About Michael Motia

works primarily in late ancient Christianity. His first book, Imitations of Infinity, examined the transformation of theories and practices of mimesis—how and why people imitated—during late antiquity. His current work has focused on Christian transformations and inventions of space in the late Roman empire, that is, how new kinds of spaces (hospitals, cells, pillars, and more) shaped their political, social, and theological imaginations. He's also working on a book on color in late antiquity.

He teaches in Religious Studies and Classics at UMass Boston.

Michael Motia teaches in Religious Studies and Classics at UMass Boston.

NBN Episodes hosted by Michael:

Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom, "Desert Ascetics of Egypt" (ARC Humanities Press, 2020)

September 30, 2024

Desert Ascetics of Egypt

Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom
Hosted by Michael Motia

Egypt is revered as the home of the famous Desert Ascetics, who first embraced a monastic life and established homosocial communities on the borders o…

Philip Freeman, "Julian: Rome's Last Pagan Emperor" (Yale UP, 2023)

September 16, 2024

Julian

Philip Freeman
Hosted by Michael Motia

Today I talked to Philip Freeman about his new book Julian: Rome’s Last Pagan Emperor (Yale UP, 2023). Flavius Claudius Julianus, or Julian the Apost…

Laura Salah Nasrallah, "Ancient Christians and the Power of Curses: Magic, Aesthetics, and Justice" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

September 2, 2024

Ancient Christians and the Power of Curses

Laura Salah Nasrallah
Hosted by Michael Motia

Ancient Christians and their non-Christian contemporaries lived in a world of 'magic.' Sometimes, they used curses as ritual objects to seek justice f…

Laura S. Lieber, "Staging the Sacred: Performance in Late Ancient Liturgical Poetry" (Oxford UP, 2023)

August 19, 2024

Staging the Sacred

Laura S. Lieber
Hosted by Michael Motia

Staging the Sacred: Performance in Late Ancient Liturgical Poetry (Oxford UP, 2023) examines the importance of Christian, Jewish, and Samaritan liturg…

Anna Bonnell Freidin, "Birthing Romans: Childbearing and Its Risks in Imperial Rome" (Princeton UP, 2024)

August 5, 2024

Birthing Romans

Anna Bonnell Freidin
Hosted by Michael Motia

Across the vast expanse of the Roman Empire, anxieties about childbirth tied individuals to one another, to the highest levels of imperial politics, e…

Robin Darling Young et al, "Evagrius of Pontus: The Gnostic Trilogy" (Oxford UP, 2024)

July 28, 2024

Evagrius of Pontus

Charles M. Stang, Luke Dysinger, Robin Darling Young, Joel Kalvesmaki, Columba Stewart
Hosted by Michael Motia

The Gnostic Trilogy is the best-known and most important work by the ascetic philosopher and teacher Evagrius of Pontus. Among the writers of his age,…

Mark Letteney, "The Christianization of Knowledge in Late Antiquity: Intellectual and Material Transformations" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

July 22, 2024

The Christianization of Knowledge in Late Antiquity

Mark Letteney
Hosted by Michael Motia

The Christianization of Knowledge in Late Antiquity: Intellectual and Material Transformations (Cambridge UP, 2023) traces the beginning of Late Antiq…

Andrew S. Jacobs, "Gospel Thrillers: Conspiracy, Fiction, and the Vulnerable Bible" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

July 8, 2024

Gospel Thrillers

Andrew S. Jacobs
Hosted by Michael Motia

What if the original teachings of Jesus were different from the Bible's sanitized 'orthodox' version? What covert motivations might inspire those who …

Catherine Michael Chin, "Life: The Natural History of an Early Christian Universe" (U California Press, 2024)

June 9, 2024

Life

Catherine Michael Chin
Hosted by Michael Motia

A vivid and intimate glimpse of ancient life under the sway of cosmic and spiritual forces that the modern world has forgotten. Life: The Natural His…

Jae Hee Han, "Prophets and Prophecy in the Late Antique Near East" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

April 13, 2024

Prophets and Prophecy in the Late Antique Near East

Jae Hee Han
Hosted by Michael Motia

In Prophets and Prophecy in the Late Antique Near East (Cambridge UP, 2023), Jae Han investigates how various Late Antique Near Eastern communities—Je…

Georgia Frank, "Unfinished Christians: Ritual Objects and Silent Subjects in Late Antiquity" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024)

April 3, 2024

Unfinished Christians

Georgia Frank
Hosted by Michael Motia

What can we know about the everyday experiences of Christians during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries? How did non-elite men and women, enslaved…