Alexandra Pappas, the Raoul Bertrand Chair in Classics, is featured in the second of a series of video profiles featuring faculty discussing their passions for teaching and research. Pappas studies the interaction between words and images from the ancient Greek world. She begins each session of her by Ancient Epic Tales course by playing contemporary hip-hop or pop music, as a way to connect common themes from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid.
“I want to give people tools to navigate these aspects of the common human experience of things that are difficult and confusing and complex and perplexing, because those things aren’t going to change,” Pappas says. “There are always going to be stresses and anxieties and challenges. And the more tools in your toolkit, the better. And so that’s what I’m trying to do.
“And, of course, in that process, I myself continually refine and sharpen my own tools. It’s really a symbiotic exchange for me.”
Silvia Turchin directed the video. It is produced by the College of Liberal & Creative Arts Communication Team in association with Sleeping Tree Pictures.