What is your area of specialization?
Ancient Greek historical texts and Otherness; cross-cultural influences between the Greek world and its surrounding areas
What professional organizations are you affiliated with?
Society for Classical Studies; Classical Association of the Middle West and South; Women's Classical Caucus; Lambda Classical Caucus
Why did you choose Classics as your profession?
I started with taking Latin in high school because I was so bad at Spanish. The Latin language felt very natural to me, and by the time I made it to college, I wanted to know everything about the culture that created texts in Latin. My freshman advisor immediately pushed me to take Greek, and that opened a whole new ancient context for me to explore.
What is your favorite course to teach and why?
I really love teaching language courses at all levels. It's easy for someone with little experience in Classics to think of ancient literature as very dry and intimidating, but I like being able to share the more fun and unexpected sides of the texts. It also gives me a chance to show that there are endless ways to interact with the ancient world, and not all of those ways have to be formalized and serious.
What are you currently researching?
The main project I have going is a book-length consideration of physical alterations in Greek historical texts, which stems from my doctoral research. In a more short-term sense, I am also working on two articles related to that project, both relating to gender ambiguity and gender presentation in Greek texts. The first involves a group of gender-variant Scythian priests, which I argue should be read as third gender alongside similar communities from the Levant and Near East (rather than in a Greek context). The second article looks at modes of crossdressing described in historical texts, analyzing the different expectations for gender presentation based on national identity.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I have a spouse and a six-year-old, so we have been spending our weekends exploring the outdoor areas of Lincoln. Recently we visited Pioneers Park, and my son loved being able to see bison and frogs in their natural spaces. In my solo free time, I enjoy getting immersed in video games with a deep narrative (like Skyrim and the Dragon Age series), though as time goes on, I can see that interest bleeding into my academic interests in narrative and storytelling.
