s ‘Anabasis’
The Campaigns of Alexander the Great
Led by Meg Finlayson
Queering Myth: Oedipus in Antiquity & Today
Led by Yoandy Cabrera Ortega
Secret Communication in the Ancient World
Led by Martine Diepenbroek
What was the Ancient Indian Religion?
Led by Pratishtha Mukherjee
Understanding the Vikings through their texts
Led by Lillian Cespedes Gonzalez
The Tragic in Ancient Sanskrit & Greek Drama
Led by Tuhin Bhattacharjee
Heroes and Gods in Greek Mythology
Led by Kate Minniti
Perspectives on Roman Women
Led by Victoria Muccilli
From Soapy Slaughter to Soap Opera
Led by Georgina Longley
Women and Power in Ancient Turkey: Hittite Queens and Queenship
Led by Michael Moore.
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Silicon Valleys of the Ancient World: Ancient Technology, Metals and Mining
Led by Sara Quaggio
Gods, Ghosts, and Graves: Archaeology of Religions
Led by Bruno Soltic
Pharaoh Triumphant: Power Politics in Ancient Egypt
Led by Luiza Silva
Exodus, Exile, and Immigration in the Old Testament
Led by Eric Trinka, PhD.
Secret Knowledge of the Doctor: Health and Medicine in the Ancient World
Led by Dr. Casey Kirkpatrick
Lazarus Rising: The Tenth Century Byzantine Military Renaissance
Led by James Gilmer
Maya Myths in Art & Writing
Led by Catherine Wilde
Food & Feasting in the Ancient World
Led by Michael Moore
The Making of a “Bad” Emperor:
Tyrants and Hedonists?
Led by Victoria Muccilli
Ancient Egypt in Africa
Led by Tawala Adodo
Egyptian Gods
Led by Kate Minniti and Brianna Jackson
Ancient Maya Culture
Led by Catherine Nuckols-Wilde
Life and Time in Persia
Led by John Haberstroh and Babette Margolies
Trade in Sumerian Mythology
Led by Sara Quaggio
Literatura y Filosofía en la antigua Grecia: de los Presocráticos a Platón
Led by Javier Maldonado Fernández
Hidden in Plain Sight: Slaves in Roman Society
Led by Jamie Young
World History through the Environment
Led by Gregory Allan Viesmann Jr.
Ancient Maya Culture
Led by Charlotte Dietrich
Secret Carvings: Homer's story of Bellerophon
Led by Martine Diepenbroek
Hieroglyphic Stelae
Led by Catherine Nuckols-Wilde & Stacey Davidson
Power and Justice in the Ancient World
Led by Michael Moore
Caro Tresque: Roman and Southern Cuisine
Led by Molly Stevens
She Who Wrote: Enheduanna and Women of Mesopotamia
Led by Nicole Leist
ābhūṣaṇāni- The Ancient Indian Ornament
Led by Pratishtha Mukherjee
True Colors: Reading the Ancient Mediterranean Through Color
Led by Rachael Goldman
Atoms and Void: Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things
Led by Kenneth Connally
Beyond the Silk Roads
Led by Mariana Castro
Curse Tablets: Personal Communication with the Dead and the Gods in the Ancient World
Led by Charlotte Spence
Defying the Gods and Forgotten Female Rage: The Epics
Led by Naomi Moralez-Glenn
From Harlots to Heroines: Royal Women in the Hebrew Bible
Led by Karina Atudosie
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Is this your neighbor, is this you? Looking at others and ourselves in Theophrastus’ Characters
Led by John Haberstroh
Mother, Murderer: Medeas in Antiquity and Beyond
Led by Sophia Elzie
Painted Stories: Reading Maya Mythology in Codex-Style Ceramics
Led by Catherine Nuckols
Queer Lives and Loves in Ancient History
Led by Yentl Love
Reading the Abbasid Past: History and Islamic Heritage
Led by Sara Ann Knutson
She's Just Not That Into You: Unrequited Love in Antiquity
Led by Jessica Lugo
The Alexander Romance
Led by Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti
The Pyramid Texts: The Earliest Ancient Egyptian Rituals
Led by Brendan Hainline
Tomb Robberies in Ancient Egypt: Prevention, Persecution, and Punishment
Led by Julian Posch
True Stories: Classical Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Led by Molly Anderson Stevens
Unlocking Beowulf
Led by Dr Lillian Cespedes Gonzalez
SASA Master Classes
SASA’s Master Classes are free, online discussion groups of ancient texts-in-translation led by early career scholars and doctoral students. Each Master Class is a single 2-hour workshop session. This program makes in-depth discussion of fascinating ancient studies topics accessible to anyone, anywhere. Each Master Class is focused on a specific culture and/or theme within ancient studies. Master Class Leaders facilitate online discussions over Zoom with a group of 20-30 individuals on select texts and share their love for ancient studies. Each group typically has a diverse variety of international participants with different backgrounds, ages, and educational levels. These Master Classes provide open opportunities for participants to explore broad-ranging ideas and delve into intricate details with expert discussion leaders.
Master Classes 2021
Led by Anna Accettola
Led by Luiza Silva and Theresa Tiliakos
Led by Catherine Nuckols-Wilde, Emily Davis-Hale and Ruben Morales Forte
Death, Dying, and the Dreary Underworld of Mesopotamia
Led by Dr. Petra Creamer
The Gods and Myths of the Picts
Led by Dr. Kelly Kilpatrick
Mesopotamian Monsters at the Morgan Library & Museum
Led by Nicole Leist
Master Classes 2022
Master Classes 2023
Master Classes 2024
Antichi Colori: Getting to the Sources of Ancient Dyes and Pigments
Led by Rachel B Goldman
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Bar Hopping BCE
Led by Molly Anderson Stevens
The Sculptures of Ancient India
Led by Pratishtha Mukherjee