Matt Ludwig

Matt Ludwig is a specialist in Greek tragedy who will be teaching courses this year in Greek, Latin, the reception of Greek tragedy, and classical civilization. His dissertation, Aesthetics in Action: Sophocles’ Conception of Tragic Plot and Character, locates traces of an early theory of tragedy enacted in Sophoclean drama. In his study, Matt argues that Sophocles’ theory of tragedy, while concerned with the same components as Aristotle’s Poetics, diverges significantly from what the philosopher will argue a century later and has its own set of philosophical implications. Beyond Sophocles, Greek tragedy, and the history of aesthetics, Matt is interested in the Graeco-Roman poetic tradition writ large and classical reception. Currently Matt is researching translation as a form of classical reception—specifically the nebulous figure of the ‘celebrity translator’—as a member of an international research group based in Toronto, Gießen, and Pisa. Additionally, he is preparing a short chapter for the same research group on the unique pedagogical challenges and opportunities that come with teaching classical literature to students who have no knowledge of Greek or Latin.

Publications:

• (Under contract). “Celebrity Translation” in Translating Latin and Greek: A Guide for Classicists and Others. Ed. M. Revermann. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
• (Under contract). “Teaching in Translation” in Translating Latin and Greek: A Guide for Classicists and Others. Ed. M. Revermann. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
• “‘Where do these warrish hands and heart of Venus come from?’ Statius’ subversion of Ovidian militia amoris in the Thebaid.” Past Imperfect 25 (2023): 3-26.