In her travel narrative, "My Journey through the Angels of Rome," Kelly Taylor (Creative Writing and History BAs and University Honors minor) traces the discovery process by which she has come to realize the deeper significance of winged human figures represented in the art and statuary of Rome.
This vivid and fluid narrative pierces through a variety of examples by leveraging the lenses of history, literature, arts, architecture, and religion to reach core nodes of humanity. As Kelly states in closing, "The angels belong to the people. More than they belong to story or religion. . . What I felt was the realization of a shared humanity. . . . We remember each other, if not in name, then in joy and sorrow and experience. There is something in us that wants to transcend our Earthly bounds. And through recognizing ourselves in the angels, even on a subconscious level, we see our own desire mirrored back to us across the centuries. . . . through gazing upon them and their transformations we can see the ways in which we have changed but also the ways in which we have stayed the same."
The project was completed during her experience in the travel course Interpreting the Past: An Experience of Rome (HON 455), taught by Dr. Pacchioni in January of 2024. Kelly is planning to further develop this line of inquiry in her future research.
“My Journey Through the Angels of Rome”