PhD in Classical Studies
About
Megan earned her B.A. in Classics and Comparative Literature from Wellesley College in 2013, with an honors thesis on politics and performance in Euripides' Orestes. She plans to defend her dissertation, entitled "A Social History of Theater under the Attalid Monarchy," (directed by Ruth Scodel) in the spring of 2020. A chapter on the influence of Attalid theatricality on the history of theater at Rome is forthcoming in an edited volume, Pergamum and Rome (ed. Thomas J. Nelson et al.), to be published by Oxford University Press. More broadly, her research interests include the performance and ancient reception of Greek drama, both ancient and modern; the archaeology of performance, including theater architecture and its relationship to religion and politics; and dramatic scholia and commentaries.
This semester (Fall 2019) she is participating in the Engaged Pedagogy Initiative to develop a course on on the model of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange program, exploring the ways ancient Greek tragedy can speak to social issues, both ancient and contemporary. Outside her academic life, Megan serves on the Board of Directors for the Ann Arbor Community for Traditional Music and Dance; her hobbies include American and English country dance, baroque opera, hiking, and cooking.
