Michael Anthony Fowler

Dr. Michael Anthony Fowler is Assistant Professor of Art History in the Department of Art and Design at East Tennessee State University (ETSU); he also serves as affiliate faculty in the Classical and Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies programs.

An art historian and classical archaeologist, Dr. Fowler specializes in the art and material culture of ancient Greece and the Near East. His dissertation, “Human Sacrifice in Greek Antiquity: Between Myth, Image, and Reality” (2019), offers an archaeologically and art historically grounded inquiry into the historicity, forms, and meanings of human sacrifice. The project combined several of Dr. Fowler’s research interests, particularly the iconography and archaeology of ritual, gender, and violence in the artistic imagination.

In his teaching, which ranges widely across the history of art, Dr. Fowler is interested in introducing students to the diversity of visual cultures around the globe and to the critical role that the arts continue to play in expressing, shaping, and responding to peoples’ ideals and realities. He enjoys working with art historians and artists alike and is always looking for innovative ways to transform coursework into important opportunities for practical training and professional growth.

For over a decade, Dr. Fowler has also served as co-author of the "Chronique Archéologique de la Religion Grecque" (Kernos), on which he is responsible for Central Greece. In addition to developing his dissertation into a book, Dr. Fowler is currently co-editing two international volumes (archaeology of ritual in the ancient Mediterranean; and the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem) and preparing studies on man-eating myth in Greek art, the aesthetics of apotropaic images, and roadside shrines in Central Greece. Beyond these projects, Dr. Fowler is an active contributor to Smarthistory, which is working to democratize access to high-quality, expert-written art history learning resources.

As a commissioned member and chair of Johnson City's Public Art Committee (JCPA), Dr. Fowler enjoys assisting with various projects aimed at integrating art into the everyday lives of inhabitants of the Appalachian Highlands, beautifying the city we collectively call home, and building community through collaboration.