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Kristi Upson-Saia

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Kristi Upson-Saia (2021)

Kristi Upson-Saia is a Historian of Late Antiquity. She holds the David B. and Mary H. Gamble Professorship in Religion at Occidental College, Los Angeles, California.[1] She specialises in the history of medicine, health and healing, and religions in the late ancient Mediterranean.

Education

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Upson-Saia was awarded her PhD from Duke University in 2006. Her doctoral thesis was entitled Making An Appearance: Sexual Renunciation and Gender Revision in the Attire of Early Christian Female Ascetics.[2] Her doctoral project was supervised by Elizabeth A. Clark.

Career and research

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Upson-Saia published two books on dress studies, a monograph, Early Christian Dress: Gender, Virtue and Authority (Routledge, 2011) and an edited volume, Dressing Judeans and Christians in Antiquity (Routledge, 2014).

She has also published a book on the history of pre-modern medicine, Medicine, Health, and Healing in the Ancient Mediterranean (University of California Press, 2023).

With Heidi Marx at the University of Manitoba, Upson-Saia founded and co-directs the international working group, composed of over 300 scholarly members, on Religion, Medicine, Disability, and Health in late antiquity, ReMeDHe.[3]

Accomplishments

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In 2008, Upson-Saia's article "Caught in a Compromising Position: The Biblical Exegesis and Characterization of Biblical Protagonists in the Syriac Dialogue Hymns" was awarded the Best First Article Prize from the North American Patristics Society.[4]

In 2011, Upson-Saia was awarded the Donald R. Loftsgordon Memorial Award for Outstanding Teaching, and in 2012, Upson-Saia won the Linda and Tod White Teaching Prize.[1]

In 2021, Upson-Saia was awarded the David B. and Mary H. Gamble Professorship at Occidental College.[5]

In 2022, Upson-Saia led efforts to procure a $1.5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to fund Occidental College’s Humanities for Just Communities curriculum.[6][7]

Media

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Upson-Saia was an expert contributor on Greg Jenner's BBC Radio 4 programme, 'You're Dead To Me', with comedian Stu Goldsmith. They discussed Greek and Roman Medicine.[8]

Upson-Saia has also written about medical views on pregnancy for Nursing Clio,[9] dress at the Met Gala for Hyperallergic,[10] ancient sexual ethics with the Huffington Post.[11]

Bibliography

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  • Early Christian Dress: Gender, Virtue and Authority (London: Routledge, 2011)
  • Dressing Judeans and Christians in Antiquity (London: Routledge, 2014).
  • Medicine, Health, and Healing in the Ancient Mediterranean (500 BCE–600 CE) A Sourcebook, by Kristi Upson-Saia, Heidi Marx, and Jared Secord (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2023)[12]
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References

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  1. ^ "Occidental College press release, "Cleland, Coons and Gamble Professors Named"".
  2. ^ Upson-Saia, Kristi (2006). Making an appearance : sexual renunciation and gender revision in the attire of early Christian female ascetics. 2006.
  3. ^ "ReMeDHe". ReMeDHe. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  4. ^ "Occidental College press release, "Upson-Saia Receives Prestigious Award"".
  5. ^ "Cleland, Coons and Gamble Professors Named". www.oxy.edu. 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  6. ^ "Mellon Foundation Press Release, "New Initiative Supports Liberal Arts Colleges Providing Social Justice-Oriented Offerings"".
  7. ^ "Occidental College press release, "$1.5 Million Mellon Grant to Fund Humanities for Just Communities Initiative"".
  8. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - You're Dead to Me, Ancient Greek & Roman Medicine". BBC. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  9. ^ "The Mifepristone Case Hinges on Whether or not Pregnancy Should be Considered an "Illness" – What Can We Learn When We Look for Medical Precedent?". Nursing Clio. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  10. ^ Upson-Saia, Kristi (2018-05-15). "Early Christians Would Have Found the Met Gala Gaudy". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  11. ^ "Upson-Saia, "Traditionally, Christianity is Against ALL Marriage"".
  12. ^ Upson-Saia, Kristi; Marx, Heidi; Secord, Jared (August 2023). Medicine, Health, and Healing in the Ancient Mediterranean (500 BCE–600 CE): A Sourcebook. ISBN 978-0-520-29972-6.