• PhD University of Alberta (2017)
• MA Université de Montréal (2010)
• BA Queen’s University (2007)

Previously taught at

• University of Toronto
• University of Winnipeg
• St. Mary’s University (Halifax)
• University of Alberta

Research Interests

My research focuses on the the efflorescence of Greek and Latin literary works with the author as direct or implicit subject in Roman Late Antiquity. I am interested in the relationship between this literature and new forms of elite competition. A particular focus is on author-edited letter-collections and the messages that they might communicate (and respond to) in a competitive social context.

Research Areas

• Greek (Language)
• Latin (Language)
• Roman Studies
• Culture and Identity

Projects

My current project is a study of the Latin letters of the Roman senator Quintus Aurelius Symmachus (c. 360-402 CE), one of the “last pagans of Rome.” In light of new work on late antique letter collections, I am arguing that the collection as a whole is primarily a work about friendship, to be read in light both of traditional Greco-Roman ideas of friendship and flattery, and of public perceptions of Symmachus’ own network. I am also exploring parallels in contemporary works elsewhere in the empire and the reasons why these parallels might exist.

Publications

“Gregory of Nazianzus and Q. Aurelius Symmachus: The Conflict between East and West and Elite Self-presentation in Later Fourth-Century AD Rome and Constantinople,” Mouseion, Series III, Vol. 16 (2019): 1–24.