David Frye

Biography

David Frye specializes in European history and is the author of Walls: A History of Civilization in Blood and Brick, which has attracted interest worldwide and is being published, outside the US, in the UK, the People's Republic of China, Spain, Italy, Poland, Hong Kong, Lithuania, and Korea. Frye received his PhD from Duke University and has worked on several archaeological excavations. He teaches courses in ancient and medieval European history.

Research Interests

• Border walls
• Roman Empire
• History of creativity

Of Note

Dr. Frye's work, Walls, has been featured in the New Yorker, the Washington Post, the New York Times, National Geographic, Time, the Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, the Financial Times, and many other venues. Frye has been interviewed many times on BBC Radio, as well as on the CBC (Canada), Australia Broadcasting Corp, and various US public radio shows, as well as the Discovery Channel and CNBC.com.

Teaching Interests

• Ancient Rome
• Ancient Greece
• Barbarians

Publications

Walls: A History of Civilization in Blood and Brick. New York: Scribner and London: Faber & Faber, 2018.

“A brief history of border walls—from 2,000 BC to Trump’s Mexico wall.” History Extra: The official website for BBC History Magazine and BBC World Histories Magazine (March 26, 2019)

“Walls Don’t Just Keep People Out. History Shows They Also Change the People Inside,” Time.com, August 21, 2018. http://time.com/5371686/walls-civilization-history/

"From Locus Publicus to Locus Sanctus: Justice and Sacred Space in
Merovingian Gaul," Nottingham Medieval Studies 47 (2003): 1-20.

"Aristocratic Responses to Late Roman Urban Change," Classical World
96/2 (2003): 185-196.

Walls: History Civilization Blood Brick