Teaching and Pedagogy
The object of education is to teach us to love what is beautiful. - Plato, Rep. 403c
I teach courses in Greek, Latin, and in translation on a range of topics on the classical world. My courses emphasize academic reading and writing skills and the close analysis of classical texts, whether in the original languages or translation. My courses also bring a range of authors and genres into conversation with one another to present students with a holistic survey of the ancient Mediterranean world.
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Current and Upcoming Classes
- World of Heroes (Fall 2023, Summer 2024): A survey of the major Greco-Roman epics (Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid) and Gilgamesh. The course examines the influence of the inherited Near Eastern epic tradition in the Greco-Roman epics and the development of heroic ethics and culture in the centuries between Homer and Vergil.
- The Power of Emotions in Ancient Thought (Winter 2024): An advanced seminar on the emotions in Greek and Roman literature and thought. Beginning with "cases studies" in the emotions from Homer, Athenian tragedy, and historiography, the course will move to theoretical considerations on the emotions as presented in Plato, Aristotle, Epicurean, and Stoic philosophers. Broader considerations include methods of studying emotions across cultures and contemporary theories of affect in individual and collective action.
- Greek Intellectual Revolutions: Socrates and His Intellectual Rivals (Winter 2024): A study of the intellectual achievements and controversies of the Greek world in the sixth, fifth, and fourth centuries BC with special attention to the interventions made by Socrates and his immediate followers. Topics include the gods and natural philosophy; justice and human nature; virtue and citizenship; and the place of women in the ideal society.
- Greek Myth (Spring 2024): A large lecture course enrolling 700 students, Greek Myth examines the major figures and stories of Greek mythology; the relationship between Greek mythology and the mythologies of its Near Eastern antecedents; and the ethical and ideological content of Greek myth, particularly as presented in Attic tragedy. The course also explores philosophic reactions to and revisions of myth, particularly in the works of Plato.
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Past Classes
Language Courses
- Beginning Greek 1 and 2
- Beginning Latin 1 and 2
- Intermediate Greek: Plato's Apology and Crito
- Intensive Greek (Language Reading Program)
- Intensive Latin (LRP)
Courses in Translation
- Classical Mythology
- Greek and Latin Roots of English
- Greek Civilization
- Roman Civilization
- Greek and Roman Tragedy
- Greek and Roman Classics in Translation
