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I was born into a Canadian army family and grew up in Canada, Germany, and England. I got the chance to learn Greek and Latin at Sherborne School in Dorset and subsequently studied classics (Literae Humaniores) at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and ancient history at King's College London. After that I moved to California, where I studied political theory and wrote a PhD thesis on Athenian democracy under Professor Josiah Ober. Since coming to Wellington in 2013 I have continued to research and teach in the field of ancient Greek democracy, and I also oversee the Victoria Ancient Theatre Society (VATS), which produces an ancient play every year. I try to get to Athens whenever I can; in 2016 I was Early Career Fellow at the British School at Athens, and I have also spent time at the American School and the German and Canadian Institutes, as well as volunteering with the Agora Excavations and Museum.

My main interest is in ancient Greek democracy and what we might learn from it today. As a consequence, I spend a lot of time immersing myself in the history and culture of the largest, most important, and best documented ancient democracy, classical Athens. I also try to keep up with contemporary developments in the study of democracy in fields such as comparative politics and political theory.

Experience

  • –present
    Lecturer in Classics, Victoria University of Wellington

Education

  • 2013 
    Stanford, PhD