Curriculum Vitae | Denise Schmandt-Besserat

Education
Languages
Professional Experience
Societies and Memberships
Awards and Honors
Special Listings
Research Grants
Field Experience and Travel
Courses Taught

Education

1964 Ecole du Louvre
1953 Baccalauréat, Paris

Languages

French (Mother tongue)
English
German

Professional Experience

2004 -PresentProfessor Emerita, the University of Texas at Austin
1988 – 2004 Professor of Art and Middle Eastern Studies, The University of Texas at Austin
1981 – 1988 Associate Professor, the University of Texas at Austin
1972 – 1981 Assistant Professor, the University of Texas at Austin
1978 – 1979 Acting Chief Curator, the University of Texas Art Museum
1976 – 1979 Assistant Director, The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, The University of Texas at Austin
1969 – 1971 Research Fellow in Near Eastern Archaeology, Department of Anthropology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University
Summer 1968 Research Assistant to W. Fairservis, American Museum of Natural History, New York (Work on archaeological dictionary to be published by Charles Scribner’s Sons)
1965 – 1969 Department of Anthropology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University
1956 – 1960 French teacher to German government officials; Private teacher of the President of the Federal Republic, Bonn Germany

Societies and Memberships

2021 – Present Editorial Scientific Committee, Athena, Rome
2011-2015 Committee of Philology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw Branch
2008 – 2015 Editorial Board SCRIPTA
2008 – 2012 Hunminjeongeum Society, Seoul, South Korea
2005 – Present Editorial Board, Near Eastern Archaeology
2004 – 2015 Advisory Board, Biblical Archaeology
2004 – 2006 Advisory Board, Archaeology Odyssey
2001-Present Media Ecology
- 2002-2014 Editorial Board, Explorations in Media Ecology
2001- 2020 Board of Directors, Studi Egei e Vicinoorientali
2001- 2010 Editorial Board, Ancient Administration
1993 – 2020 Centro Internazionale Ricerche Archeologiche, Antropologiche e Storiche
1993 – 1995 Editorial Board, Written Communication
1989 – Present American Schools of Oriental Research
1985 – 2014 Advisory Board, Visible Language
1978 – 1992 Advisory Editor, Technology and Culture
1976 – 2019 American Oriental Society
1974 – 1976 President, Central Texas Society
1973 – 2020 Archaeological Institute of America,
- 1983-1989 Member, Governing Board,
- 1985-1989 Chair, Committee on Archaeological Outreach,
- 1987-1989 Member, Committee on Professional Responsibilities,
- 1977-1983 Committee on Regional Symposia (Chair); Committee on Membership; Lectures Committee
1973 – 1974 Secretary, Central Texas Society
1969 – 2004 American Anthropological Association

Awards and Honors

2018 Albert Nelson Marquis lifetime Achievement
2008 Hamilton Book Award for When Writing Met Art
2008 Dr. h. c. Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio
2005 Malone Fellowship for a Study Visit to the Sultanate of Oman
2004 The Walter J. Ong Award for Career Achievement in Scholarship, The Media Ecology Association
2003 – 2004 Weeks Fellowship, Stanford Humanities Center, Stanford University, Ca.
2001 Fellowship, CAORG and American Center of Oriental Studies, Amman, Jordan
1999 How Writing Came About, listed as one of the 100 books that shaped science in the 20th century, American Scientist, November-December 1999, p. 553
1999 Malone Fellowship for a study visit to Yemen.
1998 Hamilton Book Award for How Writing Came About.
Spring 1997 Fellowship, American Center of Oriental Studies, Amman, Jordan
1996 Malone Fellowship for a study visit to Saudi Arabia.
Summer 1995 Fellowship, American Center of Oriental Studies, Amman, Jordan
April 1993 Kayden National University Press book award for Before Writing
May 1990 Scholar in Residence, the University of Hiroschima and The University o Tsukuba, Japan
Spring 1989 Una Lecturer in the Humanities, The University of California, Berkeley
Fall 1987 Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Near Eastern Studies, The University of California, Berkeley
Spring 1987 Guest Scholar, German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany
1984 – 1985 Fellow, The Institute for Research in the Humanities, the University of Wisconsin, Madison
1979 Outstanding Woman in Humanities, American Association of University Women
1978 Jean Holloway Teaching Award, The University of Texas at Austin
1969 Radcliffe Fellow, Radcliffe Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Special Listings

Present Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Schmandt-Besserat
1982 – Present Who’s Who in America, 42^nd – 67^th Editions
2004 Who’s Who of American Women
1999 Who’s Who in America, Millennium Edition
1984 Who’s Who in Frontier Science and Technology, 1st Edition

Research Grants

2009 CAORC Senior Fellowship, The American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, to study Anthropomorphic Clay Figurines at ‘Ain Ghazal: the Symbolic Significance.
2003 – 2004 Weeks Fellowship, Stanford Humanities Center.
2000 USIA/CAORC The American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, Fellowship to study Neolithic symbolism at Ain Ghazal, Jordan.
1997 NMERTP/ The American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, Fellowship to study Neolithic symbolism at Ain Ghazal, Jordan.
1996 The University of Texas Research Institute, Faculty Research Assignment grant for the study of Neolithic Symbols at Ain Ghazal, Jordan
1995 USIA/ The American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, Fellowship to study Neolithic symbolism at Ain Ghazal, Jordan.
1995 Department of Education, grant to study archaeological collections at the National Museum, Damascus, and the museums of Deir Ezzor, Raqqa and Aleppo, Syria.
1995 Summer Fellowship, College of Fine Arts, University of Texas at Austin
1994 Summer Fellowship, College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin
1991 University of California, Berkeley, Una’s Lecture Committee, for publication of Before Writing.
1990 National Endowment for the Humanities for publication of Before Writing.
1987 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, for publication of tokens from Uruk
1986 Study visit – grant for faculty – German Academic Exchange Service, Germany
1984 American Council of Learned Societies, Grant in aid of Research to study archaeological collections in Iraq
1984 American Council of Learned Societies, Travel Grant to attend the XXXI Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Leningrad, 1983 Faculty Research Assignment, the University of Texas Research Institute
1981 – 1980 Summer Research Grant, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, The University of Texas at Austin
1979 Fellowship for Independent Study and Research, National Endowment for the Humanities
1977 – 1978 National Endowment for the Arts Grant for an exhibit on the Art of the Persian Empire
1976 Archaeological Institute of America, seed funds for organizing a lecture series on ancient Egypt
1974 – 1975 National Endowment for the Arts Grant for an exhibit on the art of Sumer
1970 – 1971 Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, to aid archaeological research on use of clay before the invention of pottery in the Near East

Field Experience and Travel

October 19 – 28, 2019 Pakistan
May 16-23, 2019 Islamic Art and Architecture in Andalusia
March 15 – 24, 2018 Iraq…Ancient Mesopotamia.
Sept. 30 – Oct. 22, 2017 Iran, in-depth Journey to Ancient and Modern Persia.
April 17 – 28, 2017 Afghanistan
Dec. 25, 2016 – Jan. 7, 2017 Egypt
Nov. 4 – 19, 2016 Pakistan: Indus Civilization and the Hunza Valley
April 2 – 22, 2016 Iran: Grand Tour of Persia (Ancient and Modern Iran)
Oct. 2 – 25, 2015 Central Asia… Border of Civilization
May 9 – 24, 2015 Eastern Turkey
Sept. 13 – 30, 2014 Afghanistan and Usbekistan
April 26 – May 15, 2014 Grand Tour of Persia – Ancient and Modern Iran
March 9 – 28, 2014 Iraq… Cradle of Civilization
April – May 2013 “Central Asia Border of Civilization”
Feb 10 – 24, 2013 “Saudi Arabia – the Forbidden Kingdom and Bahrain”
Nov 25 – Dec 8, 2012 “Sultanate of Oman”
Nov 18 – 26, 2012“The Wonders of the Arabian Gulf – an in-depth tour of the Sheikhdoms of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.”
Nov 4 – 25, 2012“Saudi Arabia… The Forbidden Kingdom,”
Nov 19 – Dec 3, 2011 “Saudi Arabia… The Forbidden Kingdom, and Qatar”
Oct 2 – 21, 2011 “Grand Tour of Persia… Ancient and Modern Iran”
May 3 – 18, 2011 Lebanon & Jordan
Oct 31 – Nov 14, 2010 Lecturer on a study visit to Saudi Arabia
Sept 18 – Oct 9, 2010 Lecturer on a study visit to Iran
May 12 – 30, 2010 Lecturer on a study visit to Usbekistan
Mar. 1 – July 1, 2009 Research on Neolithic human figurines from ‘Ain Ghazal at ACOR, Amman with side trips to Syria and Israel.
Nov 1 – 23, 2008 Lecturer for Spiekermann travel “Central Asia – the Borderland of Civilizations”
May 13 – 31, 2008 Lecturer for Spiekermann travel “Marvels of Central and Eastern Turkey”
Apr 17 – May 5, 2008 Lecturer for Distant Horizons “Iran – the Ancient Land
of Persia.”
Nov 2 – 17, 2007 Syria, Lebanon, Turkey
Nov. 1–21, 2006 Lecturer on study visit to Yemen.
Oct. 20 – Nov. 2, 2006 Lecturer on study visit to Oman.
June 2006 Lecturer on study visit to Iran.
May 22 – June 3, 2006 Lecturer on study visit to Iran
April 21 – May 11, 2005 Lecturer on study visit to Iran
Nov. 2005 Lecturer on a study visit to Iran
Sept. 2005 Lecturer on a study visit to Eastern Turkey
May 2005 Lecturer on a study visit to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon
March 2005 Study visit of the Sultanate of Oman
Dec. 2004 Lecturer on a study visit to Egypt
Oct. 2004 Lecturer on a study visit to western Iran
Oct. 2002 Lecturer on a study visit to Eastern Turkey,
January – May 2001 Study of Archaeological Collections in Amman, Jordan
April 20 – May 5, 2001 Lecturer on a study visit to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan
May 12 – 28, 2000 Lecturer on a study visit to Egypt
July 1999 Study visit to Yemen
May 1997 Study of archaeological collections at the Israel and Rockefeller Museums, Jerusalem Israel
April 1997 Study Visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
February – June 1997 Study of archaeological collections at the Institute of Archaeology, Yarmouk University, Irbid Jordan
Dec. 1996 Study Visit to Saudi Arabia
June – July 1995 Research on archaeological collections at the National Museum, Amman and the Museum of Jordanian Heritage, The University of Yarmouk, Irbid, Jordan; The National Museum, Damascus and the Museums of Aleppo, Raqqa, and DeirEzzor,Syria, to study Neolithic symbolism, in particular at the site of Ain Ghazal, Jordan.
June 1992 Visit to Malatya, Turkey, to study the relationship between tokens and seals in the fourth millennium administration
January – March 1987 Study of archaeological collections in Berlin, Germany
June – July 1986 Study of Archaeological collections in Berlin and Heidelberg Germany
July – Aug 1984 Study of Archaeological collections in Baghdad, Iraq
July 1984 Study of Archaeological collections in Leningrad and Moscow, USSR
July – Aug 1980 Study of archaeological collections in Egypt and the Sudan (Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Khartoum)
May – June 1977 Visit to archaeological collections in France (Paris), Germany (Heidelberg, Berlin), Syria (Aleppo), Jordan (Amman) and Iran (Tehran)
Summer 1975 Excavations at Ancient Akko (Israel), Survey in Galilee, Study of early clay collections in the museums of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Jaffa
May – Aug 1971 Canadian expedition to Ganj-Dareh Tepe, Kermanshah, Iran
1971 Visit to archaeological collections in France (Paris), Denmark (Copenhagen), Turkey (Istanbul, Ankara, Konya), Syria (Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra), Lebanon (Beirut), Iraq (Baghdad), and Iran (Tehran)
1967 Harvard Survey of Kerman, Southeastern Iran.
Test excavation at Tepe Yahya
1964 Excavation of a Gallo-Roman
pottery workshop, Pont-sur-SeineFrance

Courses Taught

Undergraduate Courses

ARH 302 Survey of Ancient Art to Medieval Times
HUM350, ARH 381L Interface between Writing and Art
MES 381, LIN 394, HUM 350, T.C. 659b Symbols and the Origins of Writing
MES 320 The Middle East: Cradle of Civilization
ARH 361L Art of Sumer
MES 320, ARH 325 Sumer, the First Civilization
ARH 361L Religion, Magic and Art: The Ancient Near East
ARH 361L, MES 325 Art of Kings
ARH 361L/MES 320 Ancient Persian Art: Trade and Warfare
ARH 36IL Art of Ancient Egypt
ARH 379M Paleolithic Art
ARH 373K Survey of the Middle Eastern Art from the Origin to Islam
HUM 305, ARH 379M,TC 659b Ancient Materials
ARH 361L, MES 325 Ancient Technology through Art, The Ancient Near East

Graduate Seminars

ARH 381L Ancient Mesopotamia
ARH 381L Art as Power
ARH 381L Religion, Magic and Art: The Ancient Near East
ARH 381L Interface between Writing and Art
ARh2811L Symbols and the Origins of Writing
ARH 379M Ancient Iran
UC 385, UC 358, ARH 381L The Achaemenian Empire
UC 358, ARH 381L, ARH 394 Ancient Egypt

Page last updated: 1/22/2023