Associate Professor of Art History
Contact Information:
fowlerma@etsu.edu
423-439-5297
309 Ball Hall
Education:
PhD, Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University, 2019
MPhil, Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University, 2013
MA, Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University, 2012
MA, Classical Archaeology, Tufts University, 2010
MTS, Religions of the World, Harvard University, 2008
BA, Philosophy and Sociology, The Colorado College, 2006
Biography:
Dr. Michael Anthony Fowler is Associate Professor of Art History in the Department
of Art and Design. An award-winning educator and scholar, Dr. Fowler specializes in
the art and architecture of the ancient Mediterranean and West Asia. He is particularly
interested in the topics of material religion, the visualization and medialization
of violence, the materiality of time and memory, the social construction of identity,
and human-animal relations. Due to his academic expertise and interests, he also serves
as affiliate faculty in ETSU’s Classical and Medieval Studies, Religious Studies,
and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies programs.
In his wide-ranging teaching, Dr. Fowler seeks to introduce 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
is keen to work with students from varying disciplinary backgrounds and to develop
innovative ways to transform coursework into important opportunities for practical
training and professional growth. For example, since 2022, he has regularly co-directed
an experiential learning-based study abroad course in Greece with Prof. Kelly Porter
(Design). The course—Designing Cultural Heritage—places students at the dynamic intersection
of art history, design, cultural heritage management, and tourism. Students work in
multidisciplinary teams to conduct on-site, user-centered research at museums and
historical monuments in order to ideate art historically informed solutions to real-world
industry problems (storytelling, wayfinding, accessibility, technology, and gamifying).
In addition to developing his dissertation into a monograph for Cambridge University
Press, Dr. Fowler is currently co-editing an international volume on the Temple Mount/Haram
al-Sharif in Jerusalem (Eisenbrauns/Penn State Press) and preparing journal articles
or book chapters on the cult of the Mother of the Gods in Thessaly, Greek human sacrifice
from perspective of human-animal studies, man-eating myth in the Greek artistic imagination,
and the aesthetics of apotropaic images. Beyond these projects, Dr. Fowler is an enthusiastic
contributor to Smarthistory, which is working to democratize access to high-quality,
expert-written art history learning resources.
Dr. Fowler is regularly engaged in international archaeological collaborations and
welcomes participation by motivated ETSU students. Since 2015, he has been a member
of the team excavating the sanctuary of Poseidon at Onchestos (Boeotia, Greece) and
serves on the excavation’s senior staff as a site supervisor. In summer 2018, he joined
the excavation and scientific team working at the sanctuary of Apollo on the Cycladic
islet of Despotiko. For a decade, Dr. Fowler was a co-author of the annual "Chronique
Archéologique de la Religion Grecque" (published in Kernos: Revue internationale et
pluridisciplinaire de religion grecque antique), for which he covered the regions
of Central Greece.
Dr. Fowler enjoys serving in various volunteer capacities to promote the discipline
of art history and to enhance the livability and distinct cultural identity of ETSU’s
hometown. He is a past member and chairperson of the Johnson City Public Art Committee
(2019-2025) and currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest Art History
Society and of the Steering Committee for the Art and Religions of Antiquity section
of the Society for Biblical Literature.
In recognition of “superior all-around performance” in teaching, research, and service,
Dr. Fowler was named the recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences’ 2023 Distinguished
New Faculty Award.
Current and Upcoming Courses:
Fall 2025
Art History Survey I (ARTH 2020)
Medieval Art (ARTH 4027/5027)
Special Topics in Art History: Violence in Visual Culture (ARTH 4957)
Spring 2026
On sabbatical (NIA) for research.
Research:
Full-text access to his scholarship is provided on his Academia page.