Emma Blake is the National Endowment for the Humanities/Phyillis G. Gordan Post-Doctoral Rome Prize Winner in Ancient Studies and an Assistant Professor in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona.
Why did you apply for the Rome Prize?
I have dreamed about applying for a Rome Prize for years but it was never the right time until now. It seemed that every year I was either busy with teaching and fieldwork or my children were being born. The stars aligned this year, however, and my husband and I could both get the time off, our children are old enough to travel, and I have embarked on an ambitious research project that requires a big block of time unfettered from teaching and administrative duties in order to complete. Most of all, I must consult with Italian scholars on my project, so settling in Rome for a year is perfect.
Describe a particularly inspiring moment or location you've experienced in Rome thus far.
My biggest thrill has come from meeting Italian archaeologists whose work I draw on heavily for my research, and getting their (so far, positive!) feedback on my project. In the US there are very few scholars working on the Bronze Age and Iron Age in Italy. To encounter people who know exactly what I am talking about and know the evidence inside and out is exhilarating.
To what extent, if any, has your proposed project changed since your arrival?
Based on the feedback from scholars in Rome, some slight shifts in emphasis but that is all.
Have you had any "eureka!" moments or unanticipated breakthroughs in the course of your work here?
Not yet! Having visited some of the sites that I am writing about in person, I have a feel for their spatial layout that books and maps could not provide.
What aspect of your project are you most looking forward to?
Writing Chapter Two, because it requires a lot of bibliographic research so I’ll get to sit in the AAR Library for a month rather than in my study.
What part of your project has been or do you anticipate will be the most challenging?
Convincing some of the Italian pre-historians of my results.
What's surprised you most about living in Rome?
I am most surprised by how different Rome is from Sicily, where I spend my summers. I thought living in Rome would be just like Sicily except for being a big city, but the culture is distinct too. I’m observing regional inflections in food, daily habits, even driving styles. Positive features of life in Rome, compared to Sicily: earlier restaurant openings; slightly more cautious drivers; pizza bianca; potable public water fountains. Negative: no ricotta filled pastries! I figured that the ubiquity of neapolitan pizza and pesto alla genovese in Italy were signs of the homogenization of the country, but it turns out that some regional differences prevail. I suppose it’s ironic that I should be surprised to discover this since Italian regionalism is exactly what my research is about, just 3000 years ago rather than today!
How have you managed the balance between your work (time in the studio/study) and engagement with Rome and Italy (travel, sightseeing, interactions with locals)?
I interact with locals quite a bit because my children are enrolled in school here. I value that opportunity to speak Italian and meet Roman families, attend their children’s birthday parties and so on. The downside of being here with kids, though, is I can only get my work done while they’re at school, so my time is very circumscribed. This means that for the time being I am regretfully missing the wonderful biweekly walks to sites around Rome that Kim Bowes and others are leading and I am focusing on work almost exclusively. My personal goal is to get a draft of my book done early enough in the Spring that I’ll be able to get out into the city more.
How do you anticipate your Rome Prize Fellowship will influence future work?
I see this year as a crucial turning point, not only because it allows me to get my book done but because of the new professional relationships I am forging with Italian scholars. I will leave here with an international profile I previously lacked.
What is your favorite spot at the Academy? or in Rome?
Academy: the bar (for macchiato, cookie, and Herald Tribune in the mornings).
Rome: the Contarelli chapel in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi. For a long time The Calling of Saint Matthew was the image on my computer desktop back in the US, and now I can pop in and see that picture and the others in the St. Matthew cycle in person whenever I like. What a luxury.