Makayla Bezzant
Education
B.A. Ancient Near Eastern Studies (Greek New Testament), Minor: Ballroom Dance - Brigham Young University, 2019
M.A.R. New Testament - Yale Divinity School, 2023
Biography
Makayla is a first-year doctoral student in Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from Brigham Young University. During her undergraduate studies, she received department funding for a museum-centered study tour of ancient materials throughout Europe. She worked as an assistant on BYU’s Egypt Excavation Project. She was also awarded the Global Opportunity Scholarship in 2018, allowing her to work abroad on Dr. Jodi Magness’ (UNC-Chapel Hill) excavation in Huqoq, Israel. After her bachelor’s, she attended Yale Divinity School, earning a Master of Arts in Religion in New Testament. Here, she also attained funding from ARCHAIA (Yale) to travel through Turkey and Greece through archaeological sites and museums of antiquity researching ancient latrines.
Her research interests focus on physical and sensory experiences and how they can inform readings of identity markers, social structures, and interactions of antiquity. She is fascinated by the relationship between interpretations that rely on textual evidence and how material culture informs readings of ancient texts. She has a personal interest in ancient perfume and olfaction.