Dr Jennifer Tobin

Jennifer Tobin received her BA in Classical Studies from Stanford University and her PhD in Classical Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991. From 1992-97, she was Assistant Professor at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey. She is now Professor Emerita in the Department of Classics and Mediterranean Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Professor Tobin has worked on archaeological projects in Israel, Turkey, Jordan, and Greece. She speaks Modern Greek, German, French, Italian and Turkish, and has published widely on everything from Roman architecture in Syria to Alexander the Great. 

Her books include Black Cilicia: A Study of the Plain of Issus during the Roman and Late Roman Periods and Herodes Attikos and the City of Athens. She has been a featured teacher for The Modern Scholar series – Learn Out Loud, recorded not-for-credit lecture courses taught by university professors, including the Glory that was Greece and The Grandeur that was Rome. Twice a recipient of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Silver Circle Teaching Award, Professor Tobin’s enthusiasm, marvelous teaching skills, and appreciation of the people and archaeology of the Mediterranean World is infectious.

“Her explanations and hand-outs were excellent and she was always ready to discuss various topics and answer questions. In spite of being a ‘Roman’ expert, she knew a lot about every other culture and site we visited. Always patient, never seemed stressed. We would travel with her as a study leader any time.” – Suzy & Bill Fletcher

“Dr Jennifer Tobin was fabulous! She made this tour so great, with the depth of her knowledge, and her obvious enthusiasm for Turkish culture and ancient history. Also, she has a wicked sense of humor which added to our enjoyment. I also loved her ‘hand-outs’ for each site!” – Christine Kaferly