PhD in Classical Studies
3250 Angell (English dept.) Great Books office.
About
Alex studied Philosophy, History, Greek and Latin at Utah State University. His dissertation, Worlds Upside Down: Popular Humor in the Greco-Egyptian Imagination, explores the (mis)reception of Egyptian folklore, tales, obscenity and festival humor in Greek colonial prose from Herodotus to the Alexander traditions. He has given conference papers on comic pharaohs in Herodotus, playful allegory in Proclus, and the parody of Plato in Apuleius' Golden Ass. He has taught and learned with the women of the Inside-Out prison education program. At UM, he has taught Greek Mythology, Greek Civilization, World Great Books, and summer course of his own design called Parageography, the study of imaginary worlds.
Alex grew up in a small town in rural Idaho ruled by an iron-hoofed oligarchy of prominent cows. The son of a plumber, he believes that all things eternally roll downhill.