Valladares first met the Baltimore hairstylist when, as a classics faculty member at Johns Hopkins University, she read over Stephens’ research before it was published. I saw this workshop as a really wonderful way to reach out,” Valladares said. “Classics can come across as an old-fashioned discipline that doesn’t appeal to modern students. When she and Rovine received the grant for the class, Valladares knew she wanted to invite Stephens, whose hands-on workshops and YouTube videos are popular.

Stephens also gave a public lecture as part of her campus visit. The class is one of six created through an initiative by Dean Kevin Guskiewicz of the College of Arts & Sciences to encourage cross-disciplinary, team-taught classes. The free workshop, led by hairstylist and “hair archaeologist” Janet Stephens, was part of a new interdisciplinary course called Art and Fashion from Rome to Timbuktu, taught by Victoria Rovine (art and art history) and Herica Valladares (classics).

Carolina Next: Innovations for Public Good ↗Ībout 45 art, art history and classics students, hairstylists, costume designers and a few curious staff and community members crowded into the Ackland Art Museum’s ancient art gallery on a recent Friday afternoon, eager to learn how to replicate ancient Roman hairstyles.

Ornatrix