Professor S. Thomas Parker honored with “Festschrift”

S. Thomas Parker was honored in November with publication of a Festschrift (German for “Celebratory Writings”), a collection of papers written by his former students and colleagues: The Socio-economic History and Material Culture of the Roman and Byzantine Near East: Essays in Honor of S. Thomas Parker (Gorgias Press). The volume was edited by Walter D. Ward, Parker’s former student who received his M.A. in history from NCSU in 2002 and who is now an associate professor at the University of Alabama Birmingham. Other NCSU history graduates and former students of Parker who contributed to the volume include Elizabeth Ann Pollard (B.A. NCSU 1993, now a professor at San Diego State University), Andrew M. Smith II (M.A. NCSU 1995, now an associate professor at George Washington University), and Stephanie H. Brown (M.A. NCSU 2012) who is now completing her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley.

Parker joined the history department at NCSU in 1980. His major field is Roman history and archaeology, especially the Roman Levant. His research focuses on the economy of the Roman Empire, Roman frontiers, the Roman army, and the origins of Christianity. He teaches an introductory course on the history of the ancient Mediterranean world as well as advanced courses in Roman history and archaeology and Late Antiquity.

The Festschrift was presented to Parker at a special session of papers, chaired by Walter Ward, at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research in Boston. Among the papers in the session were contributions by Sarah E. Wenner (M.A. NCSU 2016) and Andrew Smith.