For an explanation of the blog title [quemdixerechaos], see this post.

Pedar W. Foss is Professor of Classical Studies at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where he has worked since 1999. As a teacher, he conducts courses in Latin, ancient history and literature, and art and archaeology, as well as the Honor Scholar program. As Dean of Academic Life from 2009-13, his administrative duties included oversight of student advising, academic support, off-campus and service learning, and career services, including helping lead the creation of the Office of Civic, Global, and Professional Opportunities at DePauw (now the Hubbard Center for Student Engagement).

His research concerns landscape archaeology and Geographic Information Systems, and he has been involved in archaeological survey in Lycia since 1997. He has frequently led archaeological tours to Tunisia. His dissertation focused on domestic life at Pompeii, and in 2008 he and John Dobbins co-edited The World of Pompeii (Routledge), which has become a standard handbook and reference for the Vesuvian sites. He has also edited for the Journal of Roman Archaeology and co-edited the book reviews for the American Journal of Archaeology from 2008-11.

After growing up picking rock, making hay, and milking cows on a family farm in Minnesota, he received his B.A. in Chemistry and Classics from Gustavus Adolphus College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; he subsequently taught at the University of Cincinnati Dept. of Classics and at Stanford University (the IHUM program).

He has lived, studied, and worked for extended periods in Greece, Italy, Tunisia, Turkey, and England. As an an avid fan of soccer, he coaches, referees, and helps administer the Putnam County Youth Soccer Association. He and his family are also students of the martial arts (he is Shodan in Kenpo Goju-Ryu karate), and he has a teaching and research interest in the ethics of combat and competition.

In 2013-14, he and his family were on sabbatical in Perugia, Italy. Their blog is: Shades of Umbria.

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

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