My research and teaching focus on women in ancient Roman religion and the links between inscriptions and Roman literature and history. My research synthesizes epigraphic and literary evidence for the Vestal Virgins (a powerful group of Roman priestesses) to reclaim their agency, examining their contributions to mentoring and peacemaking. In my article “Time and Eternity: The Vestal Virgins and the Crisis of the Third Century” (TAPA 2020) I historicize references to the Vestals’ persistent service with imperial emphasis on traditional Roman religion amidst the rise of Christianity. Another article entitled “The Fictores and the Epigraphic Habit in the Atrium Vestae” (Brill Studies in Greek and Roman Epigraphy 2023) examines inscriptions dedicated by religious workers who assisted the Vestals. I have presented talks on the Vestal Virgins at several international conferences and have integrated this research into many of my classes.
Other projects highlighting the roles of women in Roman religion include an article on Ovid's unusual feminine characterization of the agricultural deity Robigo and a project examining representations of the goddess Vesta. In June 2023 I gave a keynote talk on “Transmediality and the Goddess Vesta in Ovid’s Fasti” at King’s College London.
I have also examined how the Roman historian Livy incorporates inscriptions into his work, applying theories about cultural memory and intermediality. My article “Inscriptions on the Capitoline: Epigraphy and Cultural Memory in Livy” (Cambridge 2023) examines how Livy preserved references to traditional inscriptions on the Capitoline hill, a center of religion and cultural memory, at a time when the emperor Augustus was transforming the epigraphic and topographical landscape of Rome. Another article entitled “Inscriptional Intermediality in Livy” (Trends in Classics 2019) focuses on how Livy incorporates aspects of epigraphic media into his text. In my courses students read ancient inscriptions which provide interesting insights into ancient Roman culture.
At UNL I have pursued interdisciplinary teaching opportunities in Classics and Religious Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and History while contributing to the university’s general education program. While applying my research to my teaching, I highlight ways in which Classics continues to be relevant and useful today. In my course on “Women in Classical Mythology” students read ancient sources highlighting the agency of female mythological figures as well as modern adaptations (including Madeline Miller’s feminist novel Circe). In my “Roman Religion” class students study the Vestal Virgins’ involvement in conflict resolution while also learning about religious women and peacemaking in modern global settings. I encourage students to think creatively about their own interests in individual projects and have supervised honors theses and honors contract projects. Additionally, I support experiential learning through field trips to campus museums. I have taken classes to explore the Latin and Greek roots of species names at Morrill Hall and to view ancient artifacts in the Anthropology collection of the University of Nebraska State Museum. I have been involved in several service activities including serving on UNL’s Phi Beta Kappa Committee, teaching community outreach courses, and serving as Chair of the Society for Classical Studies Committee on Gender and Sexuality in the Profession.
Publications
- “The Fictores and the Epigraphic Habit in the Atrium Vestae.” In Rebecca Benefiel and Catherine Keesling, eds. Inscriptions and the Epigraphic Habit. 171–93. Brill Studies in Greek and Roman Epigraphy.
- Palmer, M. E. 2023. “Inscriptions on the Capitoline: Epigraphy and Cultural Memory in Livy.” In Martin T. Dinter and Charles Guérin, eds. Cultural Memory in Republican and Augustan Rome. 294–312. Cambridge University Press.
- Palmer, M. E. 2020. “Time and Eternity: The Vestal Virgins and the Crisis of the Third Century.” TAPA 150.2: 473–97.
- Palmer, M. E. 2019. “Inscriptional Intermediality in Livy.” In Martin T. Dinter and Bettina Reitz-Joosse, eds. Trends in Classics: Special Issue: Intermediality in Roman Literature. Vol. 11: 74–95.
- Palmer, M. E. 2018. “A Blight on the pax Augusta: The Robigalia in Ovid's Fasti.” Classical World 111: 503–523.
- Review of Heyworth, S. J. 2019. Ovid, Fasti Book III. Cambridge (The Classical Review, 70.1)
- Review of Flower, Harriet I. 2017. The Dancing Lares and the Serpent in the Garden: Religion at the Roman Street Corner. Princeton (The Classical Journal, 10/21/18).