Katharina Galor’s research focuses on the visual and material culture of Israel/Palestine and the Mediterranean, from antiquity to the present. Her work explores intersections of archaeology, architecture, and art with religion, politics, and identity. Areas of emphasis include sacred space and urban landscapes; Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interactions; gender and sexuality in religious and visual contexts; and the role of heritage in shaping historical memory and political discourse.
Her scholarship extends beyond classical archaeology into contemporary cultural history and public humanities. Recent projects examine the ethics and politics of representation, particularly in relation to exile, diaspora, and childhood in conflict zones. Her research draws on a wide range of methods—from excavation and architectural analysis to oral history, visual ethnography, and participatory art practice.
My research has evolved across several decades of interdisciplinary engagement with the material, visual, and spatial cultures of Israel/Palestine and the broader Mediterranean. Trained as a classical archaeologist, I began with a focus on Roman and Byzantine architecture, especially sacred sites and urban development in Jerusalem and its surroundings. These early interests were grounded in empirical fieldwork and traditional archaeological methodologies, which continue to inform my approach to historical landscapes and built environments.
Over time, my work has expanded to include critical heritage studies, with attention to the ideological uses of archaeology in constructing national and religious narratives. In both Finding Jerusalem and The Archaeology of Jerusalem, I examine how knowledge production around the past is shaped by competing political, theological, and institutional agendas.
In recent years, my research has moved into contemporary cultural history and public scholarship. Through collaborative projects such as The Moral Triangle and Out of Gaza, I explore the human experience of conflict, migration, and belonging—often through personal stories, visual culture, and shared dialogue. My current work on children’s drawings from Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza brings together art, trauma, and pedagogy to investigate how young people experience and represent war, and how their visual testimony can be ethically and publicly shared.
Across these diverse areas, I maintain a commitment to interdisciplinary and collaborative research. My work engages fields including Judaic studies, Middle Eastern studies, visual culture, and gender studies, and seeks to bridge academic inquiry with broader public discourse on memory, identity, and justice.
Katharina Galor’s research has been supported by major national and international funding bodies across archaeology, art history, Judaic studies, and public humanities. She served as principal investigator on a large interdisciplinary project funded by the National Science Foundation that brought together archaeology and computer vision research ($2.6 million, with an extension grant). Her work has also received competitive support and recognition from the American Academy in Berlin (Marcus Bierich Distinguished Visitor), the Berliner Antike-Kolleg, the Einstein Center Chronoi, and the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. At Brown University, she has received competitive research support including the Salomon Research Award and grants advancing interdisciplinary research and public humanities initiatives, with support from the Center for Middle East Studies, the Program in Judaic Studies, and other campus partners. Her book Out of Gaza: A Tale of Love, Exile, and Friendship was a finalist for the First Annual Last Syllable Book Awards.
Katharina Galor’s scholarly contributions extend beyond the classroom and academic press to include substantial public engagement through media, journalism, and collaborative cultural initiatives. She has been featured as a commentator in documentary films on archaeology and heritage in Israel/Palestine, offering expertise on the politics of excavation, sacred architecture, and contested histories. Her voice and scholarship have also been included in a range of podcasts, radio programs, and television interviews, both in the United States and internationally, where she addresses topics such as cultural heritage, religious pluralism, and the role of archaeology in public memory.
In addition to academic writing, Galor regularly contributes essays and op-eds to major newspapers and cultural outlets, including reflections on gender, identity, migration, and conflict in Israel/Palestine and Europe. Her public scholarship bridges academic research and contemporary debate, often drawing on personal experience as well as long-term fieldwork and cross-cultural collaboration.
These engagements reflect a broader commitment to making scholarship accessible and relevant across disciplinary, linguistic, and national boundaries.
