Ph.D., Loyola University Chicago

Hi! I work on a period of time known as late antiquity, the era associated with the end of the Roman empire and its transformation into a new, equally complex world. I was originally trained as a textual historian but was introduced to the study of archaeological material early on in my graduate career. My scholarship tends to involve a close reading of textual sources combined with information gained from the examination of material culture.

I'm particularly interested in helping give voice to the lives of those who have walked more softly through history—in this case, the laborers, sailors, and workers of the ancient world—and feel that this is best accomplished by examining aspects of their quotidian lives, or the small details of daily existence that define so much of the human experience. This is why I began studying foodways. My research is built on the premise that foodways, or the everyday relationship people had with the food they collected, prepared, and consumed, can serve as a record of cultural values and are invaluable for investigating historical change in ancient Italy and the Mediterranean more broadly. My current publications have centered on this, including my co-edited volume, From Garum to Mole: Sauces and Identity in the Western World, which will soon be published by Oxford University Press. I also recently wrote a book chapter on the phenomenology of the Roman meal and co-authored an article in the Journal of Roman Archaeology on the dining habits of sailors in late antiquity and the relationship of this to labor practices. Now, however, I'm currently working away on my first monograph, tentatively titled Cooking in Italy from the Republic to Late Antiquity, which examines textual and archaeological evidence for developments in cooking across several hundred years in the Italian peninsula.

I was born and raised in New York City but have not lived there for many years. My youthful experiences surrounded by so many different peoples, languages, and foods developed my curiosity for studying history. I hold a B.A. and M.A. in history from Boston University, an M.A. in Classical Archaeology from Tufts University, and a Ph.D. in history from Loyola University Chicago. Before coming to Texas Tech I taught for four years at East Texas A&M University (formerly Texas A&M University-Commerce). In 2024 I was a Fellow in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. I have participated on archaeological excavations in Portugal, England, and Italy, and of late have spent considerable time studying and working with pottery, specifically the ceramic vessels that ancient peoples used to hold, prepare, and consume their meals. Some of my more recent work has examined material from two shipwrecks, the 6th century CE Marzamemi II off Sicily and the 7th century Yassıada, whose finds are stored in Bodrum, Türkiye.

I teach courses on the ancient Mediterranean world, both graduate and undergraduate. I also teach the first half of Western Civilization. I enjoy working with students and teaching them to discover the pleasure in learning and writing about the ancient past. This includes helping students find research opportunities to travel overseas, including for archaeological work. Please seek me out if you’d like to learn more!