University of Southampton

Graduate Student, Archaeology

Thesis Title: Representing the body in Etruscan Italy

About

I completed my BA with First Class Honours at the University of Southampton in 2008, and my MA, which I gained with Distinction, in 2009. My MA thesis focused upon an exploration of landscape field survey data as a base for a socially centred and heavily theoretically informed discussion of the Etruscan lived landscape.

My current research, supported by a Block Grant Partnership from the AHRC, considers the representation of the Etruscan body on a variety of media from the sites of Chiusi, Poggio Civitate (Murlo), Tarquinia and Vulci. This ambitious project will examine the way in which the human body is portrayed in archaeological context, exploring the connections and relationships between the bodies of Etruscan subjects, the materiality of decorated objects, and the represented persons portrayed in imagery. It focuses on combining feminist phenomenological philosophy with rigorous archaeological analysis to contribute to the development of social archaeology in Etruria.

I am also working on several spin off projects based on both my dissertation research and my fieldwork at the Poggio Civitate Excavation project, centred around my interests in social archaeology more widely within Etruscan studies.

In addition to my research interests, I passionately enjoy teaching and have co-lectured on the undergraduate modules "Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology" and "Emergence of Civilisation." I have also had the exciting experience of teaching adult learners, through a course on the ancient Mediterranean delivered at Barton Peveril College.