Classics' Lee Burnett Successfully Defends Doctoral Dissertation 'Satur(n-alic-i)a Regna'
The Â鶹AV School of Arts and Sciences is pleased to congratulate Lee Burnett of Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies for successfully defending his doctoral dissertation on December 5th. His dissertation, Satur(n-alic-i)a Regna: The Neronian Grotesque and the Satires of Seneca, Persius, and Petronius, takes a look at the satires written in Latin during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero (1st century CE) through the lens of Bakhtin's theory of the grotesque. Lee's scholarship is a departure from prevailing opinion on Roman satire, suggesting that contemporary satirists of this era were full-fledged and enthusiastic participants in Nero's new approach to the arts. This leads to new readings of the satirists as more festive and as celebrating a rebirth in literature under Nero. Congratulations Lee!