Dr. DiBiasie-Sammons researches and teaches Roman archaeology and Latin language with a focus on ancient graffiti, inscriptions, and the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, Italy. She is also the Senior Faculty Fellow of the Luckyday Residential College at the University of Mississippi.
Research Interests
Dr. DiBiasie-Sammons investigates ancient graffiti from the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and her work applies modern technologies to visualize and read these ancient inscriptions. Recent work has focused on charcoal graffiti, which she studied using the field notebooks of one of the original excavators of ancient Herculaneum. Her ongoing book project analyzes the media in which ancient graffiti were written including charcoal, chalk and ochre to understand how ancient Pompeians thought about and used the spaces in which they lived.
Biography
Jacqueline DiBiasie-Sammons is an Associate Professor in the Department of Classics and Senior Faculty Fellow of the Luckyday Residential College. Her research investigates ancient graffiti from the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, Italy. Her current book project, which has been supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend, analyzes the aesthetics and materials of ancient Roman graffiti. Jackie has also pioneered the application of several digital technologies to record and visualize these ancient messages. She received the 2021 Dr. Mike L. Edmonds New Scholar Award in Humanities from the College of Liberal Arts for her research. Jackie teaches courses in Latin language and archaeology. She especially loves introducing students to the wonders of learning a new language, especially first year students. She was awarded the Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen in 2022. Jackie also regularly takes students abroad to Italy. One of her greatest joys is sharing her work with students and bringing them to Pompeii to find their own messages from the past.
Publications
Selected Article(s):
“Qui carbone rudi putrique creta scribit: The Charcoal Graffiti of Herculaneum" American Journal of Archaeology, 126.3: 385-410
“Ancient Graffiti” Oxford Classical Dictionary.
“Line-Drawings and the Study of Campanian Graffiti” Journal of Epigraphic Studies 4: 63-90.
“Visualizing Dipinti: Re-reading a painted inscription from Herculaneum (CIL IV.10479) using Decorrelation Stretch and archival research,” Zeitshrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 214: 273-284.
“Application of Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) to the study of ancient graffiti from Herculaneum, Italy,” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 17: 184-194.
Courses Taught
- CLSC 1070 Ancient Cities
- CLSC 3220 Roman Art and Archaeology
- CLSC 3230 Art & Archaeology of Pompeii
- CLSC 3260 Topics in Classics Abroad
- CLSC 3500 Ancient Archaeological Field Session
- CLSC 3600 Archaeological and Museum Ethics
- CLSC 3750 Digital Archaeology
- CLSC 4996A Classics Capstone Seminar
- LATN 1010 Introduction to Latin I
- LATN 1020 Introduction to Latin II
- LATN 3440 Latin Epigraphy
Education
M.A. Classics, The University of Texas at Austin (2011)
Ph.D. Classics, The University of Texas at Austin (2015)
The Mississippi Humanities Council and University of Mississippi College of Liberal Arts have named Jackie DiBiasie-Sammons as the 2024-25 Humanities Teacher of the Year.
Faculty News
/ Honors & Awards
OXFORD, Miss. – The Mississippi Humanities Council and University of Mississippi College of Liberal Arts have named Jackie DiBiasie-Sammons as the 2024-25 Humanities Teacher of the Year.
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Faculty News