Classics Research Lab

THE Classics Research Lab (CRL) at Johns Hopkins University was founded in fall 2018 by Shane Butler, Hall Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Classics at Johns Hopkins. The CRL provides structure and support for collaborative research projects between students and faculty, especially projects that require more than a semester to be completed. Students enroll in a lab project as they would any other course (pending the approval of the instructors and principal investigators). Bringing with them whatever expertise they already have, they contribute to the project’s ongoing work while actively acquiring new skills. Students can enroll in the lab for a single semester, or they can return over multiple semesters, in order to follow a single project over time or to participate in several. As of fall 2024, 100 students have participated in CRL projects.

The CRL’s chief principles are collaboration and transparency. Students and faculty work together generating new knowledge, and all aspects of the process of research are visible and shared. Students participate in formulating questions, devising methods, assembling materials, conducting systematic research, and publishing results, as well as more administrative matters like establishing best practices and securing needed financial, technical, and logistical support.

The CRL also provides a space in which students in the humanities can build supportive communities and networks. When people ask us what humanists do, we invite them to come see for themselves in the lab!

You can learn more on the CRL page of the website of the JHU Department of Classics. JASP and the CRL have also been featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education (authentication may be required for access).