Across scholarship and public life
I am an Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Texas at Austin, where I have taught since receiving my Ph.D. from Yale in 2009. I specialize in Roman historiography, particularly Livy, republican political culture and the literary art of historical prose.
My research asks how historians work with evidence: how they acknowledge uncertainty, choose between traditions, cite earlier writers and turn contested material into authoritative narrative. Those questions also drive my work beyond the university.
I am currently completing Livy and the Poetics of Citation, under contract with Cambridge University Press, and Livy, under contract in De Gruyter’s Trends in Classical Scholarship series.
I write for general audiences about the ancient world, politics, higher education, books and cultural life. My work has appeared in The Guardian, CNN, USA Today, The Hill, the Los Angeles Review of Books and other outlets. I have appeared on the History Channel, NPR, podcasts and video, and have designed public and professional workshops.
As a historical story consultant, I help creative teams understand not only whether a detail is “accurate,” but what kind of evidence lies behind it, which alternatives exist and where historical constraints can produce a better dramatic choice.
At a glance
Research
Roman historiography, Livy, political narrative, citation, source criticism and classical reception.
Public work
Essays, criticism, podcasts, interviews, talks and workshops for audiences inside and outside the university.
Consulting
Historical and source-sensitive story advice for film, television, podcasts, publishing and other creative projects.
The recurring questions
Who gets to tell the story? What evidence survives? What has been left out? Why does one version persuade us more than another?
Explore the work
Story consulting
Writing & media
Academic work
