Department of Classics

Anthony Smith is a PhD candidate in the Classics Department and serves as a Beginning Latin instructor. He received his MA in Classics from the University of Florida and his BA in Classics from Boston College. His research interests center on Vergilian and Ovidian metapoetics, pedagogy, and the influences of ancient literature on modern science fiction (with a focus on katabasis and the underworld). His current dissertation has the working title “The Ancient Underworld on Contemporary Stages: Katabasis and the Orphic Mistake.” He was the recipient of the UF Graduate Student Teaching Award for the 2021/2022 academic year. He is the instructor of the Honors course OCRA (One Credit to Rule Them All) [Fall 2023-2024] and (un)Common Reads courses on Homer’s Odyssey [Spring 2024] and Ovid’s love poetry [Summer-Fall 2024]. He also serves as a Preview Graduate Assistant with UF Preview Orientation and as an instructor in the First Year Florida program.