Cristalle Watson comes to UBC with five previous degrees; besides a BA (2017) and MA in Classics (2020, Dalhousie) she has studied biochemistry (B.Sc, Uvic, 2004) and music (B. Mus, UVic, 2007; M. Mus, U Ottawa, 2009). From 2009 to 2015, she worked as a full-time piano teacher and performer, and she has continued to teach music throughout her Classics studies. Cristalle’s research is interdisciplinary by nature; her Master’s thesis explored both the philosophical and literary aspects of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy, demonstrating how the metrical structure of the central poem, IIIM9, reflects the narrative structure of the work as a whole. In her PhD, Cristalle plans to further pursue her interests in late antique Latin literature and philosophy, particularly Neoplatonism. Cristalle’s other interests include creative writing, singing, cooking, hiking, and canoeing.

Research Interests

• Boethius
• Neoplatonism
• Late Antiquity
• Latin Poetry
• Ancient Philosophy
• Philosophical Literature

Grants/Awards
2020-2023: Canada Graduate Scholarship-Doctoral
2017: Killam Laureate, Dalhousie University
2017: CGS-M, Dalhousie University

Publications

Watson, Cristalle. “Timaean Double-Circle Spiral Structure in the Consolatio Philosophiae.” Dionysius 38 (Dec 2020): 56-94.

Watson, Cristalle. “Boethius the Demiurge: Timaean Double-Circle Spiral Structure in the Consolation.” MA thesis, Dalhousie University, Halifax, 2020. https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/handle/10222/79026 

Conferences

2019: “Self-Parody and Poetic Persona in Catullus c. 42 and 99.” Atlantic Classical Association Conference, October 18-19, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL.
2019: “Nature as Healing Medicine in Boethius’ Consolatio.” Classics in the Anthropocene, April 19-20, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
2018: “The Structure of Boethius’ Consolation: A Circle Becomes a Spiral.” Boethius Study Day, October 27, King’s College, Halifax, NS.
2018: “The Structure of Boethius’ Consolation: A Circle Becomes a Spiral.” Atlantic Classical Association Conference, October 19-20, St. Mary’s University, Halifax, NS.
2016: “‘A Pestilent Knave From Macedonia’: Narratives of Culture and Ethnicity in Demosthenes’ Third Philippic.” Atlantic Universities Undergraduate History and Classics Conference, March 4-6, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Canada