Craig Timothy Jendza

Craig Jendza
  • Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies

Contact Info

Wescoe Hall, room #1025

Biography —

I received my MA and PhD in Classics from Ohio State University, as well as two undergraduate degrees in Classics and business management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. My research and teaching interests are diverse and interdisciplinary, seeking to analyze the ancient world within a variety of frameworks: Greek drama, mythology, magic, witchcraft, linguistics, humor, and horror.

Education —

Classics (Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean), Ohio State University, 2013, Columbus, OH
Classics, Ohio State University, 2010, Columbus, OH
Classical Civilization (Minors: Greek, Latin), University of Massachusetts, 2007, Amherst, MA
Business Management, University of Massachusetts, 2007, Amherst, MA

Research —

My book project, Paracomedy: Appropriations of Comedy in Greek Tragedy (Oxford University Press, 2020), explores the relationship between the literary and performed genres of ancient Greek tragedy and comedy, and to a lesser extent, satyr drama. I examine the previously overlooked practice of paracomedy: how Greek tragedians composed some of their tragedies by appropriating tropes from Greek comedy, such as comic costumes, scenes, and language. While scholars regularly note the way that comedy satirizes tragedy (paratragedy), they have ignored the possibility of appropriations from comedy into tragedy. This book seeks to cross the Classics sub-disciplines of tragedy and comedy and to treat Greek drama holistically by demonstrating that paracomedy was a productive phenomenon and prominent feature in Greek tragedy.

Research interests:

  • Greek Drama (especially Euripides and Aristophanes)
  • Greek Myth, Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft
  • Indo-European Linguistics

Teaching —

I teach a wide variety of courses at KU in Greek language and literature. Most recently, I developed new undergraduate courses on Ancient Epic Tales, Ethics in Greek Tragedy, and Ancient Magic and Witches, and graduate seminars on Aristophanes and Euripides. In my teaching, I endeavor to create an engaging and collaborative learning environment.

Teaching interests:

  • Greek Language and Literature
  • Greek Mythology, Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft
  • Ancient Epic Tales
  • Ethics in Greek Tragedy
  • Euripides
  • Aristophanes

Selected Publications —

Jendza, Craig T. Paracomedy: Appropriations of Comedy in Greek Drama. Oxford University Press, 2020.
Jendza, Craig T. “Aristophanic Incongruities.” Aristophanic Humour: Theory and Practice, edited by Peter Swallow and Edith Hall, Bloomsbury, 2020, pp. 39–52.
Jendza, Craig T. “</i>Bearing Razors and Swords: Paracomedy in Euripides’ Orestes.” American Journal of Philology, vol. 136.3, 2015, pp. 447–68.
Jendza, Craig T. “</i>Supplemental Persuasive Analogies in PGM V. 70-95.” Archiv Für Religionsgeschichte, vol. 15, 2014, pp. 247–68.
Jendza, Craig T. “Theseus the Ionian in Bacchylides 17 and Indo-Iranian Apam Napat.” Journal of Indo-European Studies, vol. 41, 2013, pp. 431–57.

Selected Presentations —

Jendza, C. T. (3/25/2020 - 3/28/2020). Art-Horror in Aeschylus' Eumenides. Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS). Birmingham, AL (held virtually due to COVID-19)
Jendza, C. T. (1/27/2020). What Sounds Funny to the Ancient Greeks?. University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Greensboro, NC
Jendza, C. T. (4/6/2019). Comedy and Transgression in Aeschylus' Oresteia. Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS). Lincoln, NE
Jendza, C. T. (5/31/2018 - 6/2/2018). Humour Through Sound. Workshop for Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek Humour, Université Catholique de Louvain. Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Jendza, C. T. (4/13/2018). Satyr Drama, Tragedy, and Comedy in Euripides' Alcestis. Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS). Albuquerque, NM
Jendza, C. T. (4/21/2018). What Sounds Funny to Aristophanes?. What’s So Funny? Discovering and Interpreting Humor in the Ancient World Conference, Ohio State University. Columbus, OH
Jendza, C. T. (7/4/2017). Aristophanic Incongruities. Aristophanic Laughter: How Was/Is Old Comedy Funny Symposium. King's College, London, England
Jendza, C. T. (1/7/2017). The Etymology and Origins of Aphrodite. Society for Classical Studies (SCS). Toronto, Canada

Service —

I currently serve as the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Classics Department and as the Vice-President of Kansas for CAMWS.