CIG-ICG: A Grad Student Abroad: My First Four Months as The Homer and Dorothy Thompson Fellow

Friday, February 3, 2023

A Grad Student Abroad: My First Four Months as The Homer and Dorothy Thompson Fellow

This September I arrived in Athens to begin my tenure as the Homer and Dorothy Thompson fellow at the Canadian Institute in Greece. While I have spent some time in Athens prior to September – usually on my way to participate in fieldwork for the Stelida Naxos Archaeological Project – this was my first experience being able to spend a substantial amount of time in the city. This was also my first experience spending more than a couple of months outside of Canada. While being away from home has been a bit of an adjustment, the CIG has provided me with a fantastic experience, allowing me to immerse myself in Athens, and begin research for my thesis.

Making friends in the Ancient Agora (the Temple of Hephaestus in the background)

I am currently a third-year PhD candidate in the Anthropology department at McMaster University, meaning I am about half a year into my thesis research. I am focusing on the archaeological site of Stelida on Naxos – a major chert source and Minoan peak sanctuary. There, I am examining how deep-time (in this case 200,000 years) history can be written in an accessible way for both academic and non-academic audiences. Rather than taking a chronological approach, I am looking at the themes, including resource extraction, vista and communication, and marginality – that span the 200,000 years of human interaction with the site. This is building on my master’s degree in Museum Studies (University of Toronto) and my co-curation of the 2018 exhibit “Neanderthals on Naxos” (www.stelida.org).

Photo taken hiking up Stelida this past summer

So far, my research has consisted primarily of secondary analyses, spending quite a bit of time in the Canadian Institute’s library and the American School of Classical Studies’ Blegen Library. This has proved invaluable as many of these sources are not available back home at McMaster. However, after a lengthy ethics review process, I will finally be travelling back to Naxos this February to begin the ethnographic portion of my research, which consists of conducting interviews to learn about the modern history of Stelida.

The Lion Gate at Mycenae

Archaeological site-wise, it’s been wonderful being able to visit some old favourites, but it’s been even better getting to visit the sites I didn’t necessarily have the time to visit before. A particular new favourite being the Ancient Agora of Athens. In my down time I’ve also been able to do some travelling around the mainland, renting a car to visit the Palace of Nestor, Mycenae, Ancient Corinth, and Delphi.