Current Students :: Graduate Program

Nicholas GresensNicholas Gresens

Education

  • M.A. 2000, Classics, Tufts University
  • B.A. 1997, Classics, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Academic Interests

  • Imperial Greek Prose
  • Ancient Geography, Topography, and Historiography, especially their intersection with myth
  • Folklore and mythology in ancient literature
  • Use of technology (including GIS and collaborative web technologies) in research and pedagogy

Teaching and Research Experience

  • Visiting Lecturer—Department of Classics, Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL
    August 2007-present
  • Teaching Fellow—Department of World Languages and Cultures-Classical Studies/Department of History, Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis, IN
    September 2006-May 2007
  • Associate Instructor—Department of Classical Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
    September 2001-Spring 2006
  • Teaching Assistant—Department of Classics, Tufts University, Medford, MA
    September 1998-May 2000
  • Trench Supervisor—Stanford Excavations at Monte Polizzo, Sicily
    Director, Ian Morris
    June 2003-August 2003, July 2004-August 2004
  • Research Assistant—Tufts University, Perseus Project
    Editor-in-Chief, Greg Crane
    September 1999-May 2000
  • Archaeological Field Schools
    Summer Program in Archaeology, American Academy in Rome, Summer 2002
    Caesarea Maritima Vault Project, Caesarea, Israel, Summer 1995

Papers

  • (Upcoming) “‘Did He Really Believe That?’: Belief and the Past in Strabo’s Geography,” to be presented at the Annual Meeting of CAMWS, April 16-19, 2008.
  • “Text as Trowel’s Edge: Homer, The Bible, and the Origins of Archaeology,” invited lecture presented to Western Illinois Society of the AIA, Monmouth, IL, February 21, 2008.
  • “Bragging Travelers and the Role of Travel in Strabo's Geography,” presented at To The Ends of the Earth:  Journeys Ancient to Modern, the Sixth Biennial Bryn Mawr College Graduate Symposium, October 12-13, 2007.
  •  “Floating Corpses, Shifting Signs: Disposal of Enemies in the Tiber,” presented at the Annual Meeting of CAMWS, April 11-14, 2007.
  • “Putting Saturnalia in its Roman Context,” invited lecture presented at Bloomington North High School, Latin Day, December 15, 2006.
  • “Re-appropriating Rivers: The Creation of Place in Strabo’s Geography,” presented at the International Conference on Rivers and Civilization: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Major River Basins, La Crosse, WI, June 25-28, 2006.
  • “Preserving Traditions: Tyrtaean Martial Poetry and Spartan Society,” presented at the Annual Meeting of CAMWS, March 15-17, 2004.
  • “Herders at Play, Poets at Work: Poetic Competition in Theocritus and Vergil” presented at Trivial Pursuits: Games and Game playing in the Classical World, a graduate student symposium held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, February 22-23, 2002.

When not doing Classics

  • Long, romantic walks on the beach
  • Listening to Tom Jones albums
  • Woodworking, beer brewing, and yard work