Amanda Ball joined Kenyon in 2023 as a Marilyn Yarbrough Dissertation-Teaching Fellow and teaches in the Department of Classics. She is a Ph.D. candidate in Greek archaeology in the Classics Department at UNC Chapel Hill. Her dissertation concentrates on the archaeology of ancient Greek sanctuaries of the northeast Aegean and the practices of their multicultural worshiping communities. She is currently a senior team member of the archaeological project American Excavations Samothrace, where she recently acted at field supervisor. Additionally, Ball researches material aspects of magic in the ancient Mediterranean world.

Ball taught courses on topics of Classics, archaeology and art history at UNC Chapel Hill. She lived in Greece for the 2021-2022 academic year as the Archaeological Institute of America’s Olivia James Traveling Fellow. Before joining American Excavations Samothrace in 2018, Ball excavated in Crete with the Azoria Project and in Thrace with the Molyvoti, Thrace, Archaeological Project. 

Areas of Expertise

Ancient Greek religion, Mediterranean archaeology, ancient colonization

Education

2019 — Master of Arts from UNC Chapel Hill

2015 — Master of Arts from University of Pennsylvania

2014 — Bachelor of Arts from University of Pennsylvania

Courses Recently Taught

This course introduces students to the masterpieces of the ancient Greek world in English translation and to the extraordinary civilization that produced them. We explore the development of Greek civilization through celebrated texts -- for example, Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey"; the poetry of Sappho; plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides; and Plato's philosophical dialogues -- as well as through lesser-known but still fascinating works. We work toward a better understanding of the texts themselves, the people and the culture that produced them, and the enduring relevance they hold for us today. This counts toward the core requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every other year.