(Original posted in 2010. -Ed.)
My short visit to UT and PASP gave me the opportunity to present aspects of my dissertation research and new ideas stemming from it. I gave a talk to the department on Thursday November 12th about the extent to which the model of the activities of Pylian elites based on the Linear B evidence, which I developed in my dissertation, can shed light on thorny problems in the analysis of Mycenaean archaeology. On Friday, I lectured to Tom Palaima’s undergraduate class on Aegean Prehistory (AHC 378) about the composition of Mycenaean society and the extent to which older managerial models should be modified in light of the prosopographical analysis from my dissertation.
My visit also allowed me to meet with faculty and students from UT and at other institutions. I met with Tom Palaima and Cynthia Shelmerdine to discuss a variety of topics, including of course things Mycenaean. I also discussed the Archaic symposium with Adam Rabinowitz, and Cypriot archaeology with former fellow PASPian and colleague at Trinity Unviersity in San Antonio, Nicolle Hirschfeld. I had the chance to talk to several graduate students at UT Classics, including Dygo Tosa, Mary Jane Cuyler and Alissa Stoimenoff, and Jamie Aprile from UCLA, and the undergraduates from Tom’s Aegean Prehistory class.
On Friday night I attended a fascinating lecture with Tom and recent UT Classics Ph.D. John Friend on “Dionysus in 69 in ’09: Looking Back, Looking Forward” (by Richard Schechner), which taught me a lot about modern theatre and the adaptation of Greek drama.
Otherwise, the weather in Austin was fantastic, and I managed to eat Texas barbecue at two of my favorite places, Rudy’s on 183 North and The Salt Lick in Driftwood.