Dr. Heather Grossman

Biography

Heather E. Grossman is an architectural art historian and archaeologist whose research investigates conceptualizations of identity and transcultural exchange in instances of architectural cultural interaction in the Mediterranean. Her research and teaching examine encounters among Christian, Islamic, and Jewish cultures in the global medieval world, focusing on the role of architecture in creating group identity and the memory of architecture in the development of Mediterranean cities. Grossman specifically researches the reception and use of ancient and medieval monuments in the modern world, pursuing a particular interest in the history of architectural urban photography, especially associated with Ottoman photographers like Pascal Jean-Pascal Sébah. She co-edited the volume 'Mechanisms of Exchange: Transmission of Medieval Art and Architecture between Europe and the Mediterranean, 1000 – 1500' (Brill, 2013) and is the author of the forthcoming monograph 'Building Identity in the Medieval Morea: Architecture and Interaction in the Thirteenth-Century Mediterranean' (Routledge). This work conceptualizes cross-cultural interaction through an examination of fourteen churches, offering a holistic assessment of ecclesiastic architecture in the Greek Peloponnese, particularly after the Fourth Crusade in 1204 CE. Through close readings of both monastic and lay churches in Greece and France, she locates comparative materials from settlers’ Champenois and Burgundian homelands.

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