For release: September 20, 2011
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey, 901/678-2843

Chrystal Goudsouzian

She received her B.A. degree from UCLA in ancient Near Eastern languages and cultures and in classical civilizations in 2004. She continued her study of the ancient world in the M.A. history program at the U of M. In 2008 she began working as the University’s Study Abroad adviser.

Goudsouzian’s doctoral work focuses on gender, sexuality, and the body in ancient Egypt. Her dissertation, “Becoming Isis: Myth, Medicine, Magic, and Reproduction in Ancient Egypt,” investigates the culture of ancient Egyptians’ reproductive lives.

The $20,000 AAUW fellowship, along with a dissertation-writing fellowship from the U of M Department of History, will allow her to focus on completing her dissertation in the 2011-12 academic year. Goudsouzian has a strong commitment to women’s history and to teaching, advising, and mentoring undergraduate students. Although she is longer working with the Study Abroad program, she hopes to return to advising and teaching at the U of M after completing her Ph.D.

“The AAUW is committed to supporting women in academia and fostering research on women’s lives and experiences in both the present and the past,” Goudsouzian said. “I feel very honored not only to have received its support to write my dissertation, but also to be able to contribute to its mission by bringing light to women’s lives in the ancient past. It is an amazing opportunity to be recognized as a part of this community of notable women who, through research, education, and action, are working to improve women’s lives.”

The oldest and largest of AAUW’s fellowship and grant programs, the American Fellowships program began in 1888, a time when women were discouraged from pursuing an education. AAUW American Fellowships are awarded to highly qualified women scholars completing doctoral dissertations, conducting postdoctoral research or finishing research for publication.