Taylor

Taylor received his Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Cincinnati and also holds a B.A. in Classics from Carleton College. Since graduating college in 2006, Taylor has taught writing, Latin, Ancient Greek, and Classical Civilization courses at high school and college levels. He has a deep interest in the cultures, languages, and literatures of ancient Greece and Rome, and brings enthusiasm to his classrooms and tutoring sessions. Taylor is an expert in the poetry of ancient Greece and has published articles in leading scholarly journals. Taylor was a professor at the University of Tennessee, but recently relocated to the D.C. region and will be teaching at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County starting in the fall of 2018.

From Homer to Erasmus, the study of the ancient Mediterranean world is a sustained series of conversations with those whose words helped shape the present (the world as we know it) and whose message remains relevant into the future (the world as we imagine it). In all of his courses, Taylor aims to make these potential conversations dynamic rather than one-sided, by helping his students uncover connections with the past: connections between historical events and social developments. between literature and intellectual and artistic trends, and between the ancient world and their own. When students successfully draw connections between their work for the course and larger ideas or issues they often become more invested in the work required to acquire intellectual facility in the topic. All of Taylor’s pedagogical strategies are dedicated to teaching students, through cooperative and hands-on means, to engage in conversations with the past, by asking questions of and seeking connections between the evidence we have at our disposal for ancient Greek and Roman culture. The emphasis on asking questions, rather than repeating accepted facts, encourages students to examine and engage with the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean. In doing so, students develop a stake in the material they are learning, which in turn results in mastery. The ability to inquisitively engage with a problem or issue is a skill that will benefit Taylor’s students long after they leave his classroom or tutoring session.

Outside of reading, writing, and talking about the ancient world, Taylor enjoys taking walks with his dogs Millie and Chester, cooking, hiking, and checking out new coffee shops.