Website(s)
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https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Natalie-Susmann |
| Current CV |
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| Areas of Interest |
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Mediterranean landscape archaeology; Greek sacred space; mountain and cave sanctuaries; ecotourism; religious tourism; processions and pilgrimage; views; memory; Digital Humanities |
| Excavation and Fieldwork |
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I am currently working on the island of Patmos, which is located in the Greek Dodecanese. Here, I am investigating the island’s transformation into an early Christian landmark and how this identity was shaped by non-residents. I compare Patmos’ lack of notoriety in the Pagan world to the island of Delos, which was a touchstone sacred landmark during antiquity. My work on Patmos, in addition to smaller ethnographic studies on the islands of Ikaria and Kalymnos, will appear as case studies in my upcoming book “Sanctuaries on High: Sanctuaries on High: Seeing, Moving, and Remembering Mountains in Ancient Greece”. |
| Representative Publications |
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In review. “Sacred Auras and Strategic Viewsheds: Reassessing the Argive Heraion’s Visual and Topographic Impact at the Regional Level.”
2021. “Moving Down the Mountain: Pathways for Sacred Landscape Transformation at Ancient Epidaurus and Nemea.” Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture. 13(1): 73-109.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1751696X.2021.1891367
2020. “Regional Ways of Seeing: A Big-Data Approach for Measuring Ancient Visualscapes.” Advances in Archaeological Practice 8(2): 174-191. https://doi.org/10.1017/aap.2020.6
2020. “Tyrian, True, Royal, or Real: Archaeological Assumptions about the Elite Murex Dye Industry.” Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 8(2): 159-173. https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.8.2.0159
2015. “Preliminary Approaches for the Identification and Classification of Murex Dye Production Sites.” Archaeological Textiles Review 57: 89-103. |
| What have you been doing since you’ve graduated? |
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From 2019-2022, I was a Visiting Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where I taught digital-themed courses in Greek archaeology and history. From 2019-2022, I was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the College of the Holy Cross, where I taught an array of Mediterranean archaeology and Digital Archaeology courses.
I am currently the Digital Literacy Instruction Librarian at Brandeis University. In addition to teaching Digital Humanities, I am working with different administrators and campus groups to effectively integrate digital technology into Humanities and Social Sciences curricula. My current projects include developing a digital Oral Histories StoryLab for COMPACT, which will capture the voices of alumni who work with community partners. I am also developing a digital workshop series for graduate students, specifically to provide them with hands-on training for careers outside of the professorate.
My research methodology has since expanded, and I integrate modern voices (particular tourists) in a variety of ways. During Covid, I began a small project about the Saint Mary of Carmen Society, located in Nonantum (Newton, MA). Combining in-person observation, interviews, and historical records, I am exploring how their festival procession delineates a temporary sacred space.
My work is largely centered in Greece, and I am working on my book about mountain sanctuaries, which will present case studies across time and space. I am currently working on Patmos, a small island in the Dodecanese, where an elevated monastery and cave pinpoint where Saint John the Theologian composed the Apocalypse. In prior centuries, ancient Greeks had lived here, and the island lacked notoriety. I am exploring Patmos’ transition from local island to global religious landmark, and how the elevated monastery (located in Chora), acts as a visual node for tourists coming to the island. |
| What interactions with members of the Archaeology faculty did you value most during your time in the program? |
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I remain grateful for the faculty’s lasting commitment to helping their graduate students. Even though I graduated in 2019, the faculty are still giving me advice and words of encouragement. Andrea still edits some of my papers for me! |
