Classical Studies PhD Student
I am a fourth-year PhD student at BU, having received my BA (2019) and MA (2021) in Classics at the Universities of British Columbia and Alberta, respecively. My research interests lie at the four-way intersection of classical rhetoric/philosophy, imperial Greek and Latin, the Bible, and early Christianity. If this range seems too wide, that is precisely the point: the stream of ancient literature is deeper, broader, and fuller than any of the little labels we might assign to its tributaries (“classical,” “Christian,” “non-canonical,” etc.). Thus it is easier to describe my method than any single subject-area of interest: in short, I care about how close reading can bring very old shadows into new light for students and scholars today.
Sometimes these shadows are lying in plain sight: Articles currently under review include a study of Augustine’s use of traditional wordplay to present his idea of “confession,” and a reassessment of the genre and structure of Gregory of Nazianzus’ “First Theological Oration.” Since last year I have also been collaborating with Brian Dunkle SJ, Henry Wansbrough OSB, and Dunstan Enzor OSB on the first English translation of Hilary’s Tractatus super Psalmos, forthcoming from Catholic University Press.
This year, I am beginning to write my dissertation, a study of the language of metaphorical “idolatry” in Christian literature of the second and third centuries, with a view in particular to the ways this language is—and is not—already traditional to classical philosophy and rhetoric. The resultant book project will be a history of the metaphor of “idolatry” in early Christian literature, which (I hope) will be a helpful resource to students and scholars of the period. I am also currently studying Hebrew and palaeography, ever hoping to broaden and deepen my knowledge of our wonderful field.
I currently live in Framingham, MA with my wife, Rebecca.
Publications
forthcoming (with Brian Dunkle SJ, Henry Wansbrough OSB, and Dunstan Enzor OSB), Hilary of Poitiers: Tractatus super Psalmos, a new translation in the Fathers of the Church series, CUA Press
2024 “‘Grand Words for a Common Thing’: Precursors to The Grammar of Assent in John Henry Newman’s Early Classical Readings (1809-1826)” in The Newman Studies Journal 21.1
2024 “Elementary Errors: Philosophers, Idolaters, and τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου in Paul and Clement of Alexandria” in Vigiliae Christianae (published online ahead of print 05/06/24: https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-bja10090)
Book Reviews
2024 review of T.A. Brookins, Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Corinthians: Paul, Stoicism, and Spiritual Hierarchy, forthcoming in The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 86, no. 3 (July, 2024), pp. 610-12
Select Conference Papers
Jan 2025 “Imagining the Imagines: A Study in Philostratean φαντασία”
Society for Classical Studies Philadelphia, PA
Aug 2024 “The Etymology of ‘Confessing’ in Augustine’s Early Works”
Oxford Patristics Conference Oxford, UK
May 2024 “The Structure and Purpose of Gregory’s ‘First Theological Oration’”
North American Patristics Society Conference Chicago, IL