Margaret is a Classical Studies PhD candidate at Columbia University, where she also obtained her BA in Classics and Art History (summa cum laude, Junior Phi Beta Kappa). She is fascinated by the “mind,” specifically both the ancient conception of this term and how cognitive activity is expressed and represented linguistically in philosophy and literature. To this end, she is primarily interested in the political psychology of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, paying particular attention to how evolving societal structures and their corresponding political values affect and elucidate the philosophical concept of mind. She is also interested in human versus divine representation in/on pottery, monuments, and epic poetry (and how such differences speak to varying conceptions and performances of self) and the politics of space and architecture, particularly as it informs about conceptions of power, agency, and behavior in antiquity.

 

She has presented at conferences and published work on topics ranging from the neuroaesthetics of satyric images in Attic pottery to the role of atmospheric mist in delineating temporal spheres in the Odyssey. She has excavated at Hadrian’s Villa with Columbia’s Advanced Program of Ancient History and Art, studied paper and textile conservation with the Balkan Heritage Field School, and has worked with

U.S. Consulate General Cape Town and U.S. Embassies Rangoon, Beijing, and Bangkok, where she was the research assistant for the 2018 “Great and Good Friends” exhibition, which displayed the gifts given and received by Thai Kings over the course of America and Thailand’s 200-year-long diplomatic history.

 

With her own production company, she has published photographs and created films which have been showcased at museums and Academy Award-qualifying, international, and domestic festivals. She enjoys journalism, animation, and graphic design, and her (individual and collaborative) work has received recognition from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Society of Professional Journalists, Sony World Photography Awards, and the National Center for Women and Informational Technology.