Gretchen E MeyersAssistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives & Professor of Classics
Pedagogy
As a faculty member in the Classics Department at Franklin & Marshall College, I teach a wide range of courses in ancient Greek and Roman archaeology and culture, Latin language and the College’s general education curriculum, “Connections.” I regularly offer courses in ancient archaeology and civilization, including a survey of Roman Art and Archaeology and 200 and 300 level courses on thematic topics such as Gender and Sexuality in Antiquity and Pompeii. I teach all levels of Latin language, including upper level seminars on Latin Epic (Vergil) and Latin Historians (Livy). My Connections course for first-semester students is called Animals through the Ages, which examines the human-animal relationship from ancient through contemporary times by asking how humans and animals impact each other’s lives.
Recent Course Offerings
CLS 117, Roman Art and Archaeology
CLS 242, Gender and Sexuality in Antiquity
CLS 271, Caesar and Augustus
LAT 102, Introduction to Latin II
CNX 124: Animals Through the Ages
Research
I am a classical archaeologist, specializing in the Etruscan and early Roman period. My research interests include Etruscan social and religious behavior, particularly the role of Etruscan women in ceremonies and daily life, Etruscan and early Italic architecture and spatial studies, ancient craft and technology, and Latin literature of the Augustan period. I am a member of the leadership team of the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project, which excavated the site of Poggio Colla (Vicchio, Italy) between 1995-2015.
Select Publications
In Prep. Poggio Colla. Etruscan Cities and Communities Series. University of Texas Press.
In Prep. Clipei non enarrabile textum: The Shield of Aeneas in Pietro da Cortona’s Ceiling Fresco in Palazzo Pamphilj [article-length manuscript]
The Iconography of Female Assembly on Archaic Etruscan and Anatolian Funerary Monuments,” in Etruria and Anatolia: Material Connections and Artistic Exchange, Baughan and L. Pieraccini, eds. (Cambridge University Press, 2023).
Roof Tile Production in a Diverse Craft Industry: New Geochemical Evidence from Poggio Colla, in P. Lulof, I. Mazzini and C. Rescigno, eds., Deliciae Fictiles V. Networks and Workshops, pp. 537-540, (Oxbow Books, 2019).
Tanaquil: The Conception and Construction of an Etruscan Matron,” in S. Bell and A. Carpino, eds, Blackwell Companion to the Etruscans, pp. 305-320, (Wiley, 2016).
Approaching Monumental Architecture: Mechanics and Movement in Archaic Etruscan Palaces,” Papers of the British School at Rome 81, pp. 39-66 (2013).
Women and the Production of Ceremonial Textiles: A Re-evaluation of Ceramic Textile Tools in Etrusco-Italic Sanctuaries,” American Journal of Archaeology 117.2, pp. 247-274 (2013).
Monumentality in Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture: Ideology and Innovation, M. Thomas and G. Meyers, eds. University of Texas Press (2012).
Select Recent Presentations
Gender at the Intersection of Ritual and Craft Production at the Etruscan Site of Poggio Colla,” Archaeological Institute of America, Chicago, 2022.
Miratur imagine gaudet: Ekphrasis as Dialogue in Pietro da Cortona’s Ceiling Fresco in the Galleria Pamphilj” with K. Dennis, Renaissance Society of America, 2021.
The Visual Language of Etruscan Textile Coverings,” Archaeological Institute of America, Chicago, 2021.
Administration and Service
In addition to my teaching and scholarly work, I have served in a number of administrative and leadership roles at Franklin & Marshall College. I am currently the Assistant Dean of Strategic Initiatives, reporting to the Vice President for Institutional Research and Chief Strategy Officer. A selection of recent administrative and governance roles which I have held include the Director of the Office of Sponsored Research (2021-2023), Co-Chair of F&M’s Re-Opening Operations Team (following Covid in 2020), Faculty Fellow in F&M’s Faculty Center (2019-2020), Chair of Faculty Council (2017-2018) and Chair of the Department of Classics (2022, 2015-2019).
Selected professional service to the field of Classics and Archaeology includes a
three-year team as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Etrusan and Italic Studies (2018-2020) and Director of the Classical Summer School at the American Academy in Rome (2018-2020).