Put simply, my research considers the ways audiences, both ancient and modern, create and maintain values through classical Greek theater. Understanding plays not simply as poetic texts but also as scripts for performance, my work focuses on the production of the dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes—from a variety of perspectives and in a variety of contexts.
My in-progress book, tentatively entitled Ugly Productions: Material Aesthetics in Greek Tragedy, explores the ways ugliness established and mediated genre early in the history of theater. Some of my other scholarly interests include cognition, philosophy and literature, and the reception of classical works, especially in South Africa. I was drawn to drama in no small part because of its creative, interactive, and public-facing nature, and I aspire to bring lessons I’ve learned from theater to my academic writing, teaching, and professional activities.
I’m a proud father, lucky partner, and native Michigander. In what what time remains after work and family, I like to cook, hike, relive the glory days of high school rock bands, and consume prestige and trashy television. I’m trying to practice “Title IX” sports viewing habits, but am happy to catch any UNC Tar Heels games I can.
I received a BA in Classical Literature & Languages and English from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a PhD in Classics and Humanities from Stanford University. From 2012 to 2015 I was Assistant Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at the University of Utah, where I taught courses on drama, mythology, aesthetics, and Greek and Latin language in literature. At the University of North Carolina, I teach classical Greek literature at all levels and certain other courses on ancient Mediterranean culture in translation, such as The Age of Pericles and Athletics in the Greek and Roman World. I have directed, produced, translated, consulted for, and acted in a number of performances of classical drama.
