John Harris, PhD (UIUC), MA (Manitoba)

Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts - History, Classics, & Religion Dept

Contact

Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts - History, Classics, & Religion Dept
Email
jpharris@ualberta.ca
Phone
(780) 492-6467
Address
2-11 Tory (H.M.) Building
11211 Saskatchewan Drive NW
Edmonton AB
T6G 2H4

Overview

About

I received my PhD in Classical Philology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), my MA and BA from the University of Manitoba, and am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta.

I have taught at several institutions, both in Canada and the States, including Mount Allison University, UIUC, Texas Tech, and Washington State University, before returning to Edmonton. Although I work primarily on literary texts of the classical period, I have also had the opportunity to work as a rookie archaeologist for the Palatine East Excavations (1990), under the direction of Eric Hostetter. I even had the wonderful opportunity to spend a year (1994-1995) as a member of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens (ASCSA).




Research

Although trained as a classical philologist—someone who studies both Greek and Latin literature—I work primarily on the literary analysis of Plato, especially his earlier "Socratic" dialogues. But my research also includes Greek comedy and tragedy, as well as the influence of the fable tradition on comedy and Plato. I am currently guest- and co-editor, with Kathrin Koslicki (CRC in Epistemology and Metaphysics in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Alberta), for a special edition of the journal Mouseion: “Death of a Gadfly: An Interdisciplinary Examination of the Trial and Execution of Socrates.” I am also working on a monograph, tentatively entitled: "The Disgusting Philosopher: Why Socrates Was Tried, Condemned and Executed.”


Teaching

My teaching interests include:

  • The Platonic dialogues
  • Greek and Roman Myth
  • Greek Comedy (especially Aristophanes)
  • Greek Tragedy (especially Euripides)
  • Greek Culture and Civilization

Courses

CLASS 400 - Topics in the Culture and Society of Greco-Roman Antiquity

Prerequisite: Any course at or above the 200-level in CLASS, GREEK or LATIN, or consent of Department. May be repeated for credit when course content differs.


CLASS 505 - Topics in the Culture and Society of Greco-Roman Antiquity


GREEK 101 - Beginners' Greek I

Elements of Classical Greek grammar and the reading of simple texts. Not open to students with credit in matriculation-level Greek.


GREEK 102 - Beginners' Greek II

A continuation of GREEK 101. Prerequisite: GREEK 101 or consent of Department.


GREEK 477 - Topics in Greek Prose


GREEK 509 - Topics in Greek Prose


Browse more courses taught by John Harris