Roma Giannina

My name is Roma Giannina, and for over decade I’ve had a special interest in the field of religious studies. Both my BA (2005) and MA (2011) degrees attest to my passion for learning, history, and traveling.  With regards to Religious Studies, most of all my research involves Western death practices, including dying, funeral and burial customs as well as memory construction.  I have focused on Early Modern Europe, late-Victorian periods and even current-events in death and memory throughout the West and the world.

Here’s a list of achievements I’m especially proud of, in no particular order:

• Authored an undergraduate thesis, “The Function of Gravestones Within Catholic Soteriology: Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 1888-1910.” I received academic award/scholarship and grant money to present this thesis at the Association for Gravestone Studies’ first international conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2005.
• Authored an independent research paper, “European Ossuaries in the Early Modern Period.”  Preparation for this paper included a two-month-long trip through Europe during the summer of 2009. I visited 12 sites, interviewed local scholars, and conducted thorough research in situ. My advising professor, Susan Schreiner, PhD., noted my research findings are new and extraordinarily important to the study of Early Modern Christianity and she underscored the importance of expanding research on this topic, and also praised the high quality of the work produced with no direction or supervision from an academic adviser. Photographs and travel-blog from my  research can be viewed here.
• Oversaw and managed a student club with 25 members at Reed College between 2004 and 2005. I oversaw budgets and membership, and organized two formal balls, each attended by over 300 people. Planning included booking locations, performers, DJs, photographers, and lighting/sound system experts; arranging performers’ travel; and obtaining permits from the Portland fire department for the fire-dancers. 

At present I continue my independent research on Western death and funeral practices, and spend my free time entertaining my dog, garage and estate-sale shopping, and keeping the dust from accumulating on my museum-like house.  I also work for the Benedictine Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery in their Development office, where I continue to cultivate my interest in Religious Studies by working with these monastic women. 

I have given talks on various aspects of death and memory for local churches and organizations, and also am a member of the Minnesota Threshold Network. Please contact me if you would like to know more about me or if you would like me to speak or give a presentation to your organization.