Raaflaub’s research focuses on three areas: the social and political history of the Roman Republic; the social, political and intellectual history of archaic and classical Greece; and the comparative history of the ancient world. In 2004 his book, The Discovery of Freedom in Ancient Greece, was awarded the American Historical Association’s James Henry Breasted Prize. Raaflaub said that receiving such a fellowship speaks to accomplishments beyond his own: “It is therefore not only a personal award but also one that attests to the strength of humanities at Brown and of the two departments, classics and history, of which I was and still am a member.”