Rachel Brody

Visiting Assistant Professor

Department

History

Biography

My research investigates the role of plants and animals in people's lives in early medieval Ireland and Britain and how the multitudes of complex human/non-human relationships shaped the ways health, sanitation, and disease were understood. I am interested in medieval medical manuscripts, hagiographies, and law codes and how these textual sources can be used with archaeological and environmental evidence to present a world of intersection between humans and non-humans.

Prior to coming to Boston college, I worked as an archaeological field technician in Philadelphia, where I gained experience in surveying and excavating historic and prehistoric sites. I have excavated on sites within the Northeastern United States and abroad in Europe and the Middle East. Since 2015, I have supervised excavations for the Castles and Communities research project and field school, in County Roscommon, Ireland.