Francesca D’Alessandro Behr

Francesca D’Alessandro Behr is a Professor of Classics and Italian Studies at the University of Houston, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Her research focuses on epic, gender studies, reception theory, satire, narratology, and comparative literature. She holds a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo (2000) and undergraduate studies from Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” (1988–1991).

Her work explores intersections between classical texts and modern interpretations, such as analyzing Lucan’s Bellum Civile through stoic philosophy and gender lenses. She has published widely on Roman literature, including studies on Persius’ satire and interdisciplinary approaches to ancient mythology. Her book Feeling History: Lucan, Stoicism and the Aesthetics of Passion (2007) examines emotional dynamics in classical epic.

Dr. Behr is an active member of academic organizations like the American Philological Association and the Texas Classical Association, contributing to both scholarly discourse and teaching.