Department of History
Dr. A. Asa Eger
Contact
Information
Email: aaeger@uncg.edu
Office: MHRA 2108
Office Phone: 336-334-3698
Education
Ph.D., University of
Chicago, 2008
M.A., University of Chicago, 2002
B.A., Rutgers University, 1998
Teaching Experience
Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2009-
Research Interests
I research and teach the Early and Medieval Mediterranean and Islamic Near East. I am interested in the intersection of archaeology and history and how these two lines of evidence relate and create dialogue that strengthens both fields. Specifically, I am interested in frontiers, landscape archaeology, environmental history, and tribalism. I also work on issues of gender and sexuality in classical and modern Mediterranean cultures. My area of specialization is Anatolia and Syria-Palestine (the Levant) from the Byzantine-Islamic transition in the 6th century through the Early and Middle Islamic periods (7-12th centuries). I have excavated and surveyed in Israel, Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey since 1996 and currently am directing excavations at a site on the coast of Turkey in the northeast corner of the Mediterranean known as Tüpraş Field, the 10th century frontier fortress of Hisn al-Tīnāt.
Current Projects
- The Islamic-Byzantine Frontier: a Gazetteer. Book manuscript in preparation for Ege Yayınları, Istanbul, Turkey
- “The Swamps of Home: Marsh Formation and Settlement in the Early Medieval Near East.” (Article in preparation).
- “‘Amq al-Mar‘ash: Settlement and Land Use on the Frontier in the Islamic Periods.” (Book chapter submitted).
- “Hisn al-Tīnāt on the Islamic-Byzantine Frontier: Synthesis and the 2005-2008 Survey and Excavation on the Cilician Plain (Turkey). (Article submitted).
- A Guide to Hamams of Istanbul. An ongoing research project (including blog) on the role of bathhouses today in Turkey and their social, gendered, and sexualized significance in modern society.
Courses Taught
- HIS 207: Topics in Pre-Modern World History -
Introduction to Islamic History and Civilization, 600-1200 C.E and 1200-1900 C.E. A two semester survey of the context, rise, and spread of Islamic civilization from the sixth century until the Crusades and from the Crusades until the end of the Ottoman and Safavid Periods.
- HIS 511C: Seminar in Historical Research and Writing - "Borders and Frontiers in the Classical and Medieval Mediterranean World." A speaking and writing intensive seminar examining the concept and role of frontiers in the Mediterranean from the Roman to Islamic periods.
Recent Publications
- Gerritsen, F., A. U. de Giorgi, A. Eger, R. Özbal, and T. Vorderstrasse. “Settlement and Landscape Transformations in the Amuq Valley, Hatay: A Long-Term Perspective.” Anatolica 34 (2008), 241-314.
- “Age and Male Sexuality: ‘Queer Space’ in the Roman Bathhouse?” In Age and Ageing in the Roman Empire, edited by M. Harlow and R. Laurence. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 65, 131-152. Portsmouth, RI: Journal of Roman Archaeology, 2007.
- “The Stratigraphy and Architecture (Areas A and A2).” In Tel Tanninim: Excavations at Krokodeilon Polis, 1996-1999, edited by R. Stieglitz. ASOR Archaeological Reports 11, 21-59. Boston: American Schools of Oriental Research, 2006.
- “Islamic Frontiers, Real and Imagined.” Al-‘Usur al-Wusta. The Bulletin of the Middle East Medievalists 17.1 (2005): 1-6, 10.
- “Roman and Byzantine Pottery.” In Dothan I: Remains from the Tell (1953-1964), edited by Daniel Master, 144-146. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2005.
Selected Awards and Honors
- 2008-2009 Senior Fellow at the Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey.
- Max von Berchem Fondation grant for the Tüpraş Field archaeological project, 2008 and 2009.
- Barakat Foundation grant for the Tüpraş Field archaeological project, 2008.