The John and Penelope Biggs Department of Classics is pleased to announce that Assistant Professor Chris Erdman has received a Center for the Humanities Summer Research Seed Grant from Arts & Sciences in support of his ongoing book project on voting practices and political culture in the Roman Republic.
The competitive Summer Research Seed Grant is awarded to faculty preparing major external fellowship or grant applications and is intended to facilitate sustained research and writing during summer 2026. Erdman will use the award to apply for competitive external fellowships that will support the completion of his monograph on Roman legislative assemblies and popular political participation.
Since joining Washington University in Fall 2024, Erdman has taught courses on Roman history and Latin literature while continuing an active research agenda focused on Roman law, politics, and political culture. His current monograph aims to provide the first comprehensive account of how voting actually worked in Roman legislative assemblies, and why those procedures mattered for the development—and eventual transformation—of Republican governance.
The department congratulates Professor Erdman on this award and looks forward to the next stages of his research as he prepares applications for major external fellowships in support of his book project.
