Education
Ph.D., University of Toronto
MA, University of Toronto
BA, McMaster University
Contact
rfaber@uwaterloo.ca
(519) 888-4567 x 32817
ML 226
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 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. Recent publications in this field include a co-edited volume of essays entitled Comparing Roman Hellenisms in Italy and an edited collection of studies, Celebrity, Fame and Infamy in the Hellenistic World. Two representative articles focus on intermediality in epic ekphrasis and on the description of a shield in Antimachus' Thebaid. In the area of neo-Latin literature I am particularly interested in the New Testament scholarship of Erasmus. I’ve produced an edition of Erasmus’ Annotations on Galatians and Ephesians, and a translation of the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae. Current projects focus on Greek and Latin poetry (especially pastoral and epic) and early modern Latin prose. 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
In recent years I have co-taught the required MA-level course, Research Methodologies in Classical Studies. Other courses have treated representations of the other in Roman literature; Hellenistic poetry; and analyses of Cicero’s rhetorical style. I have supervised students researching a wide range of topics, including the epigrams of Leonidas, 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 or graduate advisor several terms, and twice as chair. From 2010-2013 and 2013-2016 I was the director of the Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies. Currently I serve as chair of the editorial board for the Collected Works of Erasmus.
For more detailed information see my Curriculum Vitae