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Peter O'Brien

Graduate Coordinator and Assistant Professor, Latin Literature

Head Shot P. O'Brien

Email: Peter.OBrien@dal.ca
Phone: 902-494-3468
Mailing Address: 
Marion McCain Building, Room 1172
 
Research Topics:
  • Late antique historiography
  • Latin literature
  • Neo-Latin
ܳپDz:
  • BA (Hons)(Vind)
  • MA (Dal)
  • MA, PhD (Boston University)
Biography:

I was born and raised in Halifax, and completed my undergraduate degree at H and the . After an MA thesis on Greek Tragedy at H, I began doctoral studies at Boston University, where I continued to study Greek literature, but gradually shifted my main research focus to Latin. Before taking up my H appointment in 2000, I taught Classics and English at a private school in Boston. In 2001, I became a member of the joint King's-H faculty.Since 2011, I have served as Public Orator at King’s, and from 2017-2021, I took a leave from my regular departmental duties to serve as Vice-President at King’s.

With Myles McCallum of Saint Mary’s University and Kathryn Simonsen of MUN, I serve as Co-Editor of

Research and teaching interests
My doctoral thesis explored imperial speeches in the fourth century A.D. historian Ammianus Marcellinus. My work since then has also focused on literary aspects of that author's work, particularly his knowledge of and allusions to the Augustan epic poet Virgil. More recently, I have begun to explore the vast domain of Neo-Latin literature, especially its treatment of Canadian themes and topics, as well as the Classical Tradition at King’s and H.

In addition to a graduate seminar on Ammianus, I teach Virgil, Ovid, Catullus, and other Latin poets in advanced language courses and seminars, as well as undergraduate courses in late Roman history and in Greek and Roman myth and literature. At the University of King’s College, I am a frequent lecturer in the (Homer’s Odyssey, վ’s Aeneid), and have served as Co-ordinator of its first section.

In off-campus teaching, I’ve contributed lectures and seminars for several years toԻ.

Awards

2010 - H University Outstanding Graduate Advisor Award
2007 -g
2006 -

Recent Publications

"nec, nate, tibi comes ire recuso: Classical Formation and Latin Verse at King’s in the 19th Century.” In Academic Musings: The Legacy of the Euro-Méditerranée: A Festschrift in Celebration of the Reverend Doctor Thomas H. Curran. Eds. P Bryson, Susan Dodd, Neil Robertson. Belfast, PE: Underhill 2019. 269-286.

Si potes exemplo moveri, non propiore potes: Emotional Reciprocity in Le Brun’s Nova Gallia.” In Changing Hearts: Performing Jesuit Emotions between Europe, Asia and the Americas. Eds. Y. Haskell and R. Garrod. Leiden: Brill 2019. 147-166.

"Contemporary Companies outside the Civitas Dei: Augustine’s Pagan Adversaries.” In The Church Visible and Invisible: “The Blessed Company of all Faithful People.” Ed. S. Harris. Charlottetown, P.E.I.: St. Peter Publications, 2017. 75-107.

".&ܴdz; Cahiers des Études Anciennes no. 50 (2013): 139-160.

“.” Dialogues d’histoire ancienne suppl. 8 (2013): 221-258.

The Virgil Encyclopedia,
s.v. Ammianus Marcellinus andHistoria Augusta.Ed. Richard Thomas and Jan Ziowlkowski. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.

Tangence no. 99 (2012): 35-60.

“Origins: From Royal Priesthood to Hellenic Kingship to Roman Sacred Imperium.” InChanging our Mind on Secularization: The Contemporary Debate about sacred and secular in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.Eds. W. Hankey and N. Hatt. Charlottetown, P.E.I.: St. Peter Publications, 2010. 49-69.

“An unnoticed Reminiscence ofAeneid10.517-20 at Ammianus Marcellinus 22.12.6”,Mnemosyne60.4 (2007): 662-668.

“The Goddess of Love and the Poetry of Rome.” inProceedings of the 25thAnnual Atlantic Theological Conference,St. Peter Publications, 2006. 109-134.

“Ammianus Epicus: Virgilian Allusion in theRes Gestae,” Phoenix60.3-4 (2006): 274-303.
. Ottawa: Senate of Canada, 2006.

Reviews

Review: Kelly, G. 2008.Ammianus Marcellinus: The Allusive Historian.(Cambridge Classical Studies) Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Mnemosyne64.2 (2011), 345-350.

.The Classical Review(forthcoming 65.1, 2015).

Review: Matthews, J. 2007.The Roman Empire of Ammianus Marcellinus.With a New Introduction.Rev. ed. Ann Arbor: Michigan Classical Press. Pp. xvi + 608. US $87.00. ISBN 978-0-9799713-2-7.Mouseion53.9.3 (2009): 350-354.

Review: Ursula K. LeGuin.Lavinia.Orlando: Harcourt, 2008. Infomonkey Book Reviews, January 26, 2010,

Review:. Mnemosyne Supplementa, 289.Bryn Mawr Classical Review.[Sept. 17, 2008;]

Review:A Companion to Catullus.Edited by Marilyn B. Skinner. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World. Malden and Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2007. xxvi, 590 pages. $191.99.The H Review88.3 (2008):453-455.

Review:վ’sAeneid: Decorum. Allusion, and Ideology,by Wendell Clausen.The H Review84.2 (2003): 315-318.

Review:Climbing Parnassus,by Tracy Lee Simmons.The H Review83.3 (2003): 449-451.