Biography

Biography

Trained as a Classical archaeologist, Mary has pursued research on ancient architecture, sculpture, and painting. Her primary focus has been on the relationship between human behavior and Greek architecture, especially in ritual and ceremonial activity. Her book, Shaping Ceremony: Monumental Steps and Greek Architecture (2015), addressed the contexts and functions of monumental steps in Greek cities and sanctuaries. She also studied how people used the interiors of Greek temples. Her research on Roman sculpture considered the processes of making statuary and approaches to emulation. In that realm, she served as consulting curator on the exhibit Rethinking the Romans at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. She has also written about Theran Bronze Age wall painting, and served as Participating Project Archaeologist for a project exploring the deep seabed of the south Aegean Sea, supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Ocean Exploration. Mary’s archaeological fieldwork ranged from Italy (Murlo), to Cyprus (Toumba tou Skourou), and Greece (Corinth, Corfu). She has lectured in England, Greece, and Germany. Her work has received support from fellowships and grants, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, URI’s Center for the Humanities, and others.
In 2012 Mary was honored with the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award by the Archaeological Institute of America. At URI Mary taught Ancient Greek Art and Archaeology, Roman Art and Archaeology, and Medieval Art. She also worked with colleagues in History and Anthropology in creating the Archaeology Group and delivering interdisciplinary courses, including Cultural Heritage seminars. Committed to collaborative endeavors, she also led the initiative to develop Islamic and Mediterranean Studies at URI. She served the University as Senator, Member oi the Senate Executive Committee, and Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate.

Education

Ph.D. in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology and Greek, Bryn Mawr College, 1979.

M.A. in Classical Archaeology (Classics Dept), Harvard University, 1973.

American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece, 1969-1970

A.B. in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College, 1969.

Selected Publications

2022
‘Steps for Display, Steps as Display in Greek Architecture” in Gestaltung, Funktion und Bedeutung antiker Treppenanlagen (Kasion 11), A. Rickert and S. Schlosser eds. Munster: 337-362.

2020
“Contexts for Greek Architecture: Places and People” in New directions and paradigms for the study of Greek architecture: interdisciplinary dialogues in the field, P. Sapirstein and D. Scahill eds. Leiden and Berlin: 243-57.

2015
Shaping Ceremony: Monumental Steps and Greek Architecture (Wisconsin Series in Classics), U. of Wisconsin Press.

2015
“The North Court of the Erechtheion and the Ritual of
the Plynteria” American Journal of Archaeology 119: 177-90.

2015
“Awaiting Identity. Copenhagen’s ‘diskophoros’ and its Auxiliary Support” Asmosia 10: Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone, P. Pensabene and E. Gasparini eds. Rome: 171-178.

2002
“Extending the Reach of Marble: Struts in Greek and Roman Sculpture” in The Ancient Art of Emulation: Studies in Artistic Originality, Tradition, and Practice from the Present to Antiquity, E. Gazda ed. Ann Arbor: 117-52.

2002
“From Two to Three Dimensions in Unfinished Roman Sculpture” in Asmosia 5:Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone, J.J. Herrmann Jr., N. Herz and R. Newman eds. London: 225-30.