John Jack Winkler (11 August 1943, in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

– 26 April 1990, in

Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University. The population was 21,150 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. Stanford is ...

) was an American

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

and

Benedictine monk , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

. Winkler studied classical studies at

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

from 1960 to 1963 and then went to England, where he joined a Benedictine order. In 1966 he returned to the United States and taught at

Saint Louis Priory School , image = , address = 500 South Mason Road , city = Creve Coeur , state = Missouri , zipcode = 63141 , country = United States , ...

until 1970. In 1970, he left the Benedictines and participated in a graduate program in Ancient Philology at the University of Texas, Austin. In 1974 he graduated with the thesis ''In Pursuit of Nymphs: Comedy and Sex in Nonnos' "Tales of Dionysos"''. He then served as assistant professor at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. In 1979 Winkler was appointed to a professorship at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. He taught there until his death from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

at the age of 46. In his research, Winkler dealt with the social functions of Attic dramas and the portrayal of sexual conventions and gender roles in ancient Greece. His book ''The Constraints of Desire'' reached many readers outside the academic world. He donated half of the book's income to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. At his behest, a gay and lesbian working group was established at the US Association of Ancient Philologists. After his death, the John J. Winkler Memorial Trust was founded to in his memory, which awards the John J. Winkler Memorial Prize. He was criticised by

Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia (; born April 2, 1947) is an American feminist academic and social critic. Paglia has been a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1984. She is critical of many aspects of modern cultur ...

in her essay "Junk Bonds and Corporate Raiders: Academe in the Hour of the Wolf".

Books

Single-authored books *''The Constraints of Desire: The Anthropology of Sex and Gender in Ancient Greece'' (1990) Co-edited volumes * ''Nothing to do with Dionysos? Athenian Drama in Its Social Context''. (1990)

Awards

* Goodwin Award of Merit (1989) from the

American Philological Association The Society for Classical Studies (SCS), formerly known as the American Philological Association (APA) is a non-profit North American scholarly organization devoted to all aspects of Greek and Roman civilization founded in 1869. It is the preemine ...

References

External links

Entry for John J. Winkler in the Database of Classical ScholarsObituary by Mark Edwards, Marsh McCall and Susan Stephens, Stanford University (PDF file, 79 kB)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkler, John J. 1943 births 1990 deaths American philologists Benedictine monks AIDS-related deaths in California