Riemer A. Faber

Research Interests

• Criticism of Greek and Latin Literature
• Hellenistic Greek and Latin Augustan Poetry
• Ekphrasis
• Neo-Latin Literature of the Renaissance and Reformation
• Erasmus

I pursue research interests in two main areas: Greek and Latin poetry, and neo-Latin literature. The intertextuality of Hellenistic Greek and Latin Augustan poetry is the focus of much of my work in classical antiquity, and I read the writings of Homer, Theocritus and Apollonius, as well as Horace, Vergil and other Latin poets. Of neo-Latin literature I am particularly interested in the New Testament scholarship of Erasmus. Recent publications include a volume of essays on celebrity, fame, and infamy in the Hellenistic world, articles on intermediality in epic ekphrasis, and on a shield description in Antimachus' Thebaid; an edition of Erasmus’ Annotations on Galatians and Ephesians; and a translation of the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae. Current projects include studies in Greek and Latin poetry (especially pastoral, lyric and epic), and in neo-Latin writings of the Renaissance. I would be pleased to supervise graduate students in any of these areas.

Teaching

• Greek and Latin Epic Poetry
• Hellenistic Literature
• Greek and Latin Language
• Ancient Greek Society

I teach a range of courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, from first-year Latin and Classical Civilization courses to senior seminars in Greek and Latin language and literature. My undergraduate teaching currently includes courses in the Greek language; Classical myth, literature and art; and Latin poetry.  

Graduate Teaching and Supervision

I regularly teach graduate-level courses in Greek and Latin literature (both in the original languages and in translation), and I contribute to the seminar, Research Methods in Classical Studies. I am supervising (or have supervised) students researching a wide range of topics, including closure in Vergil’s Eclogues, gendered voices in Ovid's Heroides, and the descriptive mode in Flavian poetry. I regularly involve graduate students as Research Assistants or Tutorial Assistants. Enquiries from potential students are most welcome.

Administration & Service

I have served the department as undergraduate officer from 2000-2002 and 2005-2006, and as chair from 2001-2003 and 2006-2009. I was the director of the Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies from 2010-2013 and 2013-2016. I served as a general editor for the project to publish the Synopsis of a Purer Theology, currently I am an executive member of the editorial board for the Collected Works of Erasmus.  

For more detailed information see my Curriculum Vitae