Classics welcomes unique visiting scholar

The Faculty of Arts and Science Classics department recently welcomed visiting scholar Dr. Lisa Maher, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley and unveiled a new bursary, Classics Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award.

To welcome her to the department, Dr. Maher is taking part in the Classics Presents series with her lecture Persistent Place-Making in Prehistory: the Creation, Maintenance, and Transformation of Landscapes in Southwest Asia (and Beyond).

When department head Daryn Lehoux learned she was on sabbatical from the University of California and living in Kingston, he jumped at the opportunity to invite her to join the department as a visiting scholar.

“She is definitely an interesting addition to our department as Queen’s has no anthropology department,” says Dr. Lehoux. “She will bring something different to our students as our work starts in the bronze age and her research covers the period before that. It’s going to really enhance the department.”

Dr. Maher describes herself as a prehistoric archaeologist and geoarchaeologist specializing in the prehistory of Southwest Asia.

“I finished my PhD at the University of Toronto, where I experienced fieldwork in Jordan for the first time and was hooked,” she says. “After a post-doctoral and research position at the University of Cambridge, I joined the Anthropology Department at Berkeley as an environmental archaeologist. I have been running archaeological projects in Jordan for over 20 years, and I have also worked as a geoarchaeologist in many other countries throughout the world.”

To register for her talk email classics.undergrad@queensu.ca and you will receive a Zoom link for the event.

Dr. Lehoux says he and the entire department are also thrilled to have set up a new bursary called the Classics Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award for students from underrepresented groups in Classics, including Indigenous, Black, and 2SLGBTQ+ students as well as refugees, and first-generation university students.

“We are aware there are equity issues that need to be addressed within Classics and this is a great step towards helping with that,” Dr. Lehoux says. “This bursary received its initial donation from an alumnus and students will soon be able to apply for it. We are hoping the award will raise the levels of representation.”

For more information visit the Classics website.