Curriculum Vitae

I grew up in Plainfield, New Hampshire, where the only high school was a private one, originally founded as a seminary in 1813. One vestige of its theological origins was a required Latin course, which, coupled with the inspiring teaching of the Latin master Dr. Hartnett, set my academic career in motion. I then read Classics at the University of St. Andrews (where, as at all ancient Scottish universities, the standard undergraduate degree is a ‘Master of Arts’), where I had the good fortune to study with many luminaries of the field. Through my reading of Herodotus I developed both an acute interest in the Persians, and a pronounced dissatisfaction with the sorts of questions one could answer about them using Greek sources alone. Accordingly, I went to the University of Colorado to study with Elspeth Dusinberre, an expert on the archaeology of Anatolia, as well as on the Achaemenid Empire. I earned an M.A. degree (the American kind this time) in Classical Art and Archaeology there, and then moved on to the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Art and Archaeology (known fondly as ‘IPCAA’) at the University of Michigan. IPCAA was an excellent fit for me, given my Classics background and because its faculty included Margaret Cool Root, whose scholarship on Achaemenid art has been nothing short of transformative. Under her supervision I wrote a doctoral dissertation on the archaeology of Achaemenid rule in Egypt, a topic that combined my interest in Achaemenid imperialism and material culture, Michigan’s strengths in the study of the later periods of ancient Egyptian history, and my background in Classics.

My first job was a fellowship at the Harvard Art Museums, where my primary responsibility was to help with an exhibition entitled Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World, curated by Susanne Ebbinghaus. I then received a fellowship from the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles to revise my dissertation for publication. After that I was unemployed for six months, and did part-time work as a writing tutor and fact checker. Fortunately Southern California is home to many academic institutions in need of teaching help, and I was eventually hired first to teach in the Classics department at the University of California, Irvine, and then in the Art History department at the University of Southern California (where I was also briefly on secondment to the School of Religion). In 2018 I returned to the museum world with a Mellon Curatorial Fellowship in the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The purpose of my appointment was to work on the reinstallation of the department’s permanent collection, and to that end arrangements were made for me to stay on after the end of my two-year fellowship. These arrangements, however, were curtailed by the COVID-19 outbreak, and I have since found teaching work once again, at the University of California, Riverside, The Cooper Union, New York University, Hofstra University, the Bard Microcollege at the Brooklyn Public Library,  and Baruch College in the City University of New York. In the fall of 2021 I also had a fellowship at the Bard Graduate Center.

My full academic CV is below, for those who are interested in such things.

 

Academic Appointments

  • 2024-: Adjunct Lecturer in History, Baruch College, City University of New York
  • 2024-: Adjunct Faculty, Bard Microcollege, Brooklyn Public Library
  • 2022-: Adjunct Assistant Professor of History, Hofstra University
  • 2021-: Adjunct Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
  • 2020:- Research Associate II, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan
  • 2022-4: Adjunct Assistant Professor, Liberal Studies, New York University
  • Fall 2021: Fields of the Future Fellow, Bard Graduate Center
  • Winter 2021: Lecturer in Classics, University of California, Riverside
  • 2018-20: Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow in Ancient Near Eastern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • 2017-18: Lecturer in Art History, University of Southern California
  • Spring 2017: Visiting Lecturer in Classics, University of California, Irvine
  • 2015-16:  Postdoctoral Fellow, Getty Research Institute
  • 2014-15:  Curatorial Fellow in Ancient Art, Harvard Art Museums

Academic Qualifications

  • 2014: Ph.D. Classical Art and Archaeology, University of Michigan
  • 2012: Graduate Teaching Certificate, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, University of Michigan
  • 2011: Eric P. Newman Graduate Seminar in Numismatics, American Numismatic Society
  • 2010: Graduate Certificate in Greek and Roman History, University of Michigan
  • 2007: M.A. Classical Art and Archaeology, University of Colorado
  • 2005: M.A. (Hons.) Classics, University of St. Andrews

Teaching Experience

2024-: Adjunct Lecturer, Department of History, Baruch College, City University of New York

Courses

  • Ancient Rome (fall 2024)

2024-: Adjunct Faculty, Bard Microcollege, Brooklyn Public Library

Courses

  • Money in Antiquity (fall 2024)
  • What Is a God? (spring 2024)

2022-: Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of History and Rabinowitz Honors College, Hofstra University

Courses

  • Culture and Expression: Solidarity (fall 2024)
  • Culture and Expression: Searching for Truth in Troubled Times (fall 2023)
  • Before Bitcoin: The Early History of Money (spring 2023)
  • Culture and Expression: The Making and Breaking of Community (fall 2022)

2021-: Adjunct Assistant Professor, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

Courses

  • Art and Architecture of the Ancient Near East (spring 2022 and summer 2023 and 2024)
  • Persia from Prehistory to the Sasanian Empire (spring 2021, 2023 and 2024)
  • The World of the Bronze Age (summer 2021, fall 2022 and spring 2024)
  • When Writing Met Art: Text and Image in the Premodern Era (Independent Study) (fall 2023)
  • Money in Antiquity (spring 2022 and fall 2023)
  • Greek and Roman Art (fall 2021 and 2023)
  • The Hellenistic Age: Art and Society in an Ancient Multicultural World (spring 2023)

2022-4: Adjunct Assistant Professor, Liberal Studies, New York University

Courses

  • What is a God? (Arts and Cultures across Antiquity) (spring and fall 2022)

2021: Lecturer, Department of Comparative Literature and Languages, University of California, Riverside

Courses

  • Classical Greece (winter 2021)

2017-18: Lecturer, Department of Art History, and Teaching Assistant, School of Religion, University of Southern California

Courses

  • Digging into the Past: Material Culture and Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean (spring 2018)
  • Roman Art and Archaeology (spring 2018)
  • Greek Art and Archaeology (fall 2017)
  • The World of the Hebrew Bible (fall 2017)
  • Introduction to Islam (fall 2017)

2017: Visiting Lecturer, Department of Classics, University of California, Irvine

Courses

  • Latin Biography (spring 2017)
  • Roman Letters (spring 2017)
  • Early Rome (winter 2017)
  • Money in Antiquity (winter 2017)

2013, 2008-10: Graduate Student Instructor, Departments of Classical Studies and the History of Art, University of Michigan

Courses

  • Money in Antiquity (fall 2013)
  • Roman Archaeology (spring 2010)
  • Great Monuments from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages (fall 2009)
  • Greek Myth (spring 2009)
  • Classical Civilization i: The Greek World (fall 2008)

2005-7: Teaching Assistant, Department of Classics, University of Colorado

Courses

  • Beginning Latin (fall 2006 and spring 2007)
  • World of the Ancient Greeks (spring 2006)
  • Trash & Treasure, Temples & Tombs (fall 2005)

Museum Experience and Other Academic Appointments

Fall 2021: Fields of the Future Fellow, Bard Graduate Center, New York, NY

  • Carried out self-directed historiographical research on Michael Rostovtzeff in preparation for a forthcoming study of Parthian art
  • Presented my research in hybrid format to BGC faculty, students and fellows

2018-20: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

  • Assisted in the planning and design of the reinstallation of the Ancient Near Eastern galleries
  • Designed installations of Iranian objects for display in the permanent galleries
  • Carried out research on objects in the Ancient Near Eastern collection, especially Iranian material
  • Supervised an intern project to create a thematic map of Met galleries relevant to the reinstallation project
  • Assisted in the preparation of acquisition paperwork for a Qajar illustrated manuscript and developed a plan for its study and publication
  • Briefed docents on strategies for presenting Iranian materials in the galleries

2015-16: Postdoctoral Fellow, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA

  • Authored one essay and catalog entries for the exhibition ‘Beyond the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World’
  • Carried out research on ancient Iranian and Egyptian drinking practices and material culture for my book Archaeology of Empire in Achaemenid Egypt (published 2020)
  • Presented my research in hybrid format to Getty curators and fellows
  • Collaborated on the study and publication of a Urartian belt in the collection and a rare 17th century Italian book describing Persepolis

2014-15: Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA

  • Assisted in the planning, design and preparation of the exhibition ‘Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings’
  • Authored portions of the companion volume, including the chapter on the Silk Road and sections on Iron Age material
  • Assisted in design and preparation of Near Eastern gallery rotations, including object research and writing labels
  • Carried out research on Greek and Near Eastern objects in the collection, including statuary and seals
  • Supervised classes and scholars making use of museum collections
  • Gave tours to important museum constituencies

2020-23, 2011-12: Research Assistant, later Associate, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

  • Described over 400 seal impressions attested on the Persepolis Fortification Archive for publication
  • Designed an open storage display drawer for Greek numismatics

2006: University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, CO

  • Cataloged the collection of ancient glass

Other Appointments

  • 2016-18: Guest Researcher, Getty Research Institute
  • 2016: Writing Tutor, El Camino College
  • 2010: Senior Librarian, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan
  • 2001: Interim Archivist, Kimball Union Academy

Research and Publications

Books

  • (ed. with B. Hensellek and J. A. Lerner) In Search of Cultural Identities in West and Central Asia: A Festschrift for Prudence Oliver Harper, 233-245. Inner and Central Asian Art and Archaeology 3. Turnhout: Brepols, 2023.
  • Archaeology of Empire in Achaemenid Egypt. Edinburgh Studies in Ancient Persia. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2020.

Published Articles

  • Palmyra and the Problem of Parthian Art. In R. Raja (ed.), Palmyra in Perspective, 175–198. Studies in Palmyrene Archaeology and History 11. Turnhout: Brepols, 2024.
  • On the Date and Cultural Context of Sir Aurel Stein’s Gilgit Rhyton. In H. P. Colburn, B. Hensellek and J. A. Lerner (ed.), In Search of Cultural Identities in West and Central Asia: A Festschrift for Prudence Oliver Harper, 233-245. Inner and Central Asian Art and Archaeology 3. Turnhout: Brepols, 2023.
  • (with O. Oudbashi and F. Carò) Coins from Qasr-e Abu Nasr: Archaeometallurgical and Numismatic Studies on Pre-Islamic Coins Excavated in South-Central Iran. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 15(10), 2023, no. 146.
  • A Brief Historiography of Parthian Art, from Winckelmann to Rostovtzeff. In Y. Kadoi and A. Barati (ed.), A Historiography of Persian Art: Past, Present, and Future. Journal of Art Historiography 28/HPC1, 2023.
  • Some Material Correlates of Drinking in the Achaemenid Empire. In S. Farridnejad and T. Daryaee (ed.), Food for Gods, Food for Mortals: Culinary and Dining Practices in the Greater Iranian World, 51-65. Čistā: Studies in the History, Cultures and Religions of the Iranian World 1. Irvine: UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies, 2022.
  • ‘The Spear of the Persian Man Has Gone Forth Far:’ The Achaemenid Empire and Its African Periphery. In T. Daryaee and R. Rollinger (ed.), Iran and Its Histories: From the Beginnings through the Achaemenid Empire. Proceedings of the First and Second Payravi Lectures on Ancient Iranian History, UC Irvine, March 23rd, 2018 and March 11th-12th, 2019, 291-336. Classica et Orientalia 29. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2021.
  • A Parthian Shot of Potential Arsacid Date. Digital Archive of Brief Notes and Iran Review 8, 2021, 35-40.
  • Ancient Iran. Oxford Bibliographies in Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, 2020, <https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780190922467/obo-9780190922467-0056.xml>.
  • Von Silber und Getreide – Zahlungsmittel und Wirtschaft im Achämenidenreich. In Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (ed.), Die Perser: Am Hof der Großkönige, 40-5. Zaberns Bildände zur Archäologie. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2021. (Published simultaneously in Antike Welt Sonderheft 10(21), 2021, 40–5.)
  • Ernst Herzfeld, Joseph Upton and the Artaxerxes Phialai. Metropolitan Museum Journal 55, 2020, 112-17.
  • Udjahorresnet the Persian: Being an Essay on the Archaeology of Identity. In M. Wasmuth and P. P. Creasman (ed.), Udjahorresnet and His World, 59-74. Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 26. Tucson: The Egyptian Expedition, 2020.
  • Seal Production and the City of Persepolis. In E. R. M. Dusinberre, M. B. Garrison and W. F. M. Henkelman (ed.), The Art of Empire in Achaemenid Persia: Studies in Honour of Margaret Cool Root, 287-308. Achaemenid History 16. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, 2020.
  • (with A. M. Belis) An Urartian Belt in the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Origins of the Parthian Shot. Getty Research Journal 12, 2020, 195-204.
  • The Canon of Ancient Iranian Art: From Grand Narratives to Local Perspectives. In A. Gansell and A. Shafer (ed.), Testing the Canon of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology, 111-30. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.
  • From the Mediterranean to China – After Alexander. In S. Ebbinghaus (ed.), Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings, 304-351. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Art Museums, 2018.
  • (with S. Ebbinghaus) Emblematic Animals at Iron Age Feasts. In S. Ebbinghaus (ed.), Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings, 86-113. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Art Museums, 2018.
  • The Role of Coinage in the Political Economy of Fourth Century Egypt. In P. McKechnie and J. A. Cromwell (ed.), Ptolemy I and the Transformation of Egypt, 404-282 BCE, 70-119. Mnemosyne Suppl. 415. Leiden: Brill, 2018.
  • Pioneers of the Western Desert: The Kharga Oasis in the Achaemenid Empire. In B. S. Düring and T. Stek (ed.), The Archaeology of Imperial Landscapes: A Comparative Study of Empires in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean World, 86-114. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
  • Contact Points: Memphis, Naukratis, and the Greek East. In J. Spier, T. Potts and S. E. Cole (ed.), Beyond the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World, 82-8. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2018.
  • Globalization and the Study of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In T. Hodos (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Globalization, 871-84. Abingdon: Routledge, 2017.
  • Gemelli Careri’s Description of Persepolis. Getty Research Journal 9, 2017, 181-90.
  • Roman Collecting and the Biographies of Egyptian Late Period Statues. World Archaeology 48(2), 2016, 226-38.
  • Memories of the Second Persian Period in Egypt. In J. M. Silverman and C. Waerzeggers (ed.), Political Memory in and after the Persian Empire, 165-202. Ancient Near East Monographs 13. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2015.
  • Art of the Achaemenid Empire and Art in the Achaemenid Empire. In B. A. Brown and M. H. Feldman (ed.), Critical Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Art, 773-800. Boston: De Gruyter, 2014.
  • Connectivity and Communication in the Achaemenid Empire. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 56(1), 2013, 29-52.
  • Orientalism, Postcolonialism, and the Achaemenid Empire: Meditations on Bruce Lincoln’s Religion, Empire and Torture. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 54(2), 2011, 87-103.
  • (with R. C. Hughes) Movement and Materiality: Mobile Cores and the Archaeology of Political Boundaries. In M. Sapwell and V. P. Spry-Marqués (ed.), Boundaries and Archaeology: Connecting Physical and Social Frontiers, 43-56. Archaeological Review from Cambridge 25(2), 2010.

Forthcoming Publications

  • The Personality of Cambyses, King of Kings. Syllogos (expected 2024).
  • The Cities of Persia. In R. Raja (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Hellenistic and Roman Syria and the Near East. Oxford: Oxford University Press (expected 2025).
  • Parthian Art. In J. Nokandeh (ed.), The Persian Empire. Tehran: National Museum of Iran and Beijing Palace Museum.
  • The Persian Domination and the Fourth Century BC (Twenty-Seventh to Thirtieth Dynasties). In I. Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, 2nd Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Religious Innovation in Achaemenid Egypt: The Case of the Hibis Temple. In M. R. Shayegan (ed.), Proceedings of the 14th Melammu Symposium. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
  • Material Styles: International and Local Styles in Religious Material Culture. In C. E. Barrett (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Archaeology of Ancient Mediterranean Religions. Abingdon: Routledge.
  • ‘Dura and the Problem of Parthian Art’ (Almost) a Hundred Years Later. In A. H. Chen and L. R. Brody (ed.), Dura-Europos: Past, Present, Future. Studies in Classical Archaeology. Turnhout: Brepols.
  • Religion and Empire in the Ancient Near East: Some Illustrative Examples from the Achaemenid Far West. In S. Zaia, G. Konstantopoulos and H. Dixon (ed.), The Bloomsbury Handbook of Ancient Near Eastern Religion. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Achaemenid Silver: An Essay on the Fungibility of Meaning. In St. J. Simpson (ed.), Gold, Silver and Glass: New Insights into Power and Luxury Crafts from the Middle East and the Caucasus to Eastern Europe and the Eurasian Steppe. Archaeopress Archaeology. Oxford: Archaeopress.
  • How (Not) to Find Persians in Egypt. In R. Shayegan and R. Rollinger (ed.), Proceedings of the First Achaemenid Workshop. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
  • (ed. with B. Hensellek) The Antiquities of Fars: A Persian Illustrated Manuscript in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (publication sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art).
  • (with M. B. Garrison and M. C. Root) Seals on the Persepolis Fortification Tablets III: Animals, Creatures, Plants, and Geometric Devices. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Short Communications

  • Review of Aršāma and His World: The Bodleian Letters in Context, edited by C. J. Tuplin and J. Ma. Ancient West and East 22, 2023, 486–9.
  • Apadana at Persepolis (356-61); Forum of Lepcis Magna (394-9); Ziggurat of Ur (488-93). In P. L. Bonfitto (ed.), World Architecture and Society: From Stonehenge to One World Trade Center. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2022.
  • King Darius’ Red Sea Canal. FEZANA Journal 35(4), 2021, 27-30.
  • Persians in Egypt. In D. T. Potts, E. Harkness, J. Neelis and R. McIntosh (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Ancient History: Asia and Africa. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Louise de la Marinierre’s “A Journey to Fars.” Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 78(4): Recent Acquisitions: A Selection 2018-20, 2021, 12.
  • Amasis (Persian General), 58-9; Ariaramnes the Persian, 132; Artaphernes, son of Hystaspes, 157-8; Artobazanes, 166-7; Badres of Pasargadae, 215; Bagaeus, 216; Boges, 235-6; Nile River, 977-9; Nitetis, 982-3; Oeobazus of Cardia, 1001; Otanes (1), son of Pharnaspes, 1026-7; Patiramphes, 1060; Pausiris, 1065; Phanes, 1108-9; Thannyras, 1423. In C. Baron (ed.), The Herodotus Encyclopedia. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2021.
  • Review of Kings, Countries, Peoples: Selected Studies on the Achaemenid Empire by Pierre Briant. Journal of the American Oriental Society 140(3), 2020, 745-7.
  • How to Find Persians in Egypt: The Archaeology of Achaemenid Egypt. EUP Blog, 12/16/2019.
  • Early Coinage in Egypt. In J. Spier, T. Potts, and S. E. Cole (ed.), Beyond the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World, 113-115. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2018.
  • Kharga Oasis. In E. Daniel (ed.), Encyclopaedia Iranica XVI, Fasc. 4, 431-4. Leiden: Brill, 2018.
  • (with D. Sneed) Ancient Glass in the University of Colorado Museum. University of Colorado Department of Classics Online Catalogue, 8/11/2018.
  • A Modern Architect in the Ancient World. Index Magazine (Harvard Art Museums), 12/7/2015.
  • A Puzzling Pitcher. Index Magazine (Harvard Art Museums), 7/28/2015.
  • The Sixth Satrapy: The Archaeology of Egypt under Achaemenid Rule. Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 5(4), 2013, 12-13.

Lectures and Conference Papers

  • What Have the Persians Ever Done for Us? The Study of Achaemenid Imperialism in Egypt. Conference on ‘Judean Diaspora and Biblical Texts in Achaemenid Egypt,’ Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, 19 August 2024.
  • Persian Silver: The Power Behind the Throne, Members’ Conference on ‘Great Civilisations: Greece and Persia,’ British Museum, London, 17 June 2023.
  • How (Not) to Find Persians in Egypt. Achaemenid Workshop on ‘Identity, Alterity, and the Imperial Impress in the Achaemenid World,’ Pourdavoud Center for the Study of the Iranian World, University of California, Los Angeles, 14 April 2023.
  • Palmyra and the Problem of Parthian Art. Conference on ‘Palmyra in Perspective: Reflections on a Critical Decade of Scholarship (2012–2022),’ The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, 8 December 2022.
  • Greek Style and the Problem of Parthian Art. Annual meeting of the American Society of Overseas Research, Boston, 19 November 2022.
  • The Persian Pharaohs: Kingship and Imperialism in Achaemenid Egypt. Fudan University, 18 November 2022.
  • A Guide to Drinking and Dining with the Parthians. J. Paul Getty Museum, 25 June 2022.
  • Imperial Captivation: Seals, Coins and Power in the Achaemenid Empire. Annual Debates in Archaeology Symposium on ‘The Archaeology of Captivating Technology: Making, Wonder, and Power in Material Perspective,’ University of Toronto, 9 April 2022.
  • ‘Dura and the Problem of Parthian Art’ (Almost) a Hundred Years Later. Conference on ‘Dura-Europos: Past, Present, Future,’ ARCHAIA Program for the Study of Ancient and Premodern Cultures and Societies, Yale University, 1 April 2022.
  • Sotades’ Amazon Rhyton: Banqueting and Trade between Greece, Persia and Kush. The Barnes Foundation, 13 December 2021.
  • Parthian Art is Still a Problem. Bard Graduate Center, 14 September 2021.
  • Globalization and Archaeology: Lessons from the Achaemenid Empire. Lecture series on ‘Ancient Afro-Eurasia in Context(s): Theory, Method, Perspectives,’ University of Trento, 16 February 2021.
  • Achaemenid Egypt: The Archaeology of a Colonial Encounter. Pourdavoud Center for the Study of the Iranian World, University of California, Los Angeles, 4 November 2020.
  • How to Get a Persian Rock Relief into a Museum. Met Fellows Colloquium on ‘The Art of Adaptation: Pushing Temporal, Cultural, and Disciplinary Boundaries,’ Metropolitan Museum of Art, 13 March 2020.
  • Persian Kings and Egyptian Gods: Religious Innovation in Achaemenid Egypt. 14th Melammu Symposium on ‘Contextualizing Iranian Religions in the Ancient World,’ University of California, Los Angeles, 18 February 2020.
  • Drinking Like a Persian: The Archaeology of Achaemenid Drinking, from Egypt to Gandhara. Seminar for Iranian Studies, Columbia University, 12 December 2019.
  • Archaeology of Empire in Achaemenid Egypt: A View from the Met. Department of Egyptian Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 9 May 2019.
  • The Stepchild’s Stepchild: Displaying Ancient Iran at the Modern Museum. Met Fellows Colloquium on ‘Bridging Eurasia,’ Metropolitan Museum of Art, 22 March 2019.
  • The Persian-Achaemenid Empire and Africa. Payravi Conference on Ancient Iranian History II on ‘The Persian-Archaemenid Empire as a “World-System:” New Approaches and Contexts,’ Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, University of California, Irvine, 11 March 2019.
  • Achaemenid Persian Silver: Notes on the Fungibility of Meaning. Symposium on ‘Between Art and Asset: Silver Vessels from Antiquity to Today,’ Harvard Art Museums, 3 November 2018.
  • Drinking Like a Persian: Dining and Identity in Achaemenid Persia and Egypt. Conference on ‘The History of Food and Wine in Ancient Iran,’ Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, University of California, Irvine, 15 May 2018.
  • Drinking Like a Persian: The Archaeology of Social Practices in Achaemenid Egypt. Department of Art History, University of California, Irvine, 25 January 2018.
  • Portraying Persians in Achaemenid Egypt. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, University of California, Irvine, 31 May 2017.
  • How Do You Solve a Problem Like Djedherbes? Getty Research Institute, 11 May 2016.
  • Religious Institutions as Instruments of Achaemenid Rule in Egypt. Iranian Studies Program, University of California, Los Angeles, 23 February 2016.
  • Identity and Experience in Achaemenid Memphis. Department of Art History, University of Chicago, 27 January 2016.
  • Interrogating Identities in Achaemenid Egypt. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles, 4 November 2015.
  • Drinking on the Silk Road: The Transmission and Transformation of Zoomorphic Vessels. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 1 July 2015.
  • Imperialism and Identity: Egyptian Sculpture and the Experience of Persian Rule. Department of the History of Art and Architecture, University of California, Santa Barbara, 27 January 2015.
  • Memories of the Second Persian Period in Egypt. Memories of Kingship workshop, Department of the Classics, Harvard University, 13 November 2014.
  • Memories of the Second Persian Period in Egypt. Conference on ‘Political Memory in and after the Persian Empire,’ Leiden Institute of Area Studies, Leiden University, 19 June 2014.
  • Sculpture and Society in Achaemenid Egypt. Kurt T. Luckner Lecture, Archaeological Institute of America Toledo Society, Toledo Museum of Art, 16 May 2014.
  • The Late Period: An Egyptian Renaissance. School of Art, Bowling Green State University, 22 April 2014.
  • Pioneers of the Western Desert: The Kharga Oasis in the Achaemenid Empire. Consolidating Empire Project conference on ‘The Archaeology of Empires: Repertoires of Rule,’ Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, 12 April 2014.
  • The Palace of Apries in Memphis: A Case Study in the Archaeology of Achaemenid Rule. Field Archaeology Series on Thursdays, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan, 23 January 2014.
  • The Sealings from the Palace of Apries at Memphis: A Case Study in Cultural Interaction in Achaemenid Egypt. Annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, Chicago, 3 January 2014.
  • The Archer and the Owl: A Numismatic Perspective on the Political Economy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Collaborative Archaeology Workgroup conference on ‘Movement in Ancient Economies: Archaeological Approaches to Distribution,’ University of Michigan, 16 February 2013.
  • The Demographic Implications of Seal Production at Persepolis. Annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, Seattle, 5 January 2013.
  • Art of the Achaemenid Empire and Art in the Achaemenid Empire. Annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Chicago, 17 November 2012.
  • The Demographic Implications of Seal Production at Persepolis. Three Field Talks, Department of Classical Studies, University of Michigan, 12 October 2012.
  • Where are the Egyptian Statues of the Persian Period at? Three Field Talks, Department of Classical Studies, University of Michigan, 16 March 2012.
  • Art OF the Achaemenid Empire and Art IN the Achaemenid Empire. Near Eastern Studies Graduate Student Colloquium, University of Michigan, 10 May 2012.
  • The Pharaoh’s Owls: Coin Use in Egypt before the Ptolemies. Field Archaeology Series on Thursdays, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan, 26 January 2012.
  • The Canal of Darius Revisited: Social and Economic Implications of the Red Sea Canal. Annual meeting of the American Historical Association, Chicago, 6 January 2012.
  • The Pharaoh’s Owls: Coin Use in Egypt in the Fifth and Fourth Centuries BCE. Conference on ‘Ptolemy I and the Transformation of Egypt,’ Ancient Cultures Research Centre, Macquarie University, 28 September 2011.
  • Darius’ Red Sea Canal: Fluid Dynamics of the Achaemenid Empire. Three Field Talks, Department of History, University of Michigan, 22 October 2010.
  • Seals and Sealings as Archaeological Data. Graduate Workshop on Archaeology and Material Culture, University of Michigan, 2 October 2010.
  • Movement and Materiality: Mobile Cores and the Archaeology of Boundaries. Graduate Workshop on Archaeology and Material Culture, University of Michigan, 31 October 2009.

Awards and Grants

  • 2015: Finalist for a Council of Graduate Schools/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award (national competition)
  • 2014: ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award, University of Michigan
  • 2014: Graduate Student Travel Grant, Archaeological Institute of America (declined)
  • 2013: Graduate Student Travel Grant, Archaeological Institute of America
  • 2012-13: Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, University of Michigan
  • 2012: Rackham Conference Travel Grant, University of Michigan
  • 2012: International Institute Travel Grant, University of Michigan
  • 2012: Rackham Humanities Research Fellowship, University of Michigan
  • 2011: International Institute Travel Grant, University of Michigan
  • 2011: Rackham Conference Travel Grant, University of Michigan
  • 2010-11: Rackham Humanities Research Candidacy Fellowship, University of Michigan
  • 2008: Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant, University of Michigan
  • 2006: Classics Department Summer Research Stipend, University of Colorado
  • 2005: David Marshall Prize for Latin, University of St. Andrews

Archaeological Field Experience

  • 2012: Abydos Middle Cemetery Project, Egypt (ceramicist, trench supervisor)
  • 2011: Abydos Middle Cemetery Project, Egypt (interim ceramicist, small finds coordinator)
  • 2010: Rescue excavations, Ann Arbor, MI
  • 2010: Tel Kedesh Archaeological Project, Israel (trench supervisor)
  • 2009: Rescue excavations, Ann Arbor, MI
  • 2008: Tel Kedesh Archaeological Project, Israel (trench supervisor)
  • 2006: Pichvnari Archaeological Expedition, Ajarian Autonomous Region, Republic of Georgia
  • 2001: Deía Archaeological Museum and Research Centre Excavations on Mallorca, Spain
  • 2000: Romanian Institute of Thracology Excavations at Halmyris (near Tulcea), Romania

Professional Service

Committees

2023–           Editorial Committee, Ancient Iranian Studies

2020–           Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ancient Near Eastern Galleries Reinstallation Project Advisory Committee

Peer Reviewer

  • Journals: Academia Letters; American Historical Review; American Journal of Numismatics; Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte; Arts; Bulletin of ASOR; Getty Research Journal; Historia i Świat; Iranian Studies; Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections; Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History; Journal of Archaeological Research; Journal of Near Eastern Studies; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society; Studia Orientalia Electronica
  • Publishers: Cambridge University Press; Cognella Academic Publishing; Oxbow Books
  • Grants: Getty Research Institute Scholar Program, 2017–18 and 2018–19 themes ‘The Classical World in Context: Persia;’ National Science Centre (Poland)

Other Service

  • 2014-16: Assistant, then Language Editor, Open Archaeology (De Gruyter Open)
  • 2012-13: Treasurer, Collaborative Archaeology Workshop, University of Michigan
  • 2006-7: Co-President, Boulder Society, Archaeological Institute of America
  • 2003-4: Treasurer, University of St. Andrews Classical Society

Languages

  • Ancient: Greek (reading), Latin (reading), Egyptian hieroglyphics (introductory)
  • Modern: French (reading), German (reading), Italian (reading), Spanish (reading)