christed

christed@arizona.edu
Office
Modern Languages Building 326
Office Hours
M 9-10:30am, W 1-2:30pm, or by appointment
Christenson, David M.
Professor of Classics

Ph.D. Classical Philology, Harvard University
M.A. Classics, University of California at Santa Barbara
A.B. English Language and Literature, University of Michigan

Fall 2024 Courses

Areas of Expertise

  • Greek and Roman Theater
  • Ancient Slavery
  • Early Imperial Latin Literature and Culture
  • Gender in Antiquity
  • Translation and Reception Studies

Books (single-authored)

Edited Volume 

Selected Refereed Articles, Chapters, Notes, Encyclopedia Entries, and Invited Book Reviews & Review Articles

Selected Awards

  • 2013: University of Arizona Graduate College Graduate Education Teaching and Mentoring Award
  • 2012: University of Arizona Graduate and Professional Student Council Outstanding Mentor of Graduate Students
  • 2011-12: Loeb Classical Library Foundation Fellowship
  • 2008: University of Arizona College of Humanities Humanities Seminars Program Superior Teaching Award
  • 2006: University of Arizona Graduate and Professional Student Council Graduate Student Advisor of the Year

M.A. Thesis Committees Directed or Served at the University of Arizona

 

Currently Teaching

CLAS 353 – Heroes, Gods, Gore: Roman Epic in its Cultural Context

This course provides a survey of ancient Roman epic poetry (heroic, historical, didactic, and Ovidian), both within its unique cultural context and also as it was received by subsequent cultures and epochs.

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LAT 430 – Roman Drama

Close reading and study of select plays of Plautus, Terence, and Seneca, as well as select fragments of Republican Roman tragedy.

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LAT 530 – Roman Drama

Close reading and study of select plays of Plautus, Terence, and Seneca, as well as select fragments of Republican Roman tragedy. Graduate-level requirements include extra reading assignments in Latin; a more ambitious research paper project.

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CLAS 301B – The Literature of the Ancient Romans: Latin Literature in English Translation

Classics 301B provides an introductory survey of Latin literature through English translations. The works to be studied include some of the earliest extant ones of the republican period down to those of the mid-empire: our authors span a period of over 300 years. We will read from a variety of genres, including comedy and tragedy, epic and lyric poetry, didactic literature, satire, historiography, the novel, letters, and philosophy. Latin writers appropriated all these genres- with the exception of satire, which apparently is a Roman innovation (satura quidem tota nostra est, Quintilian 10.1.93)-from the Greeks. In doing so they creatively and self-reflexively (Latin literature is extremely "meta") adapted their Greek source texts with a view to their own audiences and artistic purposes. The study of this literature provides a dynamic point of entry into the rich and diverse cultural world of the ancient Romans-the Roman empire was an extraordinarily complex experiment in multiethnic and polylingual exchange that is only now being rivaled by globalist movements. Latin literature is also critical to appreciation of subsequent European literatures and cultures.

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CLAS 355 – Horror, Terror, Violence & Trauma in the Ancient Roman World

This course analyzes some of the most culturally prevalent forms of horror, terror, and violence in the ancient Roman world, including those associated with war, slavery, autocratic rule, and the spectacles of the amphitheater. In addition to examining relevant literary and documentary evidence from Roman antiquity, this course incorporates select writings in trauma studies, as well as modern comparative materials, that can provide frameworks for interpreting how both individuals and groups in the Roman world experienced and remediated the effects of trauma in their lives.

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To view full listing of courses offered, please visit our Course Schedule.

Course Schedule