Sabrina Higgins

Sabrina Higgins is an Associate Professor cross-appointed between the Department of Archaeology and Department of Global Humanities at Simon Fraser University, where she also serves as Director of the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies. Her academic home spans both the Faculty of Arts' Archaeology program and Global Humanities department, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach to Late Antique religious studies and material culture.

• PhD in Religious Studies from University of Ottawa
• MA in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from University of British Columbia
• BA (Honours) in Classics and Religious Studies from University of Ottawa

Higgins' research focuses on the intersection of archaeology, art history, and religious studies during Late Antiquity, with special emphasis on Marian studies and the material culture of early Christianity. Her work examines how marginalized populations used art and space to assert agency within religious contexts, particularly examining the development of the Virgin Mary cult in Egypt. She brings gender theory and digital humanities approaches to analyze sacred landscapes, monastic practices, and religious transformation across the Eastern Mediterranean.

Her recent publications reveal a consistent trajectory examining material evidence of religious transformation, particularly through graffiti, iconography, and digital reconstructions. Higgins increasingly integrates digital humanities methodologies to democratize access to ancient material culture, as seen in her Digital Mary Project and Peopling the Past initiatives. Her scholarship spans traditional archaeological analysis, art historical interpretation, and critical examinations of how ancient Mediterranean heritage is presented to modern audiences.

Higgins actively mentors graduate students in Early Christian Art, Classical and Late Antique Archaeology (particularly focused on Egypt, Greece and the Balkans), the Early Cult of the Virgin Mary, Late Antique Monasticism, and Digital Humanities applications in ancient studies. She has secured collaborative research funding that supports fieldwork in Egypt and digital humanities projects that make ancient material culture accessible to diverse audiences.

As Director of the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies, she leads initiatives connecting ancient Mediterranean scholarship with contemporary public discourse. Her Digital Mary Project serves as an open-access repository of material culture related to the Virgin Mary, while Peopling the Past creates educational resources about everyday life in antiquity. These projects reflect her commitment to public scholarship that bridges academic research and community engagement.