Draft:Joel Christensen



Joel Christensen is the Senior Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs within the School of Arts and Sciences at Brandeis University. He writes on language, myth, literature, and Homer, and translation of ancient texts, particularly through the blog Sententiae Antiquae. He is a regular contributor to the newspaper Neos Kosmos. He received his BA and MA (2001) from Brandeis University, where he was a major in Classics and English. His 2007 PhD is in Classics from New York University. While at NYU, he also received an Advanced Certificate in Poetics and Theory. Professor Christensen was a Fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies in 2013 and in the same year received the Society for Classical Studies’ Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Collegiate Level. He focuses on ancient myth, Homer, folklore, and epic.

Biography
Christensen was born in Maine and educated at Brandeis University and New York University. He teaches at Brandeis University and lives near Boston. He taught previously at the University of Texas at San Antonio from 2007-2016. He then returned to Brandeis University to become a Professor of Classical Studies. He was promoted to Senior Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, School of Arts and Sciences, at Brandeis University, in 2024.

Academic Publications
Christensen publishes on Greek epic and myth. His 2007 dissertation at NYU was titled, “The Failure of Speech: Rhetoric and Politics in the Iliad," as advised by David Sider. In addition to articles on language, myth and literature in the Homeric epics, he has published a Beginner’s Guide to Homer with Elton Barker, and also Homer’s Thebes with Barker. He published A Commentary on the Homeric Battle of Frogs and Mice with Bloomsbury in 2018 with co-writer Erik Robinson. His book The Many-Minded Man: the Odyssey, Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic came out in 2020 with Cornell University Press. In 2023, he contributed to the edited volume The Oxford Critical Guide to Homer's Iliad. He has published numerous journal articles, including those in Classical World and Arethusa.

Public Facing Work
Christensen has a Classics blog that provides original translations and analysis of ancient texts called Sententiae Antiquae. He has done numerous radio spots, including WNPR’s The Colin McEnroe Show, and a podcast for the Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness show called "What Were The Very First Olympics Like?" with Professors Sarah E. Bond and Joel Christensen. He has written for Inside Higher Ed and other public media. He writes regularly for Neos Kosmos and The Conversation. He has written for the Los Angeles Review of Books and done numerous webinars on Homer. In partnership with Out of Chaos Theatre, the Center for Hellenic Studies, and the Kosmos Society, he served as the host and faculty consultant for Reading Greek Tragedy Online, a series that performs Greek tragedy online through YouTube.