Biography
Erik Odin Yingling is a scholar trained in the history of art and religion. He teaches classes on the art of ancient Greece, Rome, and Byzantium. His research examines questions about mythical and religious art during the Roman Empire and Late Antiquity, including cross-cultural exchanges (Classical, early Christian, some Egyptian). An ongoing interest, the subject of his dissertation explores the “metamorphic imagination": the perception of bodily change and soulful identity in images of mythical transformation. His theoretical concerns include questions about the reception of images, including their evocative material qualities, sensory charms, ritual movements, enchantments, disenchantments, and pareidolic illusions in the natural environment. He has also published (and co-authored) papers on topics related to artistic forgery, authenticity, and the restoration of textual lacunae in damaged Coptic artifacts.