Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

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20102024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Biography

I am the Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the Centre for Ancient Cultures at Monash University. I graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2015 with a PhD in Classics (Ancient History). I completed an MA in Classics (Ancient History) from the University of Cincinnati and a BA in History from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University (Athens, OH).  My areas of interest are the Roman Empire and the Hellenistic world, and in particular Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt. 

I am currently working on a program of research studying the fate of Egyptian religion under the Roman Empire. I have recently published a book, Confiscation or Coexistence: Egyptian Temples in the Age of Augustus (University of Michigan Press, 2022), re-examining the supposed Roman persecution of Egyptian temples launched under Augustus, and the narrative constructed by modern scholars to interpret those confiscations. The Roman period was a time of massive cultural and religious change throughout Egypt, and the relationship between the state and the temples is key to understanding this time and the subsequent events. 

As a papyrologist, I am active in the editing and publication of ancient documentary papyri and ostraka (pottery sherds with writing on). I have published on aspects of Egypt from the Ptolemaic to Byzantine period, with an emphasis on religious, economic, and legal practice, especially in the countryside. This forms part of a broader interest in social, economic, and religious life in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, and particularly in the Fayum depression and Dakhleh Oasis. 

I teach units on Greek and Roman history, language, and archaeology, as well as classical civilisation and ancient history more broadly, from first-year to honours. I teach at the Monash Clayton campus and (occasionally) through the Prato Centre in Italy. I am proud to serve as the Head of Orion College at Monash University, as well as holding the roles of Co-Director of the Egyptology Society of Victoria and Honorary Secretary of the Classical Association of Victoria. I also represent Monash University on the councils of the Australasian Society for Classical Studies and MAARC. Beginning in 2023, I am serving as the Honours Coordinator for the School of Philosophical, Historical, and International Studies. 

Supervision interests

Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, papyrology (especially documentary), and life in the Roman provinces. More generally, I would be happy to discuss potential topics relating to the the history, culture, literature, and culture of the Roman Empire, ancient Greece, and the Hellenistic world.

Monash teaching commitment

ATS 1247 Ancient Cultures 1 / Introducing Archaeology 1 (tutorials)
ATS 1248 Ancient Cultures 2 / Introducing Archaeology 2
ATS 2344 Archaeology in Italy (co-taught)
ATS 2349 Golden Age of Athens 
ATS 2748 Introductory Greek A / Introductory Ancient Greek
ATS 2750 Introductory Greek B / Intermediate Ancient Greek
ATS 3344 Archaeology in Italy (co-taught) 
ATS 3346 Imperial Rome
ATS 3350 From Alexander to Kleopatra
ATS 4345 Research Methods in Classical Antiquity

I also teach modules on Ancient History and the Roman world in in ATS 2110 Slavery: A History (in the History Department) and ATS 3338 Understanding Ancient Cultures. I am the coordinator for ATS 1267 and ATS1269.

External positions

Honorary Secretary, Classical Association of Victoria

1 Jan 2021 → …

Co-Director, Egyptology Society of Victoria

1 Mar 2019 → …

Council Member, Australasian Society for Classical Studies

1 Feb 2018 → …

Board member, Classical Association of Victoria

21 Oct 201531 Dec 2020

Research area keywords

  • Ancient history
  • Papyrology
  • Roman history
  • Ancient Egypt
  • Greek history
  • Archaeology
  • Greek and Latin literature

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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