Sarah Madole Lewis
Associate Professor of Art History
Deputy Chairperson
Music and Art
EMAIL: smadole@bmcc.cuny.edu
Office: F-1130X
Office Hours:
Phone: +1 (212) 346-8665
Associate Professor of Art History Sarah Madole Lewis received her Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University in 2012. Her primary area of expertise is in the art and archaeology of the ancient world with a specialization in Roman funerary art, social experience and regional contexts, particularly in the eastern mediterranean. At BMCC Professor Madole Lewis teaches art history courses, including those assigned to the Honors programs and Learning Academy (BLA) .
Before arriving at BMCC in 2014, Professor Madole Lewis taught art history at a number of New York City institutions. She has lectured widely to both public and private audiences in museum and gallery settings.
In recent years Professor Madole Lewis has held a BMCC Faculty Development Grant for research in Lebanon, and for research on sarcophagi and catacombs in Rome she received a Franklin Grant from the American Philosophical Society and was named Shohet Scholar of the International Catacomb Society. She has worked at several archaeological excavations including those at Aphrodisias and Caesarea Maritima. Her research has taken her from Spain to Syria, and many places in between, most consistently to Italy, Greece and Turkey.
Expertise
Degrees
- Ph.D. New York University, History of Art and Archaeology, 2012
- M.A. New York University, History of Art, 2006
- B.A. Skidmore College, Religion, 2001
Additional professional qualifications include:
- Latin Epigraphy Program, American Academy at Rome with John Bodel, 2018
- Aestiva Latinitatis Romae, Intensive Latin Program with Reginald Foster, Rome, 2004
- Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Classical Languages, University of California, Los Angeles, 2003
Courses Taught
- This introduction to art history includes the study of painting, sculpture, architecture and other media by surveying the Paleolithic period through the Late Gothic period using a global approach. This exploration of art and architecture in terms of history, social context, meaning and style will promote a general understanding of the development of art and style in different cultures and the effects of cultural exchange on the arts. Discussions of techniques, media, composition, and figure representation will provide an understanding of key concepts in the arts.
- Using a global approach, this introduction to art history includes the study of painting, sculpture, architecture and other media by surveying the Renaissance through the start of the twentieth century. The exploration of techniques, media, composition, and figure representation will provide an understanding of key concepts in the arts with additional focus on the historical and social context, which developed the meaning and changing styles in different cultures as well as the effects of cultural exchange through the arts.
- This course is designed as a survey of Medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire through the Gothic Period and the beginnings of the Renaissance. A study of the artistic and architectural traditions borrowed from antiquity and the new developments of the periods discussed will be conducted to develop an understanding of the broader context of the migrating peoples and the Christian traditions spreading throughout the regions as Modern Europe is born. Prerequisite: ENG 101 and (ART 102 or ART 104)
- This course is designed as a survey of the Greco-Roman traditions in the art and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. Major works, themes, techniques and artists will be presented to better understand the influences on the arts from previous periods and diverse cultures, as well as the continuing influences of antiquity through the ages. The course will also focus on the historical and cultural issues that provide context for the works of art including philosophical, social, religious, political and economic influences. Prerequisite: ENG 101 and (ART 102 or ART 104)
- This capstone course for Art History Majors covers a range of topics relating to the pursuit of careers in the arts. Students will develop a topic and complete a comprehensive research paper for presentation. During the semester, students will take part in museum visits, gallery tours, and attend talks by professionals in the field of art history to develop an understanding of the opportunities for art historians. Prerequisite: Departmental permission
Research and Projects
- A current project considers an Attic battle sarcophagus from Tyre, in southern Lebanon. Compared to the plain and unfinished sarcophagi that typify the Tyrian necropolis, this and several other similarly-themed Attic examples stand out. Who were these enterprising patrons, and why did they opt for such a strong statement of identity politics in the chaotic third century? This study explores provincial identities, regional contexts and the sarcophagus trade.
- An ongoing project explores sarcophagi found in Eastern Mediterranean contexts within their local and regional funerary landscapes, looking at the construction of gender and the visibility of women, mortuary customs and familial reuse of monuments, among other themes.
Conferences and conference sessions co-organized in 2022:
- Making Women Visible in the Art History Classroom: Theory and Practices, virtual colloquium, BMCC Women’s HERstory Month, March 25, 2022
- “Making Women Visible in the Non-Western and Pre-Modern Art History Classroom,” College Art Association Annual Meeting, virtual session, March 4, 2022
- “Boundaries and Liminality in Roman Material Culture,” Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting, virtual session, January 6, 2022
Publications
Articles & Chapters
- “Female Experience at the Tomb: Ritual Commemoration and Roman Sarcophagus Imagery,” in Material Culture and Women’s Religious Experience in Antiquity: An Interdisciplinary Symposium, eds. M. D. Ellison, C. G. Taylor, and C. Osiek (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2021), 125-146
- “Roman Sarcophagi in Context from the Catacomb of Praetextatus,” in Grounding Roman Sculpture. Selected Papers in Ancient Art and Architecture 6, eds. A. Hrychuk Kontokosta and P. De Staebler (Boston, Mass.: Archaeological Institute of America, 2020), 199-218
- “A Case Study in Attribution: Two East Greek Sarcophagi in Italy,” Roemische Mitteilungen 124 (2018), 269-299
- “A Mythological Frieze Sarcophagus from Aphrodisias Depicting the Birth of Dionysos,” American Journal of Archaeology 122.1 (2018), 145-168
Reviews
- Review of The Phantom Image: Seeing the Dead in Ancient Rome, P. Crowley (The University of Chicago, 2019), American Journal of Archaeology 125.4
- Review of Aphrodisian Columnar Sarcophagi, E. Öğüş (Reichert Verlag, 2018), Journal of Roman Archaeology 32 (2019), 883–891
- Review of Roman Strigillated Sarcophagi, J. Huskinson (Oxford University Press, 2015), Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018.01.19
- Review of Cultural Memories in the Roman Empire, eds. K. Galinsky and L.K. Lapatin (Getty Publications, 2016), Memory Studies 11.1 (2018), 118-121
- Review of Greek Myths in Roman Art and Culture, Z. Newby (Cambridge University Press, 2016), Phoenix 71.1-2 (2017), 200-203
Honors, Awards and Affiliations
- PSC-CUNY Research Award Cycle 51, 2020-2021
- PSC-CUNY Research Award Cycle 49, 2018-2019
- Franklin Research Grant
American Philosophical Society, 2018-2019 - BMCC Faculty Development Grant
For research in Lebanon, 2017-2018 - Shohet Scholarship
International Catacomb Society, 2016-2017 - Research Fellowship
American Research Center in Sofia, Bulgaria, 2010 - Travel Fellowship
American Research Institute in Turkey, 2009-2010
Additional Information
- “Excavations: A Conversation on Fragments: Part One,” with Rachel Frank, Field Projects, New York, April 2016
- “Excavations: A Conversation on Fragments: Part Two,” with Ellie Krakow, Field Projects, New York, April 2016
