Rate My Professor Ariel Pearce

Ariel Pearce is a scholar in the field of art history, with a focus on ancient Mediterranean cultures including Minoan Crete and ancient Egypt. She earned her PhD in Art History from Temple University's Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Department of Art History. Her doctoral dissertation, 'Fresh Water Scenes in Minoan Art,' provides a comprehensive study of scenes of fresh water in Minoan art from the Middle Minoan II (MM II) through the Late Minoan periods. This work underscores her expertise in Bronze Age Aegean iconography and artistic representations of natural elements. Prior to her PhD, Pearce obtained a Master of Arts in Art History from Temple University between 2007 and 2009. Her academic journey at Temple positioned her within the vibrant community of art historians studying ancient civilizations.

As part of her graduate work at Temple University, Pearce actively participated in archaeological fieldwork, serving as a graduate student from the Department of Art History on the excavation at Aphrodite's Kephali, an Early Minoan I defensive site in eastern Crete. She taught undergraduate courses at Temple, including ARTH 0803, 'The Art of the Sacred Space: the Egyptian World,' introducing students to the art and architecture of sacred contexts in ancient Egypt. Pearce presented her research at professional conferences, notably delivering 'A Game of Stones: An Inventory and Distributional Analysis of the Consumption of Worked Stone at Neopalatial Knossos' at the Archaeological Institute of America's 119th Annual Meeting in 2018. She contributed to scholarly discourse with 'Horns of Consecration from the Petras Cemetery' in the Kentro Newsletter, Volume 22 (Fall 2019). Additionally, Pearce was a key organizer for the conference 'The Future of the Past: From Amphipolis to Mosul' held in Philadelphia in April 2015, which explored new approaches to cultural heritage preservation in the Eastern Mediterranean. Her involvement in these projects highlights her commitment to Minoan archaeology, material culture analysis, and heritage conservation. Pearce continues her teaching career as an adjunct professor in art history at institutions including Arcadia University and Community College of Philadelphia.