Teaching and Pedagogy
My teaching is grounded in a commitment to representing the diversity of the ancient Mediterranean world through careful critical engagement with ancient objects and primary texts. My courses emphasize skills development and multivocality. Browse below to learn more.
Current Courses
Ethnicity, Race, and Nationality in Antiquity
The Mediterranean Sea has been considered as a cauldron of globalization. Throughout ancient history, people sailed across the sea to encounter new peoples and ideas. As a result of these interactions, which were often driven by conquest or colonization, new ideas about race and ethnicity developed. These ideas would shape the Mediterranean throughout antiquity and still inform much of the racial discourse in the modern world
Our goal is to examine the Mediterranean world over the centuries and gain a more thorough appreciation for its diversity and complexity. Using ancient primary sources in translation, we will examine how concepts like race, ethnicity, and culture were defined in the ancient Mediterranean and in what contexts they mattered. We will consider what theories developed to explain human difference and examine what impacts these theories had on political, social, and economic development. Alongside these ancient texts students will also contrast the material remains of these societies and compare local understandings of ethnicity with the Greek and Roman textual sources that define the discipline.
New Class for Fall 2021!
Roman Archaeology
This course explores the art and archaeology of the Roman Empire, from the foundation of Rome to the development of signature aspects of Roman culture like bathing, to the cities and peoples of Rome’s colonies. We’ll look at how cities were founded and changed over time, the ways that people dressed and ate, and the types of art and monuments that people produced as they adapted to life in the Empire. The course will run roughly chronologically, from the Late Republic and Empire up to the late 2nd century CE. We’ll emphasize questions of cultural change and identity, politics and power, and how ancient peoples used and experienced their material world. As part of this class, students will develop skills in critical reading, argumentative writing, and oral communication.
There are no prerequisites for this course, but students will be expected to read scholarly texts in art history and archaeology, lead a class discussion, and work through a major research project over the course of the semester.
Previously Taught
Roman Frontiers
Though movies and novels often focus on the city of Rome, the majority of Romans actually lived outside of Italy. What did their lives look like? In this course, we will focus on the fringes of the Roman Empire, from Syria to Britannia to Noricum, as a way to think through how diverse groups of people responded to Roman rule. We’ll look at how cities were founded and changed over time, the ways that people dressed and ate, and the types of art and monuments that people produced as they adapted to life in the Empire. In order to get a full appreciation for the diversity of these reactions, we will survey a wide range of sites across the empire during the Late Republic and Empire up to the 4th century CE and emphasize questions of cultural change, local persistence, and identity. As part of this inquiry, students will also gain familiarity with key scholarly debates surrounding the Roman provinces, including questions of borderlands, Hellenization, Romanization, and resistance.
The Roman Bath at Bath in England (Unsplash)
Roman Provinces
It is easy to assume that the Roman Empire’s heart was its capital, the city of Rome. But the vast majority of Romans lived outside of Rome, and the empire’s territories encompassed many cultural groups, geographic landscapes, and religious rites. In this class, we will focus on Roman history outside of Rome. We will focus on questions of power, conquest, and imperialism in order to understand how and why the Roman Empire developed in the way that it did. We will also highlight the experiences of those who lived under Roman rule and consider how Rome’s rise changed (and did not change) life in the provinces.
Students in this course will study ancient texts in translation (including historical, documentary, and literary sources) and art and archaeology in order to get a holistic view of Rome’s provinces. As part of this course, students will complete a research project centered around a particular province and deliver a group presentation based on their work.
(Winter 2020)
The Mediterranean Sea (Jeffrey Blum, Unsplash)
Classical Immigration
In this course, we will examine how immigration shaped classical civilizations. Migration today plays a key role in how we define communities, cultures, and ourselves. For ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans, who placed high values on citizenship, membership, and heritage, migration upended many institutions they held dear. Those who left home often encountered conflicts and challenges, but their travel also produced profound cultural and economic changed that reshaped the Mediterranean world. How did these people travel? Where did they go, and why? How were they received when they arrived? What was the legacy of human mobility in antiquity?
This course will examine instances of migration, displacement, and movement around the Mediterranean in antiquity. We will examine economic, religious, social, and political motivations for migration and discuss their impacts over time. Alongside historical case studies, students in this course will examine key themes in the study of immigration, including theories of diaspora, place, ethnicity, and identity.
(Spring 2019)
Interested in my courses?
To learn more or request syllabi, please use the Contact page above.