• Associate Professor of Classics

    Brinkley Hall, 005
    (434) 223-7204
    jsiegel@hsc.edu


Education

Ph.D. Comparative Literature (Latin and Greek), Rutgers University, 1994
M.A., Comparative Literature (Latin and Greek), Washington University in St. Louis, 1984
B.A., Comparative Literature (Latin and French), Washington University in St. Louis, 1983

Teaching Experience and Interests

Latin and Greek language and literature (especially Latin poetics), classical literature in translation, mythology, classical civilization, genre studies, thematics, humanities, comparative literature, classical tradition (especially film), running study abroad trips to Greece and Turkey.

Selected Honors, Awards, and Professional Adventures

  • Mellon Grant for Western Culture Course Development (Hampden-Sydney College)
  • Bortz Technology Award (Hampden-Sydney College)
  • Loeb Classical Library Foundation Research Grant (Harvard University)
  • Summer Scholar's Program at Harvard University's Center for Hellenic Studies (Washington, D.C.)
  • American School for Classical Studies at Athens, Greece
  • National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar in Spetses, Greece
  • Fulbright Scholarship for study at the American School for Classical Studies in Athens
  • Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Travel Grant to Spetses, Greece
  • Adelaide E. Hahn Scholarship (Classical Association of the Atlantic States)
  • Classical Association of the Middle, West and South Development Grant (for website)
  • Violet B. Ketels Award for Excellence in Teaching in and Extraordinary Service to the Intellectual Heritage Program at Temple University

Service to the College

Dr. Siegel's service to the College has included being Chair of the Department as well as membership on various college committees including Promotion and Tenure, Student Affairs, Professional Development, International Studies, Western Culture Review. Advisor of freshman and Honors students, Classics Club, and Eta Sigma Phi. She is also the Collegiate Membership Director for the Classical Association of Virginia, has served on numerous committees in regional associations and as peer reviewer for the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship program.

Publications

Professional Publications (in print)

  • "The Coens' O Brother Where Art Thou? and Homer's Odyssey" in Mouseion, The Classical Journal of Canada 7:3, 2007, 213-245.
  • "Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer and Euripides' BacchaeThe International Journal of the Classical Tradition 11.4, Spring 2005, 538-70.
  • "The Classical Side of Tennessee Williams," Theatron 2.2, Spring 2004, 18-20.
  • "Notable Websites: Dr. J's Illustrated Guide to the Classical World" in Amphora 2.2 (Fall 2003), 12-13.
  • "Peter Greenaway's The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover: A Cockney Procne" in Classical Culture and Myth in the Cinema, ed. Martin M. Winkler (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 233-257. Reviews in: BMCR 2001.12.13, Amphora 2.1 (2001), and Gymnasium 110.5 (2003), 518-20.
  • "Audio-Visual Materials in Classics" in Texts and Technology: Resources for Teachers, Special Survey Issue, Classical World, Vol. 105.3 (Spring 2012), pp. 351-432. (Accessible via Project Muse). Previous reports appear in Classical World in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010.

Professional Publications (in development)

  • Book project: Ovid's Procne: A Case Study in Intertext
  • Book project: Teaching Classical Mythology with Television and Film
  • Various articles on Latin philology and Ovid, in particular

Recent Papers Presented at Professional Conferences or By Invitation

  • 2013 "The Cyclopic Reavers of Joss Whedon's Firefly." Swords, Sorcery, Sandals and Space: The Fantastika and the Classical World. A Science Fiction Foundation Conference. University of Liverpool, UK
  • 2010 "Meta-Didacticism in Ovid's Poetry." Classical Association of the Middle, West and South, Southern Section, Richmond, VA
  • 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007: One-hour presentation to Latin Academy students at the summer Governor's Latin Academy at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA on classical elements in the film O Brother Where Art Thou?
  • 2009: "The Classical Side of Tennessee Williams." Mediterranean Society of America (University of Richmond)
  • 2009 "Catullus and Ovid." Classical Association Annual Meeting, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
  • 2007: "The AV Classics Database." Digital Classicist Work in Progress Seminar at the Institute of Classical Studies in London, UK

Professional Service

Dr. Siegel has done committee work for both the Classical Association of the Atlantic States and for the Classical Association of the Middle, West, and South. Most recently (2012) she was appointed Collegiate Membership Chair of the Classical Association of Virginia. Dr. Siegel is the author of "Audio-Visual Materials in Classics" in Texts and Technology: Resources for Teachers, Special Survey Issue, Classical World, Vol. 105.3 (Spring 2012), pp. 351-432. She also authored previous volumes in 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002 and 2000. The Survey's on-line incarnation may be found at www.drjclassics.com, home also to her 3000 page website, Dr. J's Illustrated Guide to the Classical World. Thousands more photos of ancient sites and museum pieces will be uploaded during the course of the 2013-14 academic year. A major overhaul of the on-line database is currently being discussed. Dr. Siegel was a review panel member, National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship Program Ancient and Classical Studies and Archaeology (Washington, D.C.).

Research Interests and potential topics for students

Research interests: Latin Philology and Intertextuality, Augustan Age Poetry (esp. Ovid), Classical Reception, Classics/Mythology in Film, The Classical Tradition
Potential topics for students: Intertextuality in Literature, Literary Analysis, Comparative Literature, The Classical Tradition (Classical Elements in Film and Modern Literature), Classical Mythology