Clara Rae Marie Bosak-Schroeder

Clara Rae Marie Bosak-Schroeder serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with cross-appointments in History, Medieval Studies, Comparative and World Literature, and the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory.

Her academic credentials include a PhD in Classical Studies from the University of Michigan (with certificates in Greek and Roman History and Graduate Teaching) and a BA in Classical Languages from UC Berkeley.

Bosak-Schroeder's research pioneers intersections between classical antiquity and contemporary critical frameworks, particularly examining environmental humanities through ancient ethnographic lenses. Her work consistently bridges textual analysis with material culture studies, emphasizing nonhuman agency and sensory dimensions in Greco-Roman contexts. This approach manifests in both scholarly monographs and creative nonfiction exploring human-animal relationships.

Her publication portfolio reveals strong thematic continuity in environmental reception studies, with increasing emphasis on sensory archaeology and decolonial perspectives within classical frameworks across recent years.

Major recognitions include:

• IPRH Faculty Fellowship (2017-2018)
• Junior Fellowship from the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory (2018-2020)
• LEAP Scholar Award (2018-2020)
• Illinois Center for Advanced Study Fellowship (2021-2022)
• COVID-19 Revitalization Fellowship (2025-2026)
• General Education Innovation Award (2025-2026)

As a transformative educator, Bosak-Schroeder founded CripAntiquity to advocate for neurodivergent and disabled scholars in ancient studies, while curating museum exhibits at Krannert Art Museum and Spurlock Museum. Her institutional service includes chairing the Classics Department Bylaws Committee and serving on the campus Diversity and Inclusion Committee, demonstrating sustained commitment to structural equity in academia.

Her curatorial practice and organizational leadership represent significant extensions of her scholarly mission into material and communal spaces.