Current Graduate Students

At present his interests lie in Roman Epic, particularly Statius' Thebaid, Roman satire, and in the literary and philological analysis and interpretation of Plato’s dialogues. He is firmly committed to the notion that strong philological skills are necessary for solid interpretations of Ancient Latin and Greek texts. Upon completion of his MA at Texas Tech, he hopes to pursue a PhD in Classical literature and philology.

Brian has completed two baccalaureate programs. He received both a BS in Biological Science and a BA in Political Science–International Relations, obtaining cum laude honors for each degree. He has a strong interest in battlefield archaeology. Tales from classical authors such as Velleius Paterculus and Cassius Dio are his favorite source material for understanding many campaigns in the ancient world. Brian plans to continue fostering his interests by pursuing a PhD in Archaeology.

Steve Burham is from Dallas and his undergraduate major was in Classics with a minor in International Studies. He enjoys Tacitus and Lucian, as well as absurd and existentialist literature. He will be presenting a paper on Camus and Caligula at the CAMWS conference in April 2007. He does a show on the university radio station called Vintage Radio, which specializes in music from the 20's to the 80's.

Kirk Essary graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy, including minors in Classics, Religion, and Ancient and Medieval Studies, from Oklahoma State University .

His interests in Classics include Aristophanes, Plato, and the Early Church. He is writing an MA thesis on Origen. Outside interests include Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Mozart, and bicycles. Upon completing the MA in Classics, Kirk plans to pursue a PhD focusing on philosophy and theology in Christian antiquity.

Adrian Hargrove earned a B.A. from Texas Tech University in December 2006, double-majoring in English and Classics with Latin and minoring in Classics with Greek. Her interests in the Classical area lie mainly in translating and interpreting Greek texts. Adrian’s current TA appointment is preparing her to study her favorite Latin authors, Propertius and Tibullus.

She will be traveling abroad in the Summer of 2007 to visit the tomb and temple sites she studied during her undergraduate work.Upon completion of her M.A., Adrian plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Classics focusing on Greek texts.

Stephen Kiepke received in May 2006 a B.A. in English Literature cum laude from the University of Texas at Tyler. He intends to pursue a PhD at an institution outside Texas. In his spare time he watches too many movie and engages quietly yet unapologetically in creative writing.

Shane Morgan graduated magna cum laude from the University of Oklahoma in May 2006 with a B. A. in Classics and Letters. His research interests include the history and literature of the Late Republic. In his spare time, he is interested in the art of children's books and in Oklahoma football

Travis Rodgers graduated summa cum laude from Kutztown University (Kutztown, PA) in 2003, majoring in Philosophy. He earned his Philosophy M.A. at Texas Tech in 2006, with his final paper examining Aristotle's account of sensory perception.

In fall 2005, he entered the Classics MA program; his interests in Classical Studies include close study of the texts of Aristotle, Plato, and Homer. Upon completion of his M.A., Travis plans to pursue a PhD, focusing on ancient philosophy.

He recently presented a paper entitled "Invariance and Evidential Restrictions: An Alternative Bayesian Solution to the Raven Paradox". It was at the 2006 Florida State University Philosophy Graduate Student Conference.

Travis is currently the Editorial Assistant for Intertexts, a journal of comparative and theoretical reflection published by Texas Tech University Press and is also the Classics Graduate Student Representative for the year. He spends his free time working out and writing fiction.