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James Barrett

Title

Associate Professor

Department

Classics

Information

Address

5293 Mayflower Hill Waterville, Maine 04901-8853

Current Courses

CRS Title Sec
CL338 Myth, History, Memory A
GK131 Introduction to Greek Literature A
GK263 Euripides A
GK363 Euripides A
LT242 Roman Satire A
LT252 Early Rome A
LT342 Roman Satire A

Education

Ph.D., Cornell University
B.A., U.C. Santa Cruz

Areas of Expertise

  • Ancient Greek Cultural History

  • Greek Theater

  • Early Greek Philosophy

  • Narrative

 

Current Research

Antisthenes and Tragedy
The Body in Greek Philosophical Discourse
Brecht and Euripides

Publications























● James Barrett is the author of Staged Narrative: Poetics and the Messenger in Greek Tragedy (California, 2002).
This study traces the literary ancestry of the tragic messenger, showing that the messenger's narrative constitutes an unexplored site of engagement with Homeric epic, and that the role illuminates fifth-century BCE experimentation with modes of speech. Breaking new ground in the study of Athenian tragedy, this book deepens our understanding of many central texts and of a form of theater that highlights the fragility and limits of human knowledge, a theme explored by its use of the messenger.

● He is also the author numerous articles and book chapters on Greek tragedy, Greek philosophy, and narrative.