Sinja Küppers

Dr. Sinja Küppers is a postdoctoral fellow at the Polonsky Academy for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the van Leer Jerusalem Institute. In 2023, she received her PhD in Classical Studies from Duke University and she is the first Classicist to have received a fellowship from the National Academy of Education. Her academic interests lie in Roman intellectual culture and social history. She is particularly interested in late antiquity, intellectual communities, and bringing material culture and literary sources into conversation. In her dissertation, Sinja analyzed marginal voices and nontraditional pathways in Roman higher education. Sinja presented aspects of her dissertation research in the US and at international venues. In 2021, she received the CAMWS Presidential Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper. 

Sinja completed a MSt in Greek and Latin Languages and Literature at the University of Oxford and a B.A. in Ancient Languages and Cultures at the University of Cologne. During her graduate studies, Sinja developed digital projects tied to her research and digital pedagogy.  

Her teaching experience includes classes on social history, culture, mythology, and the Christian traditions as well as language teaching at multiple levels. Outside of the classroom, she has undertaken additional pedagogical training including a multi-year certificate in College Teaching, a yearlong certificate on Writing in the Disciplines, a fellowship from Duke's Kenan Center for Ethics on the subject "Teaching on Purpose" and other ad hoc programming. As a first-generation student, she is especially committed to supporting underserved students in gaining professional skills in her classroom. 

Sinja also co-founded a student organization and mentoring initiative for first-generation graduate students that has now national and international partners. She is also an active departmental citizen and has wide-ranging administrative and mentoring experience.