Christina Maranci


Christina Maranci is an Armenian-American researcher, writer, translator, historian, and professor at Tufts University. She is considered an expert on the history and development of Armenian architecture.

Life

Of Armenian descent, Maranci's father was born in Istanbul, Turkey. Maranci was born in 1968 in the United States. She attained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History at the Vassar College in 1990. She continued her education and received a master's degree at the Princeton University in the Art and Archeology department. She received her Ph.D. at Princeton University in the Art and Archeology department with her dissertation, Medieval Armenian Architecture in Historiography: Josef Strzygowski and his Legacy. She was an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 2001 to 2004, and an associate professor there through 2008. She is currently a professor of the Department of Art and Art History at the Tufts University. She teaches many courses in Byzantine and Armenian architecture such as Byzantine Art and Architecture, Introduction to the Arts of Armenia, and The Art of War: Building Churches in Early Medieval Armenia.

Notable fellowship and awards

She is featured in the 2011 book Encyclopedia of Prominent Armenian Women edited by Zori Balayan.

Works

Maranci's research is mainly on medieval Armenian history and the relationship with the Sasanian, Byzantine, and Islamic empires. She also focuses on the problems found in modern historiography. Maranci's 2001 book Medieval Armenian Architecture: Constructions of Race and Nation highlights art historian Josef Strzygowski and his important contributions and influence in the studies of Armenian architecture. Her recent works focus on the Byzantine influence into Armenian art and architecture. She has published A Survival Guide for Art History Students, which provides Art History students with helpful assistance and information to help them when taking Art History courses. The languages Maranci researches in include Italian, English, German, French, Armenian and Greek.
Maranci is also deemed as one of the world's experts and authorities on the Cathedral of Mren, an Armenian cathedral in Turkey that is on the verge of collapse.

Books