Dr. A. Asa Eger
Contact Information
Email: aaeger@uncg.edu
Office: MHRA 2113
Office Phone: 336-334-5203
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 focusing on 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, and environmental history. My area of specialization is Anatolia and Syria-Palestine (the Levant) from the Byzantine period in the 6th century through the Early and Middle Islamic periods ( until the 12th century). I have excavated and surveyed in Israel, Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey since 1996 and currently directing excavations at a site on the coast of Turkey in the northeast corner of the Mediterranean known as Tüpras Field, the 10th century frontier fortress of Hisn al-Tinat. I also work on issues of gender and sexuality in classical and modern Mediterranean cultures.
Current Projects
- Antioch Republication of Princeton Excavations, 1932-39 (The New Committee for the Publication of the Excavation of Antioch and its Vicinity)
- Nahr Qoueiq/Tell Rifa'at Survey, Syria Republication Project
- Mopsos Survey (Hatay, Turkey) Islamic/Medieval Ceramics
- de Giorgi, A.U. and A. Eger. "The Urban Survey and the Ceramics." In Anazarbos I, edited by R. Posamentir, in preparation.
- 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. www.hammamguide.com
Courses Taught
- HIS 207: Introduction to Islamic History and Civilization, 600-1200 C.E. (Topics in Pre-Modern World History) Part one survey of the context, rise, and spread of Islamic civilization from the sixth century until the Crusades.
- HIS 209: Introduction to Islamic History and Civilization, 1200-1900 C.E. (Topics in Modern World History II) Part two survey of the context, rise, and spread of Islamic civilization from the Crusades until the present day.
- HIS 380: Introduction to Islamic Archaeology (Topics in the Near and Middle East) Survey of Islamic monuments, material culture, and the field of archaeological exploration in Islamic lands from the 6th to 16th centuries.
- HIS 511C: Town and Country in the Medieval Islamic World. Speaking and writing intensive seminar exploring the nature of urbanism and rural settlements, land use and the spread of agricultural crops and techniques, manufacturing industries and trade, and the economy of the Islamic world from the 6th to 14th centuries.
- HIS 589: Borders and Frontiers in the Classical and Medieval Mediterranean World Seminar examining the theoretical concepts and roles of frontiers in the Mediterranean from the Roman to Islamic periods.
Current and Recent Publications
- "(Re)Mapping Medieval Antioch: Urban Transformation from the Early Islamic to Crusader Periods," Dumbarton Oaks Papers 67 (2013).
- The Spaces Between the Teeth: A Gazetteer of Towns on the Islamic-Byzantine Frontier. Istanbul: Ege Yayinlari, 2011.
- "The Swamps of Home: Marsh Formation and Settlement in the Early Medieval Near East." Journal of Near Eastern Studies 70.1 (April 2011), 55-79.
- "Hisn al-Tinat on the Islamic-Byzantine Frontier: Synthesis and the 2005-2008 Survey and Excavation on the Cilician Plain (Turkey)." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 357 (February 2010): 49-76.
- "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.
- Other publications listed on Vitae.
Selected Awards and Honors
- Spring 2012 Fellow in Byzantine Studies, Dumbarton Oaks
- Fall 2011 Visiting Research Fellow, Program in Hellenic Studies, Princeton University
- 2008-2009 Senior Fellow at the Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey.
- Max von Berchem Foundation grant for the Tüpras Field archaeological project, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012.
- Barakat Foundation grant for the Tüpras Field archaeological project, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
