Research and External Engagement

I completed my PhD at the University of Cambridge and held a Junior Research Fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge before joining the Department at Bristol in 2013. My main area of research is ancient Greek drama (with particular focus on Sophocles) and my current research interests include the representation of Troy and the Trojan War in Greek drama, sisterhood in Greek thought and literature, and satyr play and its relationship with tragedy. All of my research is driven by the conviction that we need to pay much more attention to fragmentary and lost texts, and work to develop new critical methodologies for talking about fragments as literature.

My publications include two edited volumes, Aeschylus at Play: Studies in Aeschylean Satyr Drama (BICS 62.2, 2019, co-edited with Anna Uhlig) and Female Characters in Fragmentary Greek Tragedy (Cambridge University Press, 2020, co-edited with Patrick Finglass). Ongoing projects include a commentary on selected fragmentary plays of Sophocles that dramatise episodes from the Trojan War, a book on sisterhood in ancient thought and literature and its relationship to contemporary feminist political theory, and a volume on Sophocles' Oedipus the King for the series 'Bloomsbury Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy'.

Together with Dr Emma Cole, I was a co-ordinator of the Faculty 'Tragedy' research cluster in 2017-18 and 2018-19, and was Deputy Director of the Institute of Greece, Rome, and the Classical Tradition from 2019 to 2023.

I have acted as External Examiner at the Universities of Warwick (2022-2024) and Newcastle (2018-2021).

I am a Trustee and Council Member of the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies (2023-26), and of the British School at Athens (2024-28).

I have the unusual honour of being 'godmother' to an 82,000-ton bulk carrier named Sophocles Graecia, which I was invited to christen in January 2020, in recognition of my work on Sophocles.

Contact

Room 1.36, 11 Woodland Road Consultation Hours

(0117) 331 0824, [email protected]

Research Supervision

I have supervised PhDs on Greek sympotic poetry; the representation of suicide in Greek thought and literature; new narratological approaches to Ovid; and the Telephus myth; I am currently supervising a thesis on the reception of Sappho on the internet. I particularly welcome enquiries from potential PhD working on the ancient theatre or fragmentary texts (or a combination thereof!), but am very happy to discuss projects relating to any aspect of Greek literature.

Teaching

I am currently School Education Director for the School of Humanities (until 2026).

I have a wide range of teaching interests across ancient language and literature, and was Director of Teaching for Classics and Ancient History for the academic years 2020-21 and 2021-22. In 2021 I was shortlisted for the university's Innovative and Inspiring Teaching Award. 

In previous years I have taught Greek language and literature at all levels (A to D), Latin language and literature levels C/D, the first year core unit 'Sculpture', my interdisciplinary unit 'The Body in Antiquity', my specialist third year units 'The Trojan War in Ancient Literature' and 'Women and the Family in Ancient Greek Tragedy', the third year core unit 'Applied Classics', and have also convened the Dissertation unit.