Classics
School of Humanities

Associate Professor, Classics
School of Humanities

comparative classicisms (20th/21st century), aesthetics and textual poetics, film criticism, critical theory, philosophy and literature/film, environmental humanities, translation studies

Classics Department website

Invited Professor, University of Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne, March-June 2024
Invited Lecturer, University of Cape Town, February 2024
Invited Professor, Uppsala University, July 2023

Affiliate Faculty, Religious Studies, UC Irvine 2023-
Affiliate Faculty, European Languages and Studies, UC Irvine 2011-
Assistant Professor, University of Redlands, 2002-2005

I began my academic career as a classically trained scholar of Plato with an emphasis on intertextuality and the construction of philosophical narrative. Since then, my research has become wide-ranging and multifaceted, clustering around comparative classicisms in 20th & 21st century literature, film, and the visual arts, and privileging ways in which contemporary receptions of the classics critique and deconstruct time-hallowed essentializations of the classical and the classicizing, as well as the classics’ historic intimacy with the imperial project. I am drawn to the marginalized and the eccentric, the “half-there” or “almost-there” glimpsed in gaps, lacunae, elisions, exclusions, omissions, allusions, and blind spots. Narrative indeterminacies pit underprivileged against privileged sites of meaning and expose dominant forms of classical ideology.

The main thread of my current research is aesthetics as textual poetics—the ways in which verbal, visual, and cinematic narratives thematize, spatialize, and temporalize their materials. I have a strong interest in cinematic aesthetics and ontology, and have published in film criticism both in relation to and independently of classical reception. My work draws on the insights of critical theory, gender studies, black studies, translation studies, and environmental humanities. To date, I have delivered one hundred and twenty academic lectures in classics, philosophy, comparative literature, cognitive humanities, architecture, film and media, gender and sexuality, visual studies, intersectionality, dance, and translation. I am a passionate advocate of public humanities and have given numerous talks both in K-12 and in a broad range of non-academic settings in the US, Africa, and Europe.

My teaching reflects, extends, and deepens my research. Besides courses in classical mythology and its receptions, as well as lower and upper division offerings in ancient Greek, I have taught a host of interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate seminars in Greek epic and tragedy, literary and cinematic receptions of Medea, William Kentridge’s receptions of Plato, marginalized women in classical literature and their receptions, the ancient environment and theory, tragic madness, ancient medicine, and Plato in literature and film. I have also led independent studies in literary and cinematic approaches to Helen, rhetoric and slavery in Euripides, multi-media adaptations of the classics, and Frankenstein. In Spring 2025, I will teach my first course for UCI LIFTED (Higher Education in Prisons) on performing rebellion in classical Greece (Sophocles’ Antigone) and in South Africa (Athol Fugard’s The Island and Mark Fleishman’s Antigone [not quite/quiet]).

Outside academia, I work for UNICEF, practice adult psychotherapy (with an emphasis on mental issues caused by disability), and teach Argentine tango to Kenyan adolescents.

Select Awards and Fellowships:
Visiting Fellowship, University of London’s School of Advanced Studies Warburg Institute, London, UK (2023, March)
Visiting Fellowship, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary (2022, Summer)
Senate Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. School of Humanities, UC Irvine (2022)
Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. School of Humanities, UC Irvine (2018)
Academic Senate Research Award, School of Humanities, UC Irvine (2016)
Residency Fellowship, School of Humanities, UC Irvine (2014)
Research Fellowship, Center for Hellenic Studies (Harvard/Washington, DC) (2008)
Professor of the Year, University of Redlands (2005)
Summer School Fellowship, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary (2004)
Margo Titus Summer Fellowship, University of Cincinnati (Summer, 2003)
Scott Dissertation Fellowship, University of Illinois (2001)
Richard T. Scanlan Distinguished Teaching Award, Department of Classics, University of Illinois (2000)
Campus-wide Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, University of Illinois (1999)
Graduate Fellowship, University of Illinois (1994-2001)
List of Teachers Rated Outstanding by Students, University of Illinois. (Listed for 14 consecutive semesters of teaching for all courses taught)
National Scholarship Foundation of Greece (1986-1991)

I grew up in Athens, Greece, surrounded by books, films, and music. My paternal grandfather had vineyards and olive trees, and I still dream about their greenness. Outside the US, I have lived in Milan, Geneva, and Paris. I am a yoga instructor and a professional tango dancer. I love Kafka, the Cycladic islands, and dark chocolate.

Plato's Theaetetus as a Second Apology. Oxford: Clarendon Press (2013)

Plato's Symposium: A Critical Guide (coedited with Pierre Destree). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2017)

Philosophers on Fillm: Mulholland Drive (ed.). New York: Routledge (2013)

(A43) “Frankensteinian Deformations in Yorgos Lanthimos’ 'Poor Things,'” in preparation for Modern Prometheus; Routledge.

(A42) “Poetics of Refraction and Black Subjectivity in Alice Diop’s 'Saint Omer,'” solicited by NECSUS: European Journal of Media Studies.

(A41) “The Aesthetics and Politics of Gender in Athina Rachel Tsangari’s 'The Capsule'”; Offscreen, forthcoming, 2025

(A40) “Being Animal in Robert Bresson’s 'Au Hasard Balthazar,'” in “Film and the Nonhuman,” Barbara Creed and Cristobal Escobar Duenas (eds.); Senses of Cinema, forthcoming, 2024.

(A39) “Borges, Heraclitus?” in Jorge Luis Borges and Greek Philosophy: In Praise of the Ancients, in “Philosophy, Literature and Politics.” Leiden: Brill, forthcoming, 2025.

(A38) “Tracing the Unknown Herakles in Anne Carson’s 'H of H Playbook,'” in Anne Carson and the Unknown: Contemporary Perspectives on Poetic Experimentation; University of Michigan Press; forthcoming, 2025 (with Lena Grimm).

(A37) “Derridean Mourning and the Homeric Hymn to Demeter,” in The Genre of Hymn in Antiquity; forthcoming, M. Brambaugh, F. Manakidou, and M. Noussia (eds.); forthcoming 2025, Leiden: Brill.

(A36) “Living Death: The Poetics of Obsolescence in Albert Serra’s 'The Death of Louis XIV'”; forthcoming, 2025, Film & History

(A35) “Enacting Necropolitics in Sophocles’ Antigone,” in Ancient Necropolitics: Politicizing Death and the Dead in Ancient Greece, E. Karakantza, A. Velaoras, and M. Meyer (eds.); forthcoming 2025, Leiden: Brill.

(A34) “Names, Paintings, and Outlines in Plato’s 'Cratylus'”; forthcoming, 2024, Ancient Philosophy.

(A33) “Suspended Temporalities and Classical Reception: Cassandra in Anne Carson’s Agamemnon,” in Reception Studies: New Challenges in a Changing World, A. Bakogianni and L. Unceta Gomez, 193-214. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2024

(A32) “‘Original Copy’: Inverting Platonism in Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy,” Offscreen 27.8-10, October 2023.

(A31) “Socratic Midwifery and Noble Sophistry: An Intertextual Dialogue,” in New Explorations in Plato’s Theaetetus: Belief, Knowledge, Ontology, Reception, D. Zucca (ed.), 163-176. Leiden: Brill, 2022.

(A30) “Spectral Politics in Emir Kusturica’s Underground,” Film & History 52:2 (2022): 4-15.

(A29) “Gilles Deleuze and Bernardo Bertolucci on Plato’s Cave,” in Deterritorializing the Classics: Deleuze, Guattari, and Antiquity, K. Khellaf (ed.). Ramus 49.1-2 (2021): 70-88.

(A28) .“Cognizing the Silent Iole in Sophocles’ Women of Trachis,” Una?????: Rivista di studi sul classico e sulla sua ricezione nella letteratura italiana moderna e contemporanea 2 (2021): 59-86.

(A27) “Dividing and Multiplying the Self in the Odyssey,” Phasis 24 (2021): 31-57.

(A26) “Framing Lars von Trier’s Medea,” Classical Receptions Journal 12.3 (2020): 375-399.

(A25) “Introduction,” in Plato’s Symposium: A Critical Guide, P. Destrée and Z. Giannopoulou (eds.), 1-8. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

(A24) “Narrative Temporalities and Models of Desire,” in Plato’s Symposium: A Critical Guide, P. Destrée and Z. Giannopoulou (eds.), 9-27. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

(A23) “Middles and Prophecy in the Odyssey,” Yearbook of Ancient Greek Epic 1 (2017): 137-158.

(A22) “Oedipus Meets Bucky in Philip Roth’s Nemesis,” Philip Roth Studies 12.1 (2016): 15-31.

(A21) “Formal Experiments in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad,” in Reading the Past Across Space and Time: Reception and World Literature, R. Hexter and B. Schildgen (eds.), 103-118. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

(A20) “Self-Knowledge in Plato’s Theaetetus and Alcibiades I,” Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy (2015): 73-93.

(A19) “Dislodging Home and Self in Zachary Mason’s The Lost Books of the Odyssey,” in Odyssean Identities in Modern Cultures: The Journey Home, H. Gardner and S. Murnaghan (eds.), 262-280. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 2014.

(A18) “Authorless Authority in Plato’s Theaetetus,” in Fakes, and Forgeries, and Issues of Authenticity in Classical Literature, J. Martinez (ed.), 43-57. Brill: Leiden, 2014.

(A17) “Fictional Archaeologies of Text and Classical Reception in Zachary Mason’s The Lost Books of the Odyssey,” Classical Receptions Journal 6.1 (2014): 1-21.

(A16) “Prisoners of Plot in José Saramago’s The Cave,” Philosophy and Literature 38.2 (2014): 332-349.

(A15) “Introduction,” in Philosophers on Film: Mulholland Drive, Z. Giannopoulou (ed.), 1-7. London and New York: Routledge (2013).

(A14) “Mulholland Drive and Cinematic Reflexivity,” in Philosophers on Film: Mulholland Drive, Z. Giannopoulou (ed.), 53-74. London and New York: Routledge, 2013).

(A13) “Protagoras’ Talking Head: Corporeality, Rationality, and Self-Refutation in Theaetetus 171c-d,” Illinois Classical Studies 35/36 (2010-11): 25-41.

(A12) “Socrates and Godlikeness in Plato’s Theaetetus,” Journal of Philosophical Research 36 (2011): 135-148.

(A11) “In and Out of Worlds: Socrates’ Refutation of Protagorean Relativism in Theaetetus 170a-171c,” Ancient Philosophy 31.2 (2011): 275-294.

(A10) “Staging Power: The Politics of Sex and Death in Seneca’s Phaedra and Kane’s Phaedra’s Love,” in Sarah Kane in Context, L. de Vos and G. Saunders (eds.), 57-67. Manchester University Press, 2010.

(A9) “Derrida’s Khôra, or Unnaming the Timaean Receptacle,” in One Book, The Whole Universe: Plato’s Timaeus Today, in R. D. Mohr and B. M. Sattler (eds.), 165-178. Parmenides Publishing (2010).

(A8) “Enacting the Other, Being Oneself: The Drama of Rhetoric and Philosophy in Plato’s Phaedrus,” Classical Philology 105 (2010): 146-161

(A7) “Objectivizing Protagorean Relativism: The Socratic Underpinnings of Protagoras’ Apology in Plato’s Theaetetus,” Ancient Philosophy 29 (2009): 1-22.

(A6) “Socratic Midwifery: A Second Apology?” Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 33 (2007): 55-87.

(A5) “Intertextualizing Polyphemus: Politics and Ideology in Walcott’s Odyssey,” Comparative Drama 40 (2006): 1–28

(A4) “Rewriting the Speech of Alcibiades: Platonic Echoes of Erotic Desire in Kundera’s ‘Symposium,’” Comparative Literature Studies 43.3 (2006): 285–305.

(A3) “Plato’s Theaetetus,” The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2004) (http://www.iep.utm.edu/t/theatetu.htm)

(A2) “The Digression in Plato’s Theaetetus: Observations on its Thematic Structure and Philosophical Significance,” Elenchos 23: 75–88.

(A1) “The ‘Sophistry of Noble Lineage’ Revisited: Plato’s Sophist 226b1–231b8,” Illinois Classical Studies 26 (2001): 101–124

(Non-Academic Writing) “Cy Twombly and classical antiquity: diachronic glances at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles”). (October 2022, propago.gr; in Greek). https://www.propago.gr/to-thema-tis-imeras/o-cy-twombly-kai-i-klasiki-archaiotita-diachronikes-maties-sto-mouseio-getty-tou-los-antzeles/

(R25) 2024. M. Telò and A. Benjamin, Niobes: Antiquity, Modernity, Critical Theory. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Press, 2024. The Comparatist (forthcoming).

(R24) 2017. D. Ambuel, Turtles All the Way Down: On Plato’s Theaetetus, a Commentary and Translation. Sankt Augustin: Academia Verlag, 2015. The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition: 224-226.

(R23) 2021. A. Bossi & T. Robinson, Plato’s Theaetetus Revisited. Berlin, B Boston: De Gruyter, 2020. Eirene: Studia Graeca et Latina 57: 389-393.

(R22) 2019. A. Helfer, Socrates and Alcibiades: Plato’s Drama of Political Ambition and Philosophy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017. Ancient Philosophy 39.1: 234-237.

(R21) 2018. F. Trabattoni, Essays on Plato’s Epistemology. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2016. Journal of Hellenic Studies 138: 295-296.

(R20) 2016. C. Mattusch, Enduring Bronze: Ancient Art, Modern Views. J. Paul Getty Museum, 2014. Classical Journal (online, 2016.01.10).

(R19) 2016. P.A. Miller, Diotima at the Barricades: French Feminists Read Plato. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. The Classical Review 67.1 (2016): 27-29.

(R18) 2015. J.R. Rapp, Ordinary Oblivion and the Self Unmoored. New York: Fordham University Press, 2014. The Classical Review 65.2: 378-380.

(R17) R. Hunter, Plato and the Traditions of Ancient Literature: The Silent Stream. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. The Classical Review 64.1: 64-66.

(R16) 2011. L. Lampert, How Philosophy Became Socratic: A Study of Plato’s Protagoras, Charmides, and Republic. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2010. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.

(R15) 2008. C.D.C. Reeve, Love’s Confusions. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005. Ancient Philosophy 28: 486-488.

(R14) 2007. V. Pedrick and S.O. Oberhelman (eds.), The Soul of Tragedy: Essays on Athenian Drama. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2006. Comparative Drama 41.2: 249-251.

(R13) 2011. D.A. Hyland, Plato and the Question of Beauty. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2008. Ancient Philosophy 31.2: 412-416.

(R12) 2007. R. Blondell, The Play of Character in Plato’s Dialogues. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Classical Journal 102.3 (2007): 307–310.

(R11) 2007. K. Sayre, Metaphysics and Method in Plato’s Statesman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2006. Bryn Mawr Classical Review. http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2007/2007-09-13.html.

(R10) 2006. E. O’Connor, Heraclitus and Derrida: Presocratic Deconstruction. New York: Peter Lang, 2006. Bryn Mawr Classical Review.

(R9) 2005. G.A. Scott (ed.), Does Socrates Have a Method? Rethinking the Elenchus in Plato’s Dialogues and Beyond. The Pennsylvania University Press, 2002. Ancient Philosophy 25: 179–185.

(R8) 2005. D. Sedley, The Midwife of Platonism: Text and Subtext in Plato’s Theaetetus. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004. Journal of the History of Philosophy 43.3: 353–354.

(R7) 2005. R. Kamtekar (ed.), Plato’s Eythyphro, Apology, and Crito: Critical Essays. Rowman and Littlefield 2005. Bryn Mawr Classical Review. (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2005/2005-09-65.html).

(R6) 2004. M. M. McCabe, Plato and his Predecessors: The Dramatisation of Reason. Cambridge University Press, 2000. Classical Journal 99.3: 358–362.

(R5) 2004. D.W. Evans, Truth and Mockery in Platon and Modernity. A New Perception of Platon's Euthyphron, Apology, Criton and Phaidon. Lincoln, NE: Writers Club Press, 2001. Bryn Mawr Classical Review. http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2004/2004-04-02.html http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2004/2004-0429.html http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2004/2004-04-36.html

(R4) 2004. D. Sedley, Plato’s Cratylus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Bryn Mawr Classical Review http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2004/2004-10-12.htm

(R3) 2004. G.M. Ledbetter, Poetics before Plato: Interpretation and Authority in Early Greek Theories of Poetry. Princeton University Press, 2003. Classical World 98.1: 117–118.

(R2) 2002. J. Hardy, Platons Theorie des Wissens im “Theaitet.” Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 2001. Bryn Mawr Classical Reviews. http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2002/2002-12-23.html

(R1) 1999. N. Notomi, The Unity of Plato’s Sophist: Between the Sophist and the Philosopher. Cambridge University Press. Bryn Mawr Classical Review. (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/1999/1999-11-03.html)

2016-17 Curriculum Development Grant, Medical Humanities, UCI

2017 School of Humanities Grant, UCI

2008 Humanities Center Grant, UCI

2003-04 University Research Grant, University of Redlands

2024 Building Intellectual Communities Grant (Co-PI). Humanities Center, School of Humanities, UC Irvine

2024 The French Ministry of Culture Grant; National Theatre of Greece Grant; Academy of Arts-Belgrade Grant.

2008 Humanities Center Collaborative Conference Grant

2018 Curriculum Development Grant, Medical Humanities, UC Irvine

2003, Research Grant, University of Redlands

2004, Research Grant, University of Redlands

American Comparative Literature Association

Critical Antiquities Network

Classics and Social Justice Network

Classical Reception Studies Network

American Society for Aesthetics

Society for Cinema and Media Studies

International Comparative Literature Association

The Association for Philosophy and Literature

Associate Editor
Politeia: International Interdisciplinary Philosophical Review 2018—2023

Center for the Study of Early Cultures

Environmental Humanities Research Center

Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=5262

Last updated
04/28/2024