Uncovering the Past and Shaping the Future with Professor Emily Hurt
Professor Emily Hurt is a scholar of Classical Studies with a passion for ancient Mediterranean exploration. Originally from Rhode Island, she moved to Italy in 2019, where she discovered John Cabot University and joined the faculty as a full-time Classical Studies professor.
Tell us about yourself.
I grew up in Rhode Island but have lived in the region of Emilia-Romagna, in Northern Italy, since 2019. I had been coming to Rome for years for research but spent my first full year here in 2022 at the American Academy in Rome, where I finished my doctorate as a fellow in Ancient Studies. That is where I first discovered JCU. In an amazing stroke of luck, JCU was searching for a full-time professor in Classical Studies that year and I applied. Now, I split my time between the archeological sites of Rome (a dream for everyone in my profession) and the mountains of Romagna. If I am not in the classroom, I am hiking!
What made you decide to pursue a career in Classical Studies?
I am not sure I ever really decided to pursue a career in Classical Studies! As an undergraduate, I stumbled upon ancient history through a Liberal Arts education that encouraged me to follow my interests across various disciplines. I took a class on early Medieval North Africa in my last year and was fascinated by the premodern world. During and after college, I had many different jobs, from restaurant work to insurance claims. Years later, I went back to school for a PhD, thinking it would be a chance to travel, learn, and — above all — read. I started my research in Medieval History, but I found myself always looking for the story behind the story. I would ask myself, why did the cultures and languages of the Mediterranean develop the way they did? My search for answers only pulled me back further in time until I found myself in the first millennium BCE, among the Greeks, Phoenicians, Etruscans, Romans, and the many other peoples who lived in this fascinating, interconnected world.
What is your teaching philosophy? What do you hope that your students take away from your classes?
There is always something to learn and we should have fun doing it. I am just another student in the classroom, and every time I reread texts or take a new look at a monument, I learn something new. My students make amazing observations, and I learn from them every day. I hope students come away from my classes with confidence in their own powers of observation and that they learn from me how to approach the ancient world in a creative but also informed way. Mostly, I hope I can help them find the curiosity and joy that immersion in the ancient world has brought to me.
Tell us about a challenge you encountered in your work as a teacher at JCU. How were you able to overcome it?
It was certainly challenging to come out of graduate school and jump directly into a teaching-focused job at JCU! I think teaching is a constantly evolving job that changes with every new historical discovery and every new group of students. I still have a lot to learn, and JCU is a great place to do so. The small class size and the variety of amazing faculty means that we can offer a wide range of imaginative courses that help us learn and evolve as teachers and scholars and allow students to get a really personalized experience.
In an increasingly fast-paced and technologically evolving world, classics and ancient history are often considered to be secondary subjects. Why do you think classical studies is still relevant today?
I believe classical studies is more relevant than ever in today’s society. First, because of the nature of the discipline and the skills you have to learn to study this subject well. At every turn, the study of the ancient world enhances our abilities to orient ourselves within a cultural and historical context. It challenges us to confront our limitations and to find open-hearted and creative ways to understand peoples and cultures far removed from our own. In the age of fake news and instantaneous, overwhelming data, the ability to think critically, to ask pertinent questions, and to follow logical lines of argumentation back to reliable sources is increasingly essential, yet increasingly underdeveloped. Classical studies can help us learn how to process the information we need to live kindly in a rapidly changing, diverse world.
Second, because we can learn a lot from the ancients about how to live — and how not to live. For example, recent events in American politics have made the transition from the Roman Republic to an Imperial autocracy more relevant than ever. As we adjust to an increasingly disconnected and stressful society, the philosophical reflections of authors like Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius still teach timeless lessons about how to deal with the challenges that life presents.
Third, whether we like it or not, the study of Mediterranean antiquity has a very long and often complicated history. It has been harnessed by generations of authors, politicians, and artists and one cannot truly understand the more recent past without understanding the ancient world. This continues today, as classics increasingly becomes a battleground in the culture wars. Misunderstandings of the ancient past have real ramifications in today’s socio-political landscape.
Lastly, I truly believe in learning for the joy of learning. Creativity is a uniquely human ability. What inspires us does not always align with what we think is useful or productive. Our society is fast paced and constantly changing and who knows what knowledge or skills will inspire and inform future thinkers. I like to think classical studies still has an important role to play.
Tell us about your current book project on the destruction of cities in the Roman Mediterranean.
It is a project about the destruction and foundation of cities, and the way Romans used the stories of these cities to craft their own history. The word “palimpsest” is typically applied to parchment, when an original layer of writing is scraped off to make way for new script, even as it leaves traces behind. Destroyed ancient cities were both literary and material palimpsests — formative spaces where Roman cultural identity was negotiated. Romans traced their origins to a series of such destructions, from Troy in Asia Minor (in modern day Turkey) to Alba Longa right here in Lazio. My project follows these cities around the Mediterranean, using them as a way to think broadly about how Romans absorbed and appropriated the identities of the many peoples that they conquered.
What is a classic work that you think everyone should read and why?
I would recommend Vergil’s Aeneid. It tells the mythical story of a refugee fleeing the destruction of his homeland, crossing a Mediterranean filled with hostility and perils. In the end, this refugee comes to Lazio and his descendants found Rome. For millennia, people have crisscrossed the Mediterranean seeking new homes and safety from war and danger. This is the heritage the Romans invented for themselves, and there are lessons to be learned from this story today. Plus, there is romance, fantastic beasts, oracles, and a trip to the underworld — everything you need for a great adventure story! I recommend the translation by Shadi Bartsch (Random House, 2020).
