DAVID F. BRIGHT

Office:
221E Candler Library

Phone:
404.727.4404

E-Mail:
dbright@emory.edu

Education
1962 B.A. Honours (5-year Honours curriculum) University of Manitoba
1963 A.M. University of Cincinnati
1967 Ph.D. University of Cincinnati

Honors, Recognitions, Awards
1960 Skuli Johnson Gold Medal, Classics (University of Manitoba)
1962 University of Manitoba Gold Medalist
1962-63 Woodrow Wilson Fellow
1963-64 Canada Council Research Fellow (declined)
1965-66 Semple Traveling Fellow, American Academy in Rome
1974-75 Research Fellow, University of Cincinnati
1981-82 American Council of Learned Societies Fellow
1982 (elected) Society of Fellows, American Academy in Rome
1987 Delmas Foundation Scholar (for study in Venice)
1993 Phi Beta Kappa (Honorary election: Gamma of Georgia)
2006 Ovatio, Classical Association of the Middle West and South
Cuttino Medal for Distinction in Mentoring, Emory University

Academic Positions
Present position:
Emeritus Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature
Professor of Medieval Studies
Emory University

Previous faculty positions:
1961-62 Instructor, University of Manitoba
1962 (summer) Instructor, University of Saskatchewan
1963, 65 (summers) Instructor, University of Manitoba
1963-67 Semple Teaching Fellow, University of Cincinnati
1967-70 Assistant Professor of Classics, Williams College
1970-89 Assistant Professor to Professor of the Classics (1970-89) and of Comparative Literature (1985-89), University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
1989-91 Professor of Classical Studies, Iowa State University

Previous Administrative positions:
1977-81 Chair, Department of the Classics, UIUC

1982-83 Acting Director, School of Humanities

1985-88 Chair, Department of the Classics

1986-88 Director, Program in Comparative Literature

1988-89 Acting Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

1989-91 Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University

1991-97 Vice-President for Arts and Sciences and Dean of Emory College, Emory University

1999-2005 Chair, Department of Classics

1999-2001 Co-Director, Comparative Literature Program

Listings
Who's Who in America
International Who's Who

Professional Societies:
American Philological Association
Archaeological Institute of America
President, Central Illinois 1974-76
Classical Association of the Middle West and South
Executive Committee 1985-89, 2000- 04; President 1989
Chair, Development Committee 2000-2004
Chair, Constitutional Revision Task Force 2004-05
Chair, Strategic Planning Task Force 2006-07
Georgia Classical Conference

Vergilian Society
Trustee 1983 86
Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences
Board of Directors 1994-96
President-Elect 1996-97
Association of American Colleges and Universities

Other Professional Activities (selected):
External evaluator of classics programs: The Ohio State University, Indiana University, University of South Florida, University of North Carolina - Greensboro
Accreditation Visiting team (Higher Learning Consortium): University of Chicago
External evaluator for tenure and promotion reviews: Bryn Mawr College, Indiana, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Wesleyan (CT), Northwestern, Southern California, Ball State, Texas Tech etc. etc.
Evaluator for proposals: National Endowment for the Humanities
American Philosophical Society
American Council of Learned Societies
AAC / ABET Conference on Engineering undergraduate curricula

Community Organizations:
World Heritage Museum (Urbana IL): President, Museum Board
Chamber of Commerce (Ames IA): University Relations Council
Atlanta Ballet Company: Board of Directors
Carter Presidential Center (Atlanta): Board of Councilors
Regional Leadership Foundation, Atlanta (Regional Leadership Institute Class of 1994)
International Village (Atlanta): Board of Directors
Savoyards Light Opera (Atlanta): Board of Directors (Vice President)
Atlanta Baroque Orchestra: Board of Directors (Vice President)

Papers, Public Lectures and Conferences (selected)

A. On classical and medieval studies:
1972 "The Veracity of Caesar" University of Illinois High School Latin Conference

1973 "Life in the Greek polis" University of Illinois High School Conference

1974 "A New curricular concentration in Classical Civilization" Illinois Classical Conference

1975 "The mythography of Tibullus" University of Cincinnati Faculty Series

"Tibullus and Vergil" University of Illinois Classics Colloquium

1979 "Tibullus and the Odyssey" Society for Augustan Poetry

1980 "A new approach to the later epyllion" The Ohio State University

1981 "Vergil's other nekyia" Classical Association of the Middle West and South St Louis MO

1982 "The miniature epic in Vandal Africa: some preliminary considerations" University of Illinois Classics Colloquium

1982 "Mythological innovations in the epyllia of Dracontius" American Philological
Association. Boston MA

1983 "Medea goes to Thebes" Indiana University

1984 "The challenge of the Latin cento" Classical Assn. of the Middle West and South.
Williamsburg VA

1985 "The relative chronology of the poems of Dracontius" XX International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo MI

1986 "The distinctiveness of the Roman imagination" Indiana Classical Conference
(Keynote address)

1987 "The Barcelona Alcestis and the poetic tradition" Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Boulder CO

1989 "Tibullus and the Iliad" Society for Augustan Poetry. American Philological Association. New York, NY

1990 "Laws of nature, human laws: the Greek and Roman perspectives" Iowa State University Faculty Lecture Series

2000 "The crucifixion of the poet: Catullus and Eldridge Cleaver" Classical Association of the Middle West and South (Southern Section) Athens GA

"Remembering myself in the words of others" Phi Beta Kappa Initiation address. Gamma of Georgia

2001 "The Paradox of esthetic terror" Forum on The Humanities and Terror. Center for
Humanistic Inquiry. Emory University

2002 "Ulysses Americanus: The Odyssey and Apollo 13" Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Austin TX

"Celestial Word-search: the carmina figurata In honorem Sanctae Crucis of Hrabanus Maurus” Medieval Roundtable, Emory University

2003 "The Odyssey's odyssey" 2003 E.G. Berry Lecture, University of Manitoba

"Going nowhere? Be sure to send pictures" Phi Beta Kappa Initiation address. Gamma of Georgia

2004 "Latin to Latin translation? Hrabanus Maurus's In honorem Sanctae Crucis".
Classical Association of the Middle West and South. St. Louis MO

"Polyphemus's Travels" Classical Association of the Middle West and South (Southern Section). Winston-Salem NC

2005 "On becoming (in)human: Isaac Asimov's I, Robot Emory Alumni Association

2006 "Odysseus off the Map: From Lilliput to outer space" Bruce F. & Ildiko B. Meyer
Memorial Lecture, Ball State University

"Extreme Literacy" 3 hour colloquium, Honors College, Ball State University

"How to get lost on three continents" Emory University Emeritus College Lecture series

"Odysseus in Arizona: Ursula K. LeGuin's City of Illusions" Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Gainesville FL

2007 A Cartography, Geography and Theology" Church of the Redeemer Lecture Series, Greensboro GA

"Multa variarum monstra ferarum: Monsters in the Aeneid" Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Cincinnati OH

On higher education:
1986 "How academics think: similarities and differences" Chancellor's Conference, University of Illinois

1990 "Athletes, decathletes and academics" Iowa Academic Decathlon (Keynote)

"Cooperation in advising and admissions" Regents' Commission on Educational Relations, State of Iowa. Ames IA

"The impact of an international student presence on an American campus" International Student Association Conference.

"The role of Teaching Assistants in the mission of a public university" Iowa State University

1991 "On not trying to live the rest of your life before you graduate" Iowa State University Scholarship Awards

1992 "Whatever happened to and? The perils of multicultural isolationism" Emory University

"Resource management and academic aspiration" Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) Annual Meeting: Tampa FL

"The teaching continuum" Southern Association of Colleges & Schools: Dallas TX

1993 "If I've learned so much, how come I don't know anything worthwhile?" Atlanta
Inquiry Club

"On a clear day you can see a short distance" inauguration of Emory Chapter, Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society

"Curiosity, community and civility" Emory University Freshman Class Convocation

"Reconsidering the criteria for promotion" CCAS Annual Meeting: Cincinnati OH

1994 Faculty: Seminar for New Deans, CCAS. San Diego CA (topics: organization of college administration, relation of college to campus administration)

"Taking pleasure in all our toil" Baccalaureate Address, Emory University

1995 Director and faculty: Seminar for New Deans, CCAS, Williamsburg VA and San Diego CA (topics: faculty retention, administrative relationships)

"Preparing Ph.D.s to teach" CCAS Annual Meeting. Albuquerque NM

1996 Director and faculty: Seminar for New Deans, CCAS, Williamsburg VA and San Diego CA (topics: strategic planning, faculty recruitment)

1997 "Grooming faculty for leadership roles" CCAS Annual Meeting: New Orleans LA

2000 "Keeping up, moving up, or getting out: there are always alternatives" CCAS Annual Meeting: Washington DC

2003 "The perspective and role of the hiring institution." Forum on Professional Placement of graduate Students: The Job Search. Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Lexington KY

Teaching (selected):

Classical Civilization, Comparative Literature, Art History:
Introduction to Greek culture; Origins of Western literature; The heroic tradition; Ancient ideal in art and literature; The Ulysses Theme in western literature; Voices of an Empire (Freshman Seminar); Hell, Nowhere and Outer Space: fantasy & science fiction from Homer=s Odyssey to Star Trek Voyager (Freshman Seminar); Mapping the Fantastic: Exploration and Discovery in Fact, Fiction and Fantasy

Greek: Intermediate Prose; Homer; Lyric poetry; Advanced Greek literature (e.g. Greek literary critics, lyric); Pindar, etc.

Latin: Survey of Latin literature (various levels); Roman historians; Vergil; lyric; elegy; Advanced Latin literature (Vergil; 4th century CE; lyric, elegy, etc.); Lucretius; Livy; mediaeval Latin. Graduate Seminars: Propertius; Tibullus; Caesar; late antique & mediaeval poetry; later Latin literature; etc.

Recognized in UIUC "Incomplete List of Excellent Teachers" for 22 different courses

Supervision of student research:

B.A. thesis committees on Greek literature; archaeology, medieval history, Roman history, comparative literature, early Christianity

M.A. theses directed on Greek art and literature; Longinus; Catullus

M.A. thesis committees on Greek and Latin literature; linguistics; archaeology; papyrology

Ph.D. dissertation committees: Greek literature (Homer to Byzantine); Latin (Republican to mediaeval); Latin palaeography; comparative literature; art history; mediaeval history; Renaissance French; medieval literature (English, Latin, etc).

Ph.D. dissertations directed on Propertius; Ammianus Marcellinus; comparative mythography

External examiner: University of Cincinnati, University of British Columbia

Emory Senior University / Center for Lifelong Learning: courses taught
1999 The Greatest Poem of Western Literature? Vergil=s Aeneid
2000 The Elephant and the Blind Men: Views of a Modern College
2001 Reading Homer=s Odyssey
2002 Lucretius, On the Nature of the Universe
2003 Great Stories from the Middle Ages
2004 Great Themes of Science Fiction
2005 Jason and Gulliver: Two Fabulous Adventurers

RESEARCH

Areas of interest:
Greek and Latin poetry: especially epyllion, elegy
Latin literature of late antiquity
Early mediaeval literature
Higher education administration

Editorial activity:
Editorial Committee, Intertexts
Advisory Editor, Illinois Classical Studies 1979 89
Editorial Committee, University of Oklahoma Press (Classical Studies Series)
Press Reader for books:
American Philological Association
Cornell University Press
Princeton University Press
University Press of Florida
University of North Carolina Press

PUBLICATIONS

A. Books and Monographs

Haec mihi fingebam. Tibullus in his World.
Cincinnati Classical Studies N.S. vol.3. Leiden: Brill 1978. pp. xv + 275

Elaborate Disarray. The Nature of Statius' Silvae.
Beiträge zur klassischen Philologie, Heft 108. Meisenheim 1980. pp. 94

Classical Texts and their Traditions. Studies in Honor of C.R. Trahman.
edd. D.F. Bright and E.S. Ramage. Chico CA 1984 (Scholars Press Homage Series vol. 5) pp. xviii + 251


The Miniature Epic in Vandal Africa
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1987. pp. xv + 296

The Academic Deanship. Individual Careers and Institutional Roles
David F. Bright & Mary P. Richards. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass 2001. Pp. xx + 300

Book in Progress:

Crosswords of Salvation: Hrabanus Maurus, In Honorem Sanctae Crucis. Translation and critical essays.

B. Articles and Chapters

"Aristotle, Poetics 1450a12 14"
American Journal of Philology 92 (1971) 76 80

"The plague and the structure of De rerum natura "
Latomus 30 (1971) 607 632

"A Tibullan Odyssey"
Arethusa 4 (1971) 197 214

"The art and structure of Tibullus I.7"
Grazer Beiträge 3 (1975) 31 46

"Confectum carmine munus: Catullus 68"
Illinois Classical Studies 1 (1976) 86 112

"Non bona dicta: Catullus' poetry of separation"
Quaderni Urbinati di cultura classica 21 (1976) 105 119

"The myths of Bacchylides III"
Classical Folia 30 (1976) 174 190

"A Homeric ambiguity"
Mnemosyne 30 (1978) 423 426

"Ovid vs. Apuleius"
Illinois Classical Studies 6 (1981) 356 66 (Festschrift for Alexander Turyn)

"Aeneas' other nekyia"
Vergilius 27 (1981) 40 47

"Ammianus Marcellinus XXXI. 3.8"
Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire 60 (1982) 143 144

"Allius and Allia"
Rheinisches Museum 125 (1982) 138 140

"Emblems, elephants and Alexander" (with B.C. Bowen)
Studies in Philology 80 (1983) 14 24

"An unpublished manuscript of Moralium dogma philosophorum "
In: Classical Texts and their Traditions (cf. above) 1 6

"Theory and practice in the Vergilian cento"
Illinois Classical Studies 9 (1984) 79 90

"The role of Odysseus in the Panegyricus Messalae "
Quaderni Urbinati di cultura classica NS 17 (1984) 143 154

"Intellectual continuity in Vandal North Africa"
From Hannibal to St. Augustine. Ancient Art of North Africa from the Musée du Louvre (Atlanta 1994) 131-34

"Preparing Faculty for Leadership Roles"
The Department Chair 9.2 (1998) 13-14

"Albius Tibullus"
In: Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 211: Ancient Roman Writers, ed. W. W. Briggs, Jr. (1999) pp. 322-328

"The chronology of the poems of Dracontius"
Classica et Mediaevalia 50 (1999) 193-206

"What is 29 Doradus?"
J. B. Kaler, D. F. Bright et al. Mercury (Astronomical Society of the Pacific) 29.5
(2000) 38-40

"Janus the Dean"
Academic Exchange (September 2001) 4-5

"The crucifixion of the Poet: Catullus and Eldridge Cleaver"
in Daimonopylai. Essays in Classics and the Classical tradition Presented to Edmund G. Berry, ed. R.B. Egan and Mark Joyal (Winnipeg, 2004)

"Emblems, elephants and Alexander" [cf. 1983]: reprinted in B. C. Bowen, Humour and
Humanism in the Renaissance (Aldershot: Ashgate Variorum, 2004) XXV. 14-24

In progress:

"Ulysses Americanus: The Odyssey and Apollo 13"

"The Alcestis Barcinonensis as a transitional epyllion"

"Dracontiana" (textual and literary topics on Dracontius of Carthage)

C. Reviews

J. Sarkissian, Catullus 68: An Interpretation. Mnemosyne Suppl. LXXVI (1983)
Mnemosyne 39 (1986) 509 513

D. Abstracts

"Mythological innovation in the epyllia of Dracontius"
American Philological Association Papers 1982 (Philadelphia) 16

"The Barcelona Alcestis and the poetic tradition"
Classical Association of the Middle West and South Papers (1987)