In a note from 2014-15 HWL Visiting Faculty Fellow Elizabeth Langridge-Noti, she writes, "I am continuing to revel in the connections Duke brought me as I watch graduate students I met, talked with and advised, heading off to new things." One student she's watching with particular pride is Tara Trahey. Trahey, who was a senior during Langridge-Noti's fellowship year, is now in her first year at Oxford University, pursuing an MSt in Classical Archaeology, and she recently published her first academic paper in The Consumer's Choice, a volume co-edited by Langridge-Noti.

Trahey's article, "Trademarks and the Dynamic Image: A Step to Visualizing Patterns in Imagery Movement from Athens to Etruria," is based on research she did at Duke, where her studies combined Visual Art and Art History, Italian and European Studies, and Classical Civilizations. In her own words,

I devoted most of my four undergraduate years to studying 6th century BCE Greek figured vases. In particular, I study the intricacies of iconographic interpretation, particular as it relates to trade and cultural exchange. Since discovering a set of “twin” vases during my freshman year in college, my research has focused on the vase trade between Athens, Greece and the ancient city of Vulci in Etruria (what is now modern day Tuscany)—and, most importantly, how these different cultural contexts affected the creation of particular imagery.

While I uphold the traditional roots of vase scholarship, I am interested in extending my experience with alternative visualization methodologies. As co-principal investigator of Duke’s digital humanities lab, I witnessed the strength of uniting technical sciences and humanities. Through 3D modeling and the use of networking software, I investigated the expansion of research questions through visual mediums. These digital modes of interaction explode our conceptions of ancient objects as static representations of a stable past.