Megan Goldman-Petri

Megan Goldman-Petri's work focuses on the art, architecture, and archaeology of the ancient Roman world. She received her PhD in Classical Art and Archaeology from the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University as well as a Masters degree in the same subject from the University of Oxford. Her research is primarily concerned with the relationship between the built environment and society. She is interested both in the ways that buildings impact the people who live with them and the effect of society and culture on architectural theory, design, and practice. Her first book project, The Augustan Monumental Altars: Origins, Functions, Receptions, examines a group of altars built during the early years of Rome's transition from a republic to a monarchy. The book argues for the pivotal role of this architectural form in building and stabilizing the new imperial system in the capital.   Recent publications have focused on other aspects of the visual and material culture of the Augustan Age, from the politics of the Roman mint to the replication of imperial imagery in the provinces. In these pieces she challenges long held assumptions about who creates images, including the image of Rome itself, and how images and knowledge circulated in pre-modern society. Currently, she is at work on several projects dealing with the reception of Roman architecture in the 20th century, particularly in the work of Le Corbusier.