Sarah Jarmer Scott, professor of art history at Wagner College, was elected secretary of the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) by the board of trustees during the organization’s Annual Meeting in November 2024. She will serve until December 2027.
Scott’s area of scholarship is ancient Near Eastern art. She is particularly engaged with issues surrounding the intersection of art and writing in fourth and early third millennium BCE southern Mesopotamia, and how cylinder seal imagery functioned in temple economies. She teaches a range of courses at Wagner that encompasses the broader Mediterranean and Middle Eastern visual worlds.
She said in a statement she hopes to use her new role to grow programming and membership for ASOR
“Not only has it provided academic, intellectual, and networking opportunities for my work, it has also provided a community for pedagogical support. My area of scholarship is fundamentally interdisciplinary, while also being inter-regional. As a specialist in Mesopotamian glyptic and visual culture, I engage in dialogue with art historians, archaeologists, philologists, anthropologists, and museum professionals,” she said.
“My own experience in presenting papers and chairing sessions has opened paths for research and publications, as it has for others. The networking and social component — particularly through the annual meetings — has also been important in my own growth and confidence as a scholar,” said Scott.
“Having seen some of the challenges facing higher ed, and sought to empower colleagues and students to find success in their work, I know that organizations like ASOR are essential in bringing deep knowledge and resources to such endeavors; I see opportunity in deeper collaborations between and amongst ASOR, its membership and higher education institutions and museums.”
She earned her Ph.D. in the history of art from the University of Pennsylvania and in 2007 joined Wagner, where she also serves as dean of integrated learning.
