Brad Hostetler specializes in the art and material culture of Late Antiquity and Byzantium, with a particular emphasis on portable luxury objects from the ninth through the twelfth centuries. He teaches courses on the art and architecture of the ancient and medieval Mediterranean, including ancient Greece, Rome, Byzantium and the Islamicate world.

Hostetler’s research focuses on the relationships between texts and images, including ekphraseis about, and words inscribed on, works of art. He is currently writing a book that examines the nature and meaning of relics and reliquaries in Byzantium through the lens of inscriptions, including the ways in which inscribed texts mediate and guide the faithful’s engagement with, and understanding of, sacred relics.

Hostetler’s research has been supported by grants and fellowships from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Areas of Expertise

Byzantine art, Greek epigraphy, epigrams, and ekphrasis

Education

2016 — Doctor of Philosophy from Florida State University

2009 — Master of Arts from Florida State University

2002 — Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College Il

Courses Recently Taught