2025-2026 Residential Fellowships at The Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor House
The UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture, in collaboration with the Benaki Museum, is pleased to announce two short-term fellowships for the academic year 2025-2026 for for UCLA ladder-rank faculty who wish to spend time at The Patrick & Joan Leigh Fermor House in Kardamyli, Messenia, Greece. Leigh Fermor House Fellowships are residential, and fellows are expected to devote the majority of their time to research and writing. Before departure from the Leigh Fermor House, fellows must submit a written review on their activities while in residence. They may also be invited to Athens to make a presentation to the Patrick & Joan Leigh Fermor House Fellowships Academic Committee, which includes the academic director, curators and staff of the Museum, as well as members of the public invited by the Academic Committee. The Academic Committee reserves the right to select studies for publication to the Benaki Museum scholarly periodical, Mouseio Benaki.
UCLA fellows will join others from the Freie Universität Berlin (Centrum Modernes Griechenland), Princeton University (Stanley J. Seeger ’52 Center for Hellenic Studies) and the Benaki Museum while in residency. The total number of fellows in residence at any time is five.
Fellowships are available for either the fall or spring term: fall term appointments are from November 5 – December 12, 2025 and spring term appointments are from February 11 – March 20, 2026. Please note that per UC academic personnel policy, you will need to request and secure permission for a short-term research leave under APM-752 and APM-758 before the fellowship can be confirmed. Please consult with the Academic Personnel Manager of your department for information.
Fellows are appointed for a single term and are expected to pursue research projects on a full-time basis on topics relating to the subject areas covered by the collections of the Benaki Museum, which span the entire length of Greek history and the entire breadth of Greek culture while also including several world cultures (Islamic, Chinese, African, Pre-Columbian American, Korean, et al.), or subject areas associated with the history of art, literature, philosophy and more. Please visit the Benaki Museum’s website for details about their collections.
Living Arrangements
Fellows may be accompanied by one family member (a child over 16 years old or spouse), who is hosted for free but should cover her / his meals.
Fellows are provided with a room with one double bed, personal workspace, one meal per day (for the fellow), and controlled access to the Leigh Fermor House library. The Benaki Museum Library and Archives in Athens are not accessible remotely and should be consulted, if necessary, outside the fellowship period. Fellows have access to the public spaces, a kitchen, as well as to the garden. Adjacent to the house is a private beach. Kardamyli, a charming village with small shops and bistros, is a short walk from the house. For more information about the house, see:
https://www.benaki.org/index.php?option=com_buildings&view=building&id=45&Itemid=794&lang=en
A stipend is not provided; therefore, fellows are expected to cover their expenses during their stay. Τhe Benaki Museum will make arrangements and cover the cost of fellows travelling from Athens to Kardamyli and from Kardamyli back to Athens after the completion of the fellowship. The UCLA SNF Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture will reimburse roundtrip, economy airfare between Los Angeles – Athens for the fellow. Fellows are responsible for arranging their own health insurance.
Due to the location and terrain of the property, the House is not wheelchair accessible. Please contact the Benaki Museum for more information on accessibility for people with restricted mobility.
How to Apply
For applications to be considered, please send the following materials to hellenic@humnet.ucla.edu:
- Title and summary (200 words) of proposed research project and a brief bio (one paragraph)
- A research proposal (3 pages, 1,000 words maximum), including description of project, timetable, explicit goals, and a rationale for why it should be pursued at the Leigh Fermor House
- Curriculum vitae including a list of publications
- Two samples of recent work
- Contact information for two referees
Awards will be made based on the following criteria:
- scholarly accomplishment, overall academic excellence and promise,
- significance and quality of the research proposal in definition, clarity, organization and scope,
- potential future impact through teaching and writing, and
- first-time applicants; a period of at least five years must elapse between a successful fellowship award at the Leigh Fermor House and a new fellowship application from the same person.
Deadline
All materials must be received by 5:00pm on January 15, 2025.
Awards will be announced in March 2024.
Postponement due to Force Majeure
By approval of its Board of Trustees, the Benaki Museum reserves the right to postpone the fellowships programme, due to force majeure (pandemic restrictions, etc.). In this case, the awarded fellowships will be moved.