Martha Risser

Trinity College

Senior Fellowship in the Humanities

Research Topic: The West Cemetery at Isthmia

Martha Risser is an Associate Professor of Classical Studies at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. In recent years, she has also taught at Fudan University, Shanghai; Trinity in Barcelona; the CANE Summer Institute; and the Akko Archaeology, Heritage and History Project’s archaeological field school. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and has participated in archaeological projects in Greece, Israel, Turkey, Italy and the United States. Her research, which has previously been funded by an ASCSA NEH, focuses on ancient Mediterranean art, archaeology, and culture, with particular focus on Greek Archaic and Classical ceramics; currently she is a ceramic specialist for the University of Notre Dame Isthmia Excavations, the Michigan State University Isthmia Excavations, and the Akko Total Archaeology Project. Her publications include Corinth VII,v. Corinthian Conventionalizing Pottery, articles, and chapters in books.

As a member of the ASCSA this year she will be working on Isthmia’s West Cemetery, integrating analyses of pottery and vase-painting iconography with other grave goods, skeletal remains, and grave contexts to reconstruct information about people who lived near Poseidon’s sanctuary at the Isthmus during the Archaic and Classical periods.