While one may study the devotional practices of these individuals and what authors say monks should be doing, I am curious about where monks slept when they were not praying. What did monastic life look like from the domestic sphere of the kitchen or monastic table in contrast to the much more examined liturgical life of monks within churches and chapels? Similarly, one might read very famous stories of monks participating in all-night vigils and adopting ceaseless prayer. For example, as an archaeologist of monastic settlements, I examine kitchens and storage areas to explore how unknown monks lived their lives by preparing ingredients, gathering fuel, and cooking meals. What aspects of the ancient and early Byzantine Christianity of the eastern Mediterranean world interest you the most?Īs a scholar of late antique and medieval eastern Christianity, I am interested in the lived experiences of those who are found in the margins of our texts and sites. Next year I look forward to teaching my course called Visions of Byzantium: The Medieval Roman Empire. My recent courses include Reading the New Testament, Living and Dying in Roman and Byzantine Egypt, Cleopatra, and Denial and Desires: Gender and Sexuality in Early Christian Communities. I am currently in my second year as chair of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies. I am also a member of the Program in Religious Studies, where I contribute courses to studying religious practices, traditions, and materiality. It is a position in which I am proud to be situated in both Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies and in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. In joining the Brandeis community, I serve as the Kraft-Hiatt Chair in Christian Studies. I developed a successful campus archaeology project and led archaeology projects in the town of Springfield, Ohio, and for the Yale Monastic Archaeology Project in Wadi al-Natrun, Egypt. During my time there I worked closely with students in archaeology and history. I later taught for 20 years in the History department at Wittenberg University where I was chair and the Kenneth E. In many ways the Brandeis training I received from Ed allowed me to be comfortable with the margins and boundaries of fields in ways other scholars might not be. I eventually wrote my dissertation on the living quarters of monks in Egypt after discovering that there was an enormous corpus of evidence that was often unknown to most scholars. As a result, I developed interests in many areas from dolphins in Etruscan tombs to pirates in the Bronze age to the nomadic communities of Herodotus. Yamauchi transferred his Brandeis education to his students by training us in the textual and archaeological evidence of the past to be a good historian, you needed to be comfortable with a wide array of evidence. Edwin Yamauchi, who graduated from Brandeis’ doctoral program in Mediterranean Studies in 1963. While I was interested in the field of textual studies, my real interest was in the materiality of religion and the puzzle pieces of Christianity. I first began my career as an archaeology major at Wheaton College (IL) and then pursued an MA in New Testament Studies. This is the approach I take toward archaeology and the study of ancient Christianity, specifically in the archaeology of early monastic communities in the eastern Mediterranean world. The past is made of fragments we may assemble to make a story, knowing that some pieces may not always fit at the time. I enjoy my work as an archaeologist and historian because taking pieces of an image and trying to see how they fit together or not is very much like working on physical puzzles. Foodways in Late Antiquity.Ĭan you tell me a little about your academic background and journey to Brandeis? Monasticism in Eastern Mediterranean World. Material culture and religions of eastern Mediterranean and the Near East. Meet Darlene Brooks Hedstromĭepartments/Programs: Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies, Near Eastern Judaic Studies, Religious Studies Program Title: Myra and Robert Kraft and Jacob Hiatt Associate Professor of Christian Studies Expertise: Archaeology and history of ancient and late antique Christianity. In March 2023, we spoke to Darlene Brooks Hedstrom, Myra and Robert Kraft and Jacob Hiatt Associate Professor of Christian Studies. Heller School for Social Policy and Managementįaculty Spotlight: Darlene Brooks HedstromĮach month, we interview an A&S faculty member for our undergraduate newsletter.
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