Department of Classical Studies
I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with minors in both Philosophy and Religious Studies from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2015, summa cum laude. In the fall of 2015, I entered Penn’s Post-Baccalaureate Program in Classical Studies, where I continued to study the ancient languages for an additional two years. I then entered the Ph.D. Program in Classical Studies at Penn in 2017.
My research focuses on ancient philosophy and intellectual history. My primary area of interest is ancient psychology, the concepts that the Greek and Roman philosophers developed in their analyses of both human and animal nature. The majority of my attention in this area is devoted to the psychological and biological works of Aristotle. Connected with a larger interest in Aristotle’s works more generally is a desire to understand Plato’s influence on Aristotle’s thought as well as the latter’s criticisms of and improvements upon Platonic theories.
Farther ranging but long-held, related interests include topics as divergent as ancient conceptions of emotion and the portrayal of emotions in various genres of Greek and Roman literature, the development of ancient Greek music theory and musical instruments, as well as paleography and the transmission of ancient texts through the manuscript tradition.