PhD research: From Stereotypes to Insults – Contextualizing Popular Invective in Martial and Pompeian Graffiti
I'm working on a PhD dissertation on Roman insults and stereotypes at University of Turku. Based on the poems of Martial and Pompeian graffiti I examine how stereotypes were used in insults, what cultural context these stereotypes arose from, and how insults and stereotypes differ between Martial and the graffiti. My aim is to analyze the meaning and function of stereotypes in insults, and how cultural context affected the form and content of insults.
My research has been funded by Reinhold Ekholm foundation, Utuling doctoral programme and Foundation Institutum Romanum Finlandiae together with Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation (Wihuri Fellowship).
Read more in the blog:
- Roman Insults and Stereotypes
- Insults on the Walls of Pompeii
- Roman insults against impotent men and lusty women
Research Project on Late Antique Ostia at the Finnish Institute in Rome
In addition to my PhD I'm working on an article as part of a project at the Finnish Institute in Rome. In this project we study the development of Ostia and Portus in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. My research focuses on the theatre of Ostia, the end of public spectacles and the later uses of the building during the period of ca. 200–850 CE.
Read more in the blog: Searching for the Theatre of Ostia in the Archives
Publications, presentations, posters
Peer-viewed article Meyer, A., Mullen, A. & Vanhala, J., "A Scato-sexual Message: The Secundinus Stone with Phallus from Vindolanda", Britannia 54, 2023, 305–320. (open access)
Conference paper Popular Beliefs about Physicians in Ancient Rome, ISCH 2022, Verona, 2–5 August 2022
Conference paper The Greek ”other” in the satirical poems of Martial, Classical Association Conference, Cambridge UK, 21–23 April 2023
Poster From Stereotypes to Insults: Contextualizing Popular Invective in Martial and Pompeian Graffiti, , CIEGL 2022, Bordeaux, 29 August – 2 September 2022
Poster From Stereotypes to Insults: Contextualizing Popular Invective in Martial and Pompeian Graffiti, Research Day 2023 organized by the doctoral programme Utuling and the School of Languages and Translation Studies, University of Turku, Turku, 4 May 2023
