Maria Americo, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of History

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Contact Info

About

Maria Americo is assistant professor of history at Saint Peter’s University. She earned her MPhil and PhD from the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University, a research institute that focuses on the study of the ancient world in a broad and interdisciplinary way. Maria’s research centers on the Greco-Arabic intellectual traditions of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and she is working on several writing projects about the history of early Islam and its connections with the historical eras that came before. “Prof A,” as she’s known to her students, loves connecting students to the ancient world through story, etymology (the history and origins of words), and art!

Student Organizations and Clubs

Career & Accomplishments

Degrees

  • Bachelor of Arts, CUNY Hunter College

  • Master of Philosophy, New York University

  • Doctor of Philosophy, New York University

Publications

“A Brief History of Premodern Astronomical Models.” Classical Outlook 92 (2018): 96-
101.

Book Review of Latin of Science. Classical Outlook 94 (2020): 208-209.

“On NOT Teaching the Black Death During COVID-19.” EuropeNow: Teaching Medieval
in Modern Plague Times: A COVID-19 Campus Roundtable (December 2020).

“Medieval Object Case Study: Persian Lustre Bowl with Zodiac Signs.” In Encyclopedia
of the Global Middle Ages, edited by A. Sullivan. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.

“Theory as an Inclusive Pedagogical Tool: Postcolonial Theory and the Greco-Arabic
Translation Movement in Today’s Ancient History Classrooms.” Classical World 115
(2022): 291-318.

Book Review of The Beginnings of the Ottoman Empire. Classical Outlook (in press).