Wayne Pitard · Voices of Illinois · University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library

Title: Wayne Pitard
Date(s): 07/15/2020
Interviewee(s): Wayne Pitard See all items with this value
Interviewer(s): Joseph Baronovic See all items with this value; Vaughn Harry Fenton See all items with this value
Interviewer Position: Joseph Baronovic (he/him) is a Ph.D. student in Classics at Illinois. He received his B.A. in classical languages and classical and Near Eastern civilizations from Creighton University. Joe has a broad range of interests, from historiography and philosophy to the reception of antiquity and the gamification of pedagogy. His main topic of research is suicide in antiquity, and he is currently writing his dissertation on the motif of suicide in the genre of Greek tragedy.; Vaughn Harry Fenton (he/him) is a Ph.D. student in Classics at Illinois. He received his B.A. in history and classics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a minor in war and society. Vaughn’s main research interests are in ancient Carthage and ancient warfare studies, as well as the late antique period. Outside of his university studies, Vaughn has written YouTube videos about Ancient Carthage and enjoys painting miniatures.
Summary: Wayne Pitard is an emeritus professor in the Department of Religion at Illinois and retired director of the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures. With a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his research has focused primarily on the religion of the ancient Canaanites, particularly on the only surviving library of Canaanite religious texts, found in the ruins of the city of Ugarit, Syria, and dating to about 1200 BCE. In September 2024, he also published Watchman, Tell Us: John J. Bird and Black Politics in Post-Civil War Illinois, research that began while he was director of the Spurlock Museum.
Subject(s): artifacts See all items with this value; archaeology See all items with this value; classics See all items with this value; department of history See all items with this value; education See all items with this value; fundraising See all items with this value; liberal arts and sciences See all items with this value; religion See all items with this value; research See all items with this value; spurlock museum See all items with this value
Related Resources: Beth Watkins Oral History; Spurlock Museum Administrative Correspondence File, 1997-2000 (RS: 15/34/5); Spurlock Museum Announcements and Pamphlets, 1913- (RS: 15/34/801); Spurlock Museum Exhibit Materials, 1970, 1976- (RS: 15/34/805); Spurlock Museum Heritage, 1982- (RS: 15/34/810); Spurlock Museum Historical Timeline; Spurlock Museum Reports, 1970- (RS: 15/34/802); World Heritage Museum Administrative Correspondence File, 1913-1986 (RS: 15/34/1); World Heritage/Spurlock Museum Board File, 1987-2006 (RS: 15/34/4)

Item sets: Spurlock Museum History