Jennifer B. Clarke Kosak

Jennifer B. Clarke Kosak serves as Associate Professor of Classics and Chair of the Classics Department at Bowdoin College, where she teaches Greek and Latin language courses at all levels alongside English-language seminars on Ancient Greek Medicine, Gender and Sexuality in Classical Antiquity, and the Politics of Memory. Her academic leadership extends through departmental administration and curriculum development in classical studies.

Her educational foundation includes:

• PhD in Classical Philosophy from the University of Michigan
• BA in Classics from Harvard University-Radcliffe

Professor Kosak's research examines intersections between Greek tragedy, ancient medical discourse, and gender construction, with particular focus on disease representation and commemorative practices. Her scholarship reveals how Hippocratic medical concepts shaped tragic narratives, especially regarding masculine vulnerability and healing rituals. Recent work expands into commemoration studies, analyzing memorialization processes in antiquity through literary and historical lenses.

Her publication trajectory demonstrates consistent engagement with medical humanities, evolving from foundational work on Euripidean tragedy to current investigations of masculinity-disease relationships. The 2004 monograph Heroic Measures: Hippocratic Medicine in the Making of Euripidean Tragedy established her signature approach of cross-disciplinary analysis between medical texts and dramatic literature, later refined in numerous encyclopedia contributions and specialized articles exploring shame, concealment, and therapeutic touch in ancient contexts.

Professor Kosak actively mentors undergraduate researchers at Bowdoin College, guiding student projects on classical reception, gender studies, and ancient scientific thought. Her current book project Unmanned: Masculinity and Disease in Ancient Greek Society continues her investigation of embodied experience in antiquity through the lens of disease impact on masculine performance.