Dr Maeve McHugh FHEA

Dr Maeve McHugh

Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology
Lecturer in Classical Archaeology

Contact details

Address
University 麻豆精选
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

I am an archaeologist specialising in the Greek Archaic to Classical periods. My work involves using historical and archaeological data to piece together the lives of rural non-elite individuals and communities in the Greek world, to better understand the connections between physical, social, and cultural landscapes. I have been actively involved in field archaeology, participating in several significant landscape surveys in Greece and, most recently, a senior archaeologist and co-director of the Bays of East Attica Regional Survey (BEARS). I enjoy incorporating my research expertise in my teaching, especially giving students the opportunity to explore the lives of ‘poor’ and underrepresented groups in ancient Athens. Additionally, along with colleagues, accompany students abroad to visit archaeological sites in Europe with the Study Tour our second-year core module for single honours programmes.

Feedback and office hours

My student hours vary each term. Please check your module's Canvas page or email me for the most up-to-date schedule.

Qualifications

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2018)
  • PhD  (2014, UCD)
  • MA  (2009, UCD)
  • BA (2008, UCD)

Biography

I joined the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology at the University 麻豆精选 in 2017 as a Teaching Fellow in Classical Archaeology, and in 2021, I became a Lecturer in Classical Archaeology. Since joining the Department, I have developed my research which is motivated by a strong interest in reconstructing the lives and experiences of communities that are often overlooked in ancient history.

My research specifically revolves around the lives of households and individuals who earned their living, and I aim to gain a deeper understanding of their lives using historical, archaeological, and ethnographic data. I particularly enjoy the opportunity to reconstruct their lives through my ongoing fieldwork projects.

In my teaching, I guide students to unravel the lives of these groups in my modules on ancient Greek daily life. Additionally, I lead students on guided trips to archaeological sites as part of the Study Tour module, which is always an exciting experience. Beyond the classroom, I have enjoyed working closely with students as part of our volunteering program with the Archaeology Collection, the Department鈥檚 teaching collection of ancient antiquities.

Teaching

I teach on single and joint honour programmes in the Department, more specifically, I teach on the following modules.

Year one

  • LC Greek World
  • LC Roman World
  • LC Rethinking the Ancient World B
  • LC Project: Meet the Greeks

Year two

  • LI Study Tour

Year three

  • LH Dissertation

Postgraduate

  • LM Research and Scholarship

Postgraduate supervision

I am available to discuss research projects on any of the major research interests: ancient agriculture; ancient landscapes; pedestrian landscape survey; and lives of non-elites in antiquity.

Research

My research aims to create multi-vocal narratives of ancient life from the perspectives of rural communities and individuals traditionally labelled as economically poor. My goal is to provide a better-rounded picture of the lives and experiences of free and enslaved individuals and rural communities as they went about their working lives.

I am involved in the Department鈥檚 The Ancient City and Landscape, Nature, and the Environment research themes.

I am a member of the School鈥檚 Centre for Material Cultures and Materialities and the International Centre for Heritage.

Current projects

I am a senior archaeologist and intensive survey co-director of the .听

Other activities

I am the academic coordinator for the Department’s Archaeology Collection, which is a collection of over 1000 antiquities from the worlds of Greece, Rome, and Egypt. It is a teaching collection intended for student use and engagement. There are volunteering opportunities available to students during the academic year.  These will be advertised to students on the Department’s Canvas page.

Publications

Recent publications

Book

McHugh, M 2017, . Oxbow Books.

Article

Murray, SC, Godsey, M, Frankl, J, Lis, B, Erny, GK, Stephan, RP, Sapirstein, PN, McHugh, MC & Pratt, CE 2023, '', Mouseion, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 112-174.

McHugh, M, Murray, SC, Godsey, M, Frankl, J, Erny, G, Stephan, R, Sapirstein, P & Pratt, C 2022, '', Mouseion: Journal of the Classical Association of Canada.

Murray, SC, Pratt, CE, Stephan, RP, McHugh, M, Erny, GK, Psoma, A, Lis, B & Sapirstein, PN 2021, '', Mouseion: Journal of the Classical Association of Canada, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 323-394.

McHugh, M 2019, '', Annual of the British School at Athens, pp. 207-240.

McHugh, M 2019, '', World Archaeology, pp. 208-225.

Chapter (peer-reviewed)

McHugh, M 2024, . in S Bernard & S Murray (eds), Models, Methods, and Morality: Assessing Modern Approaches to the Greco-Roman Economy. 1 edn, Palgrave Studies in Ancient Economies, Palgrave, pp. 317-343.

Chapter

McHugh, M 2022, . in JA Baird & A Pudsey (eds), Housing in the Ancient Mediterranean World. Cambridge University Press, pp. 229-260.

McHugh, M 2017, . in An Island Between Two Worlds: The Archaeology of Euboea from Prehistoric to Byzantine Times.

Review article

McHugh, M 2017, '', Bryn Mawr Classical Review.