Neoteros: Studies in Bronze Age Aegean Art and Archaeology in Honor of Professor John G. Younger on the Occasion of his Retirement

Beginning his academic career in Classical Studies, John G. Younger

rapidly extended his expertise into prehistoric (Bronze Age) Aegean

archaeology, art and architecture, with a particular focus on ancient

stone-working… and from this interest came his seminal studies on the

iconography of Bronze Age Aegean stone seals, a field on which he has

made an indelible mark. He also branched out into Jewish Studies,

becoming an expert on early synagogues. His lifelong activism for

LGBTQI+ and minority rights, and his early embrace of feminism and the

crucial role that women have played in the past (not just in

archaeology, but in the ancient world itself) have also informed his

teaching and studies regarding ancient and modern notions about gender

and sexuality, and these studies have greatly enriched our views of the

ancient world, while going a long way toward counteracting the

persistently male-centric interpretations of the ancient world

characteristic of the past few centuries. He has been a pioneer in the

establishment of LGBTQI+ academic programs in the U.S., and in the

integration of modern technologies (especially computers) into Classics

and archaeology. He has established himself as an international

authority on Linear A, the undeciphered writing system of the Minoans;

his website containing the corpus of that script is second to none in

terms of its value to scholars working on Linear A. His recent and

continuing investigations into the identification of prehistoric Aegean

myths promises to add yet another facet to what is already a brilliant

diamond of a career.