Dr. Bryan C. Brinkman

Biography

Dr. Brinkman is a scholar of the ancient world, especially the Roman Empire. His research largely focuses on issues of “mass communication” in antiquity, with a particular emphasis on Greek and Latin inscriptions (including graffiti) and the phenomenon of collective vocalization (“acclamation”). His other areas of research include ancient religion and cultural interaction in the ancient Mediterranean. He is co-editor of the volume Beyond Egypt: Relations and Imaginations of the Ancient Past (2022) and he is currently writing (with J. Troche) Life in Antiquity: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Ancient Near East, Egypt, Greece, and Rome (under contract with Routledge). He has presented over twenty papers in North America and Europe. He has held fellowships from the Department of Ancient History at the University of Cologne (2013-2014) and the Commission for Ancient History and Epigraphy at the German Archaeological Institute (2013). Dr. Brinkman received his PhD from the Joint Classics-History PhD program at Brown University (2016).

Dr. Brinkman also coordinates and teaches in the Global Studies program at Missouri State (https://globalstudies.missouristate.edu).

Details

Education

• PhD, Ancient History, Brown University (2016)
• American Society of Papyrologists Summer Institute, University of Chicago (2012)
• British School at Athens Postgraduate Course in Greek Epigraphy (2011)
• M.A., History, University of Washington (2008)
• American School of Classical Studies at Athens Summer Program (2007)
• B.A., Classics and History (Honors), University of Utah (2006)

Teaching

• LLT 121: Classical Mythology
• LLT 180: From Hero to Superhero
• LLT 325: Greek Civilization
• LLT 326: Roman Civilization
• GBL 250: Introduction to Global Studies

Research and professional interests

• Ancient Greece and Rome (Bronze Age - Late Antiquity)
• Roman Imperialism
• Mass Communication in Ancient Rome (Graffiti; Acclamation)
• Ancient Greek and Roman Religion
• Epigraphy and Papyrology

Selected publications

• Life in Antiquity: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Ancient Near East, Egypt, Greece, and Rome (with J. Troche), Routledge Press (under contract)
• “Epigraphy” in Bloomsbury History: Theory and Method [Forthcoming]
• Beyond Egypt: Relations and Imaginations of the Ancient Past, volume co-edited with J. Troche (Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections #36)
• “An Interior View: Osiris and Serapis in ca. 2^nd Century Rome” in Beyond Egypt: Relations and Imaginations of the Ancient Past

Select Refereed Papers and Organized Panels

• “Germanicus, Egypt, and the Dangers of Acclamation,” Cross-Cultural Contact between Egypt and the Roman Empire (Rome, Italy)
• “Domitian’s ‘Silence!’ and the Dynamics of Acclamation,” The Damned Despot. Rethinking Domitian and the Flavian World (Rome, Italy)
• “Modeling Crowd Behavior in Ancient Rome: Claques and Complex Adaptive Systems,” Society for Classical Studies Annual Meeting (Boston, MA)
• “How to Praise the Emperor: Graffiti Evidence for a Roman Acclamatory Formula,” Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting (San Francisco, CA)
• “Etching Out a Place for Venus: Graffiti and the Creation of Sacred Space at Pompeii,” American Philological Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL)
• “Varro on Animal Sacrifice: The De Re Rustica as Religious Exegesis,” The Role of Animals in Ancient Myth and Religion (Grumento Nova, Italy)
• “Antinoöpolis: a Study of Syncretistic Space,” American Research Center in Egypt Annual Meeting (Cincinnati, OH)
• “Think Globally, Act Locally: Envisioning Religious Practice in Local Contexts,” Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference, Session co-organizer (Chicago, IL)
• “Graffiti Prayers in Roman Italy and ‘Everyday’ Religious Experience,” Classical Association of the Middle West and South Annual Meeting (Grand Rapids, MI)                                                               

Awards and honors