People
Davide Tanasi
Professor and Director of the Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx)
Affiliate Faculty - Department of Anthropology
CONTACT information and cv
Office: SOC 209
Phone: 813/974-2373
Email: dtanasi@usf.edu
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
Ph.D. University of Torino (Italy), 2007
TEACHING
My main area of academic teaching is Greek and Roman history that I address in a holistic way equally using written and visual sources, archaeological and bio-archaeological evidence, and archaeological science methods. Through my courses, students examine fundamental aspects of ancient societies, from the material culture surrounding death and commemoration to the lived experiences of marginalized groups who often remain invisible in historical narratives. By analyzing archaeological evidence alongside historical and literary sources, students gain a nuanced understanding of how ancient civilizations grappled with issues of identity, power, and cultural memory. A key focus of my teaching is the interdisciplinary study of everyday life in antiquity. Students investigate the socio-political, economic, and religious dimensions of practices like food production and consumption, using biomolecular archaeology and other scientific methods to reconstruct ancient diets and foodways. Experiential learning is central to this process, with assignments designed to foster both intellectual exploration and practical engagement, such as recreating ancient recipes or leading discussions on comparative cultural practices.
I am open to work with Masters and PhD students with interests in Greek and Roman material culture and archaeology of Sicily and Malta, Mediterranean prehistory, Archaeology of Food.
RESEARCH
With an initial training as a classicist, I later specialized in Classical Archaeology with a focus on field methods in archaeology and a focus on ceramics studies. More recently, I enthusiastically embraced archaeological science and computer science in my research. I did this because many of the historical questions in which I am interested have no written texts whereby we might shed light on the problem. My preferred geographic area on investigation is the central Mediterranean from Prehistory to the end of the Roman empire.
As founder and director of the , an instructional and research laboratory for Digital Cultural Heritage Studies, I apply 3D Digital Imaging techniques for the documen