Jessica Blum-Sorensen
Assistant Professor, Classics
Ph.D., Yale University
What are your thoughts on teaching?
To me, teaching is a conversation: between me and my students, between fields, and between places separated by space and time. By tackling the same big questions—about heroism, responsibility, ethics, you name it—in community and with the insight of our individual experiences and identities, we participate in a long tradition of inquiry that continually reinterprets the human experience. At its best, teaching equips students not to produce the right answers, but to ask productive questions. What I love about teaching the classics is that, so often, there are no right answers!
Tell us about your field of expertise.
My work centers on Latin and Greek poetry, and in particular the epic traditions of the Roman Republic and early Empire. I am fascinated by the intersections of poetics and politics, and the ways in which art can both comment upon and shape social and political ideals.
What hobbies/interests do you enjoy outside of academia?
Anything outdoors! Running, hiking, and chasing my toddler and dogs (with some writing and baking for a break)
