BY İREM NAZ DUYMUŞ (AMER/III)
nazduymus@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
Dr. Rachel Bruzzone is an Assistant Professor at Program in Cultures, Civilizations, and Ideas. With a Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Virginia, her scholarly work focuses on ancient history, historiography, and the classical languages, especially Thucydides. Her research interests include the intersection of memory, war, and literature in ancient texts, with publications spanning journal articles, book chapters, and a forthcoming commentary on Thucydides. Bruzzone has taught widely in the field, having previously held positions at University College Freiburg and St. Catherine University.
Why did you choose an academic career?
I was planning to go into the sciences but was required to take a language course by my undergraduate university. I stumbled into Latin pretty much at random and realized that studying ancient languages and literature was what I wanted to do with my life. In retrospect, I had never really enjoyed science, whereas I was the kid who regularly missed her bus stop because I was so focused on reading a book. I was a very fortunate example of how, sometimes, obligatory courses can open your eyes to who you are really meant to be.
What do you like the most about being at Bilkent?
My favorite parts of Bilkent are the students and my colleagues. I have always loved having the opportunity to show students how outrageously fun ancient literature is. Some students have never previously experienced reading as “fun,” and I get to be the person who opens their eyes to this part of life: we’re not just cogs in a machine but part of a long, ancient conversation about what it means to be human, and much of that conversation happens in the form of plays or history or poetry. Bilkent students are also exceptionally sweet. And I love living on Bilkent campus because of the wonderful community among faculty members.
What projects are you working on currently?
I am just finishing a book on Thucydides, who is the historian of the Peloponnesian War, a conflict between Athens and Sparta. It is a text about a time of simultaneous social, political and environmental crisis, which seems all too familiar these days. It is also a work of history that is being used—and misused—in popular discourse for political purposes these days, by people who hope to create the idea that war can be “inevitable,” so we might as well embrace it: I hope to make a small impact in reversing that conversation.
What’s your best work?
I would say my favorite of my own works is an article entitled “Polemos, Pathemata, and Plague.” It argues that Thucydides is far from the amoral “dispassionate observer” that he is sometimes conceived of as, and that he instead shows a deep anxiety about the interconnected nature of war (polemos), environmental disasters (pathemata) and disease. He shows that these events tend to be interconnected and that they result in a cascade of ethical, social and political crises, as well. I think this question of how our circumstances change our nature is fascinating.
What has been the most exciting moment of your career so far? Could you share a turning point or defining moment in your career?
I was walking under an underpass to catch the train in Freiburg, Germany, and had a realization: that I might be able to explain how Thucydides structured his text—a very complicated chronological structure that makes stories about individuals or individual places a bit hard to follow—in a way that allowed the reader to see progressive social deterioration.
When and where do you do your best thinking?
At home, in the morning, with two cats fighting about who gets to sit in my lap.
What distracts you?
“Severance.”
What are you most curious about?
I’m curious about how the world is going to change. We’re living in a politically “interesting” time, much like Thucydides did, and I find it hard not to spend too much time thinking about where we are heading.
What do you like to do when you are not working?
I love exploring Türkiye and meeting people here. Travelling with friends is a particular joy.
Which books have influenced you the most, and why?
I’m going to take Classical Literature off the table since it would make for an unfair competition! But recently I have very much enjoyed “The Sympathizer,” “Die Vermessung der Welt,” “The Bohemians” and “Say Nothing.” I enjoy literature that is about finding knowledge and understanding, or hiding it, and about how oppressed people fight their circumstances. This makes me a great fan of spy novels and ones about growing up and coming to understand that things are not as they seem, such as “The Lying Life of Adults,” as well as stories about how we can come to understand the world around us. “Die Vermessung der Welt,” for example, is about the exciting historical period when humanity was starting to really figure out that we could, quite literally, measure the world and learn about both the physical reality and moral qualities of the world around us.
Which films have influenced you the most, and why?
I think I’d have to say “Das Leben der Anderen:” I don’t really differentiate between books and films, and I appreciate films for opening the door to thinking about how people work in exactly the same way as I do books.
If you weren’t an academic, what career would you choose?
There’s a part of me that might have liked to be a veterinarian: another of my favorite features of Bilkent is all the cats! But I don’t think I would do very well seeing too much suffering.
What is the secret of leading a happy life?
I guess I’ll let you know when I figure it out! But it’s probably finding ways to serve and love others rather than getting caught up in what we discuss as the “meaningless honors” with regards to Plato’s “Republic.” I think it is important to prioritize your role in your community, especially helping those with fewer advantages, rather than chasing superficial things.
If you could go back to your undergraduate/graduate student years, what advice would you give to your younger self?
Wherever your road leads you, it is very likely that you are going to be happy with it. When I was 20 years old, I would never in a million years thought I would end up in Ankara working on Ancient History. Try to embrace the joy of being young more than focusing on the uncertainty that is also part of the experience. The uncertain parts can get you to really interesting places.
If you had unlimited funds, what would you like to research on?
Fortunately, Classics research is very cheap. I already have loads of books, and I wouldn’t want to stop teaching in any case. So, unlimited funding would make very little difference to me.
