The Department of Art History is pleased to announce that PhD Candidate, Rachel Dewan, has passed the thesis defense!
Rachel's dissertation, Containing Meaning: Miniature Pottery on Bronze Age Crete, examines miniature ceramic vessels found at Minoan settlements during the Protopalatial and Neopalatial periods, investigating their changes over time, contextual uses, and ritual functions. Rachel's analysis approaches miniatures as meaningful objects in a study of the manipulation of scale and the materiality of religion.
Rachel's research seeks to integrate art historical approaches with the study of archaeology. By examining miniature ceramic vessels found at Minoan settlements in Bronze Age Crete, her doctoral research focuses on scale manipulation and its use through time. More broadly, she is interested in the phenomenon of miniaturization, the materiality of religion and ritual, the iconography of Minoan religion, and archaeological, art historical, and anthropological theory.
Rachel has excavated in Greece and Jordan, including the Minoan sites of Palaikastro and Gournia on Crete, interned at the Canadian Institute in Greece, and is active with initiatives related to public archaeology, outreach, and cultural heritage preservation.
Please join us in congratulating Rachel on this wonderful achievement!