Dr A. Sophie Schoess

Dr A. Sophie Schoess

Lecturer

Researcher profile

Phone
+44 (0)1334 46 2615
Email
ass8@st-andrews.ac.uk
Office
C28
Location
Craigard

 

Biography

I graduated from UCL in 2010 with a degree in Archaeology, Classics, and Classical Art before moving to the University of Oxford for an MSt in Classical Archaeology (2011). I also completed an MA in Classics (UCL, 2012), before returning to St Hugh’s College, Oxford, for my DPhil in Classical Languages and Literature (2018).

Before joining the School of Classics at St Andrews, I held a non-stipendiary lectureship at Corpus Christi College, Oxford (2016–19), a teaching assistantship at the Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford (2016–17), and a stipendiary lectureship at St Anne’s College, Oxford (2017–2019).

Teaching

I contribute to the teaching of Classical Studies sub-honours modules (CL1004 and CL2003), Greek sub-honours modules (GK1001, GK1002, GK1006, GK2001/3, and GK2002/4), and Latin sub-honours modules (LT1002 and LT2003/3017).

I offer the Greek honours modules ‘The Rest of the Story: Greek Epic after Homer’ (GK4128) and 'Picture This: Intermediality in Greek Literature and Culture' (GK4129), and the Classical Studies honours module 'Christianity and the Classics: Conflict, Competition, Conservation' (CL4469).

At graduate level, I contribute to the MLitt Greek Literary Culture module and the MLitt Core modules.

Research areas

My research focuses on the relationship between image and text in the classical world and beyond, with a strong emphasis on the visuality of Imperial and late-antique epic poetry. I am particularly interested in exploring the ways in which visual influences affect literary narrative, be it through the writer’s engagement with visual culture or their use of visual language. Such a visual approach to text enables us to understand better the dynamic interactions between visual and textual media, and to recognise the misguidedness of viewing images as dependent on texts, or as mere illustrations of literary accounts.

Throughout my work on Imperial and late-antique poetry, I have been addressing the question of whether later Greek authors were familiar and engaged with the Latin classics. I am particularly interested in exploring the ways in which later Greek epic poets, such as Nonnus, Quintus, and Colluthus, developed further visual approaches to classical myth first evident in the Latin works of Ovid in particular.

I am preparing a monograph based on my doctoral research on the transmission and reception of Ariadne’s abandonment in literature and the visual arts from Homer to Boccaccio.

I am also working on a new research project on the reception of classical myth in Christian culture, focusing on Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages / Renaissance. I am particularly interested in the distinct ways these narratives are re-interpreted, re-shaped, and re-invented to contrast with, or reinforce, Christian ideas of morality.

PhD supervision

  • Helen Wyeth

Selected publications

 

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