معرفی
David Elmer is the Eliot Professor of Greek Literature at Harvard University, serving concurrently as Director of Undergraduate Studies in Classics and Faculty Dean of Eliot House. His research focuses on archaic Greek epic and lyric poetry, ancient novels, South Slavic oral traditions, and contemporary literary theory. He curates the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature and edits the open-access journal Oral Tradition.
Elmer’s work bridges classical and modern oral traditions, emphasizing narrative structure in Homeric epics and ethical dimensions in ancient novels. He has conducted fieldwork in South Slavic oral epic since the late 1990s, integrating ethnographic methods into classical scholarship. His publications explore collective decision-making in the Iliad, modern reinterpretations of oral performance, and theoretical frameworks for analyzing multilayered narratives.
As an educator, Elmer supervises undergraduate classics programs and fosters interdisciplinary approaches to ancient literature. His recent collaborative volume (2024) re-examines oral traditions in contemporary contexts, reflecting his dual focus on antiquity and modern ethnographic practices.
