​​​Chair of the Department
Senior Lecturer

BA Hons, MA (Classics) University of Natal, Durban 
PhD (Classics), University of Exeter

​Office:​ Arts 338

Email:  masters@sun.ac.za

Curriculum ​Vitae​​

About

I am a scholar of classical material culture and I’ve been intrigued with the ancient w​orld since my grandmother thrilled me with stories of visits to the Athenian Acropolis, the Colosseum of Rome and the caldera of Vesuvius. My research interests focus on classical art and visual/material culture. My current research involves the reception of classical art in contemporary African art, which is a very rich and novel area or researh. I also work on the general reception of classics in Southern Africa, escpecially the decolonisation and relevance of Classics in Africa.  I have also worked on collections of ancient artefacts in South African Museums, including, the collection at Iziko Museums of South Africa in Cape Town, where I am a Research Associate.

First-hand experience with objects from antiquity presents an ideal teaching and learning opportunity and handling ancient artefacts is definitely one of the highlights of my job. The tactile nature of the objects brings the past into relief alongside the present, highlighting the thread of humanity that joins us to people who lived thousands of years ago. 

I am passionate about connecting with other scholars of classics in Africa (and am building a directory), research, postgraduate development, supervision, mentorship and teaching and enjoy using creative projects and playful perspectives (like Lego Classicism) to engage students’ creative and critical thinking and approach issues of contemporary relevance. 

I am also very pleased to have been initiated into the Lego Classicists F​amily in 2020.​

Areas of Specialisation​​​​​​​ 

• The reception of classical themes and forms in contemporary African art

• Greek art and material culture

• Roman Imperial material culture 

• Iconography and the language of images on Greek pottery
  

• Antiquities collections in South Africa
  

• Classical reception in South Africa
  ​​
  

Courses in 2023​

• Anc​ient Cultures 221/321 Reading Greek Art

• Ancient Cultures Honours: Ancient Classical Sculpture

• Postgraduate Research Skills and Methods
  
  

Current Research Projects

• Database of Greek and Roman antiquities in South African Collections
  

• Reception of Classical art in contemporary African Art

• South Africa, Greece, Rome: a digital museum
  
  

Selected Publications - Books

• Masters, S., Nzungu, I. & G.R. Parker (eds.). (u)Mzantsi Classics: Dialogues from Southern Africa. Cape Town: African Minds; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. 2022.
  
  

Selected Publications - Articles and Essays

• Masters, S. 2022. All Rhodes lead to Rome? Re-thinking the Commemorative Landscape in South Africa after The Fall. In S. Masters, I. Nzungu, and G.R. Parker (eds.), (u)Mzantsi Classics: Dialogues from Southern Africa.​ Cape Town: African Minds and Liverpool, Liverpool University Press.

• Masters, S. & F. Naether. 2021. 'South Africa and the Ancient World. Artefacts and their Use in Teaching and Outreach'. In van Dijk-Coombes, R., Swanepoel, L & G. Kotze. From Stone Age to Stellenbosch: Studies on the Ancient Near East in Honour of Izak (Sakkie) Cornelius. Munster: Zaphon.

• Masters, S. 2021. A Woman in Danger or a Dangerous Woman? "Helen"on Archaic Attic Vases. In C. Lang-Auinger and E. Trinl (eds.), Greek Vases as a Medium of Communication. Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum Österreich Beiheft 3. Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press.
  

• Masters, S. 2018. Museum Space and Displacement: Collecting Classical Antiquities in South Africa. In G. Parker (ed.), South Africa, Greece and Rome: Classical Confrontations, 283–315.  Cambridge: Cambridge Unviersity Press. 

• Masters, S & A. Andrason. 2017. (Un)Identifying Helen and Paris in Late Fifth Century BCE Athenian Vase-Painting: How Context is Crucial. In D. Rodríguez Perez, Greek Art in Context. Current Approaches to Archaeological and Art Historical Research. London: Routledge..

• Masters S. & T. Welman. 2015. Disrupting Context: Making a Case for the Digital Curation of Classical Antiquities in South Africa. Akroterion 60: 83–99.​​
  
  

Awards and Affiliations

• Honorary Research Fellow, College of Humanities, Department of Classics and Ancient History, Exeter University  (2022)
  

• Honorary Research Associate, Iziko Museums of South Africa, Cape Town (2021)​

• Mellon Academic Staff Development Programme Award (2014)

• NRF Thuthuka Grant (2013-2015)

• NRF Prestige Scholarship for PhD

• Vogel Scholarship for travel abroad (2008)

Service/Committees​