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Ryan Abrecht

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Ancient History


Graduate Student

Office: HSSB 3212
Hours:

Advisor: Elizabeth DePalma Digeser

I work mostly on the Roman Empire of the first centuries CE, but am also broadly concerned with the ways that imperialism shapes the identities of both conquerors and conquered peoples alike. To that end, my research focuses on ancient imperial capitals such as Rome, Athens, Constantinople, and Chang'an. The diverse immigrant communities that lived in these cities, and the questions of ethnicity, religious syncretism, and acceptance of foreign customs (or lack thereof) that their presence engendered, are my primary areas of interest.

Teaching Fields

  • Ancient Mediterranean History
  • Ancient Mediterranean Religion and Early Christianity
  • Premodern World History
  • Premodern Urbanism

Courses Taught

  • HIST 112B: Roman Revolution
    Summer 2012

Teaching Assistantships

  • History 2A: World Civilizations to 1000 CE
    Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Fall 2010, Fall 2011
  • History 2B: World Civilizations from 1000 to 1700
    Winter 2011
  • History 2C: World Civilizations from 1700
    Spring 2011
  • History 4B: Western Civilization from 1050 to 1715
    Spring 2010
  • Classical Mythology
    Fall 2004 and Fall 2005 at Penn State University
  • Western Civilization I
    Spring 2005 at Penn State University
  • Egyptian Civilization
    Spring 2006 at Penn State University

Publications

  • The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome (2009)
    Entries on “Theodosius I,” “Theodosius II,” “Historia Augusta,” “Aemilius Paullus,” “Flaminius, Gaius,” “Flamininus, Titus Quinctius,” “Tarquin the Proud,” “Horatii,” “Scipio Aemilianus,” “Fabius Maximus,” and “Horatius Cocles.”

Awards

  • Humanities Special Fellowship
    University of California, Santa Barbara

MA Thesis

  • "An Avenging Sword: The Condemnation of Magic in Late Roman Law"
    Penn State University, August 2006

Conference Papers

  • “The Urban Frontiers of Imperial Rome”
    Friends of Ancient History, Loyola Marymount College, November 2010
  • "Crossing the Line: Restructuring Identity in the Late Roman Empire"
    Claremont Graduate University, Intersecting Histories Conference, April 2009
  • "Renegotiating Roman and Barbarian Identity"
    University of Pennsylvania Center for Ancient Studies, March 2009
  • “Forbidden Rites: The Condemnation of Magic in the Theodosian Code”
    Brown University, Religious Studies Graduate Conference, April 2006
  • “Sexy Devils: Female Sexuality in the European Witch Hunts”
    University of Colorado, Interdisciplinary History Conference, September 2005