origin of hairstylists

About 45 art, art history and classics students, hairstylists, costume designers and a few curious staff and community members crowded into the Ackland Art Museum’s ancient art gallery on a recent Friday afternoon, eager to learn how to replicate ancient Roman hairstyles.

The free workshop, led by hairstylist and “hair archaeologist” Janet Stephens, was part of a new interdisciplinary course called Art and Fashion from Rome to Timbuktu, taught by Victoria Rovine (art and art history) and Herica Valladares (classics). The class is one of six created through an initiative by Dean Kevin Guskiewicz of the College of Arts & Sciences to encourage cross-disciplinary, team-taught classes. Stephens also gave a public lecture as part of her campus visit.

When she and Rovine received the grant for the class, Valladares knew she wanted to invite Stephens, whose hands-on workshops and YouTube videos are popular. “Classics can come across as an old-fashioned discipline that doesn’t appeal to modern students. I saw this workshop as a really wonderful way to reach out.