Curriculum vitae

Rubina Raja

Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology

Centre Director, Centre for Urban Network Evolutions

Researcher unique identifier(s): orcid.org/0000-0002-1387-874X

Personal website: https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/rubina.raja@cas.au.dk

CURRENT POSITIONS

2015–           
Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology (chair), School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Denmark

2015–           
Centre Director, The Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre of Excellence for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet), School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Denmark (grant of 105 mill DKK) (https://urbnet.au.dk/ and https://urbnet.au.dk/about-urbnet/annual-reports)

PREVIOUS POSITIONS

2012–2015    
Professor (with special assignments, MSO) of Classical Art and Archaeology, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Denmark; head of the PhD programme for history, archaeology and classical studies (2014–2015); member of the committee for research (department and faculty) (since 2015)

2009–2012    
Associate Professor in Classical Art and Archaeology, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Denmark

2007–2009   
Postdoctoral fellow in Classical Archaeology, Institute for Anthropology, Archaeology and Linguistics, Aarhus University, Denmark

2005–2007    
Postdoctoral fellow and teaching assistant in Classical Archaeology, Department of Classical Archaeology, University of Hamburg, Germany

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP DEGRESS/EDUCATION

2022–           
Master of Public Governance, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

2022             
Women’s Leader Programme, INSEAD Business School, Fontainebleau, Paris, France

2015             
Executive Research Management Course, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

2008–2010    
Diploma of Management (research management degree), Forvaltningshøjskolen Copenhagen and VIA University College, Aarhus, Denmark

UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

2001–2005    
University of Oxford, UK (Lincoln College) D.Phil. (oxon) in Classical Archaeology (2001–2005)

1999–2000    
University of Oxford, UK (Lincoln College) M.St. in Classical Archaeology

1997­–1998    
Università di Roma, La Sapienza, Italy Corsi singoli in Classical Archaeology

1995–1999    
University of Copenhagen, Denmark BA in Classical Archaeology, Italian language and cultural journalism. Study year abroad (corsi singoli) at La Sapienza, Università di Roma, Italy (1997–1998)

RESEARCH GRANTS

2022–2024    
Partner to the Joint Committee for Nordic Research Councils in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NOS-HS) exploratory workshops grant Writing Histories of the Ancient Near East: 21st Century Challenges (40,000 EUR)

2020–2023    
Director of Archive Archaeology: Preserving and Sharing Palmyra’s Cultural Heritage through Harald Ingholt’s Digital Archives (ALIPH Foundation: 261,393 EUR)

2020–           
Director of Circular Economy and Urban Sustainability in Antiquity (Augustinus Foundation: 133,333 EUR; The Carlsberg Foundation: 605,913 EUR)

2018–2019    
Partner to the Joint Committee for Nordic Research Councils in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NOS-HS) exploratory workshops grant Globalization, Urbanization and Urban Religion in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Roman and Early Islamic Periods (grant: 11,976 EUR)

2017–           
Director of the Danish-Italian Excavation of the Forum of Julius Caesar in Rome, together with Dr. Jan Kindberg Jacobsen, The Danish Institute in Rome, and Dr. Claudio Parisi Presicce, director of the Soprintendenza Capitolina, Rome, Italy (The Carlsberg Foundation [held by the Danish Institute in Rome]: 1,514,800 EUR; Aarhus University Research Foundation – Flagship grant: 1,333,333 EUR)

2015–           
Centre director of the Centre of Excellence Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet), School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Denmark (The Danish National Research Foundation: 8,666,666 EUR + 5,333,333 EUR – last part awarded in 2020)

2015             
Elite Research Award (Danish Council for Independent Research and the Ministry for Higher Education and Science: 1,200,000 DKK)

2015–2020    
Director of Ceramics in Context (The Carlsberg Foundation: 493,333 EUR)

2014             
Silver Medal Research Award, The Royal Academy of Sciences and Letters (100,000 DKK)

2012–2020    
Director of Palmyra Portrait Project (The Carlsberg Foundation: 1,800,000 EUR)

2011–2021    
Director of The Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project, together with Prof. Achim Lichtenberger, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany (The Carlsberg Foundation, EliteForsk Award and the H. P. Hjerl Hansen Fonden for Dansk Palæstina Forskning: app. 1,000,000 EUR in total)

2007–2011    
Postdoc project, Religiøs identitet, rituel praksis og sakral arkitektur i den senhellenistiske og romerske Nærorient, 100 f.Kr. – 400 e.Kr.: Helligdommenes rolle i spændingsfeltet mellem kultur, religion og samfund (The Novo Nordisk Foundation: 2,500,000 DKK)

RESEARCH AWARDS AND PRIZES

2022             
Friedrich Wilhelm-Bessel Forschungspreis, Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, Germany (45,000 EUR)

2021             
Hendes Majestæt Dronning Margrethes Romerske Pris (Her Majesty Queen Margrethe’s Rome Prize), awarded by the Carlsberg Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark (50,000 DKK)

2019             
DM’s Research Award for outstanding research in the humanities and social sciences, awarded by the Danish Association of Masters and PhDs, Copenhagen, Denmark (50,000 DKK)

2015             
Tagea Brandts award for female researchers, Copenhagen, Denmark (50,000 DKK)

2015             
Elite Research Prize, awarded by the Danish Council for Independent Research and the Ministry for Higher Education and Science (1,200,000 DKK)

2014             
Silver medal for outstanding research in the Humanities and Social Sciences, awarded by The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Copenhagen, Denmark (100,000 DKK)

RECENT FELLOWSHIPS/GUEST PROFESSORSHIPS

2024             
Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, University of Erfurt, Germany, Mercator visiting fellow (invitation for January–February)

2023             
All Souls College, University of Oxford, UK, visiting fellow (January–June 2023)

2019             
Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton University, USA, visiting fellow (January–June 2019)

2018             
Villa scholar, The J. P. Getty Museum/Getty Institute, Los Angeles, USA (June–September 2018)

2018             
Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, France, guest professorship (March–April 2018)

2014–15       
Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, University of Erfurt, Germany, visiting professorship

2013–14       
Käte Hamburger Kolleg, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany, visiting professor (declined)

2013             
Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, guest professorship (April–May 2013)

ELECTED MEMBERSHIPS TO SCIENTIFIC AND ACADEMIC SOCIETIES

2023             
Archaeological Institute of America, corresponding member

2022             
Academia Europaea, History and Archaeology Section

2022             
German Archaeological Institute (DAI), Germany, corresponding member

2015             
The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Copenhagen, Denmark

2015­­–2019    
The Young Academy of Europe

2011–2015    
The Danish Young Academy, under The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Copenhagen, Denmark (head of the section for research communication, 2011–2012; president, 2012–2013)

NAMED LECTURES AND LECTURE SERIES

2024             
Thomas Spencer Jerome Lecture Series, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, and the American Academy in Rome, Italy

2023             
Pritchett Lecturer, University of Berkeley, California, USA

2023             
Plenary opening keynote lecture, American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) Annual Conference, Chicago, USA

2023             
Rumble Fund Lecture, King’s College London, University of London, UK

2021             
Prize lecture, Hendes Majestæt Dronning Margrethes Romerske Pris (Her Majesty Queen Margrethe’s Rome Prize), The Danish Academy, Rome

2018             
L’Orange Lecture, The Norwegian Institute in Rome, Italy

2018             
Kershaw Lecturer, Archaeological Institute of America, USA

2017             
Elite Research Prize award ceremony, academic keynote address to the prize winners, Ministry of Education and Research, Copenhagen, Denmark

2015             
Distinguished Lecturer in the Human Sciences, Max Planck Society, Berlin/Munich, Germany

2014             
Silver Medal lecture, The Royal Academy of Sciences and Letters, Copenhagen, Denmark

2013             
Winkelmann-lecture, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany

DIRECTORSHIPS OF INTERNATIONAL FIELDWORK PROJECTS

2023–           
Khirbet al-Khalde Survey and Excavation Project, together with Dr. Craig Harvey, Western Ontario University, Canada, and Dr. Emanuele Intagliata, University of Milan, Italy

2017–           
The Danish-Italian Excavations on Caesar’s Forum in Rome, together with Dr. Jan Kindberg Jacobsen, The Danish Institute in Rome, and Dr. Claudio Parisi Presicce, director of the Soprintendenza Capitolina, Rome, Italy

2011–2021    
The Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project, together with Prof. Achim Lichtenberger, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany

COMMISIONS OF TRUST AND BOARD MEMBERSHIPS

2020–           
Founder and executive committee member of the national network initiative Women of the Year, Denmark, together with Rikke Schmidt Kjærgaard

2020–           
Board member, Doctorate School in Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and Cultures. Historical Research, Preservation, Cultural Heritage Management and Use, Scuola Superiore Meridionale di Napoli, Italy

2019–           
Board member, scientific advisory board for the Cluster of Excellence ROOTS, Kiel University, Germany

2017–           
Board member, Nyhavn-committee, the National Bank of Denmark, Copenhagen

2017–           
Board member, scientific advisory board of the Institute for Advanced Studies, Collegium de Lyon, University of Lyon, France

2017–           
Managerial board member, international network Impact of Empire

2015–           
Board member, Museum of Ancient Art, Aarhus University, Denmark

2015–           
Board member, Dialogues with the Past (DIALPAST), the Nordic Graduate School in Archaeology

2013–2014    
Board member, career committee, European Open Science Forum (ESOF)

CURATED EXHIBITIONS

2022             
Curator, Excavating Archives: Narratives from 20th-century Palmyra, Museum of Ancient Art, Aarhus University, Denmark, together with Assistant Professor Olympia Bobou and Research Assistant Julia Steding (online and physical exhibition)

2019             
Curator, The Road to Palmyra, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark, together with Museum Inspector Anne Marie Nielsen

2018             
Curator, Palmyra: Loss and Remembrance, The Getty Villa, Los Angeles, USA, together with Senior Curator Kenneth Lapatin

2017             
Curator, Gerasa/Jerash: A Decapolis City, Museum of Ancient Art, Aarhus University, Denmark, together with Museum Director Vinnie Nørskov

2011             
Curator, Kult og religion i den græsk-romerske Nærorient, Museum of Ancient Art, Aarhus University, Denmark, together with Museum Director Vinnie Nørskov

EDITORIAL ACTIVITIES AND BOARD MEMBERSHIPS

2022             
Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies (editorial board member)

2021             
Urban Archaeological Pasts, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (founder and editor, together with Prof. Michael E. Smith and Prof. Søren M. Sindbæk)

2021             
Journal of Field Archaeology (editorial board member)

2021             
Women of the Past, Brepols Publishers (founder and editor, together with Associate Professor Nina J. Koefoed)

2021             
Archive Archaeology, Brepols Publishers (founder and editor)

2020             
Religion and Urbanity, DeGruyter (editorial board member)

2020             
Rivista di Studi Pompeiani (editorial board member)

2020             
Rome Studies, Brepols Publishers (founder and editor, together with Dr. Trine A. Hass)

2020             
Journal of Urban Archaeology (founder and editor, together with Prof. Søren M. Sindbæk)

2019             
Ritual in the Ancient Mediterranean, Routledge (advisory board member)

2019             
Studies in Palmyrene Archaeology and History, Brepols Publishers (founder and editor)

2018             
Antigüedad, Religiones y Sociedades (editorial scientific committee member)

2017             
Impact of Empire, Brill (editorial board member)

2017             
Human Arenas: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Psychology, Culture, and Meaning (scientific board member)

2017             
Mediterranean Studies in Antiquity, Cambridge University Press (founder and editor)

2016             
Jerash Papers, Brepols Publishers (founder and editor, together with Prof. Achim Lichtenberger)

2016             
Studies in Classical Archaeology, Brepols Publishers (founder and editor)

2015             
Palmyrenske Studier, The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Copenhagen (founder and editor)

2015             
Religion in the Roman Empire, journal (editorial board member)

2013             
Contextualizing the Sacred, Brepols Publishers (founder and editor, together with Associate Professor Elizabeth Frood)

EXTERNAL ADVISORY FUNCTIONS

Since 2012, I have provided numerous institutions, NGOs, museums and collections with academic consultancy on matters regarding cultural heritage preservation and trafficking of cultural heritage objects, in particular regarding material culture of the Middle East. Furthermore, I also often act as consultant to museums, collections and auction houses in matters of provenance research.