Peter E. Nulton, PhD
Classical Archaeologist, Art Historian, and Maritime Archaeologist
Biography
Peter Nulton is a senior lecturer in RISD’s Art History Department. A specialist in the ancient cultures of Greece, Rome, and Egypt, he teaches art history surveys and more specialized electives in the art of the ancient Mediterranean. He holds an undergraduate degree in Ancient Languages and Fine Arts from Fordham University, and a doctor of philosophy degree in Archaeology from Brown University. Before RISD, he taught Classics at Trinity College, and History of Art at Clark University and the University of Rhode Island. Research interests have included: politics and religion in ancient Athens, sculptural production for domestic contexts in the Roman Empire, portraits of Alexander the Great, and the worship of ancient Egyptian deities in other parts of the Roman Empire.
Dr. Nulton has conducted excavations and research in Greece, Italy, Turkey, and Egypt. His Fulbright scholarship resulted in the publication of The Sanctuary of Apollo Hypoakraios and Imperial Athens. His work on the Athenian Acropolis is cited in the guide to the Acropolis Museum. Dr. Nulton is a certified specialist in archaeological scuba diving, and also serves on the board of the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project.
Teaching Philosophy
My archaeological training has led me to see art as a useful product of society. The art is a product not only of the artist who created it, but its cultural context, and it always serves a purpose within that context. Too often, people think of the arts as useless or purposeless, and this is a significant error.
I believe that learning should often be fun. I greatly enjoy learning things myself, and endeavor to choose topics that offer a chance to think differently about things you thought you knew. I prefer to look at culture in terms of broader contexts, and believe that my profession has an ethical duty to dispute non-factual accounts that try to revise human history. To paraphrase Senator Moynihan, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.
Extracurricular
When I’m not teaching or researching, I can be found writing and playing original music. From my childhood through college I was a competitive swimmer (breaststroke, butterfly), and practiced various martial arts. In addition to NCAA swimming, I also played college water polo, then later in life found enjoyment in weightlifting, fencing, and other combat sports. I also enjoy scuba diving, which I learned to enhance the skills I bring to archaeological work.
- Executive Board Member Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project
- PhD, Old World Archaeology & Art Brown University
- Lead Consultant Art of Fact Archaeological Consulting
- Certified Archaeological Scuba Diver PADI