Ruby Blondell is

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, Adjunct Professor of

Gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

Women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

, &

Sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

Studies, and Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood Professor of Humanities at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. Their research and teaching centres on Greek intellectual history, gender studies, and the reception of ancient myth in contemporary culture.

Career

Blondell completed their BA and MA in Classics at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(1978 and 1981, respectively), before receiving their PhD from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1984. Their doctoral thesis was entitled ''Helping Friends and Harming Enemies: A Study in Sophocles and Greek Ethics''. Upon the completion of their PhD, Blondell was a lecturer at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, before moving to the University of Washington in 1985, where they have taught ever since. Their current teaching responsibilities are centred on topics of Greek literature (especially

Greek tragedy Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...

), and Greek intellectual history and culture. Blondell has held various positions within the

Society for Classical Studies 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 ...

(formerly the American Philological Society) and the

Women's Classical Caucus The Women's Classical Caucus, Inc. (WCC) is an affiliate of the American Philological Association, the organization for North American scholars and teachers of Greek and Latin language, literature, and culture (known as "classicists"), Greek and R ...

; and they are also a current administrator for the

Lambda Classical Caucus Lambda (}, ''lám(b)da'') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave rise ...

Research Publications

Blondell has published widely on topics of Greek intellectual history, gender studies, and the reception of myth in contemporary culture. including the following three monographs: * ''Helen of Troy: Beauty, Myth, Devastation'' (Oxford University Press, 2013). * ''The Play of Character in Plato's Dialogues'' (Cambridge University Press, 2002). * ''Helping Friends and Harming Enemies: A Study in Sophocles and Greek Ethics'' (Cambridge University Press, 1989), published under previous name Mary Whitlock Blundell. Their current research project, developed from their 2015 Martin Lectures at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, focuses on the representation of

Helen of Troy Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...

in popular film and television. Blondell has edited several collections focused on gender and sexuality in the ancient world: * ''Humoerotica'', co-edited with Sandra Boehringer (Archimede 5, 2018). * ''Ancient Sex: New Essays'', co-edited with Kirk Ormand - part of the ''Classical Memories/Modern Identities'' series (Ohio University Press, 2015). * ''Queer Icons from Greece and Rome'' (Helios 35.2, 2008). * ''Ancient Mediterranean Women in Modern Mass Media,'' co-edited with Mary-Kay Gamel (Helios 32.2, 2005). They have also produced several translations of the works of

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

and

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...

, including: * ''Sophocles: The Theban Plays, Antigone, King Oidipous, Oidipous at Colonus''; Updated Translations with Introductory Essay and Notes (Focus Classical Library, Newburyport MA 2002). * ''Sophocles: Oidipous at Colonus, Translated with Introduction, Notes and Interpretive Essay'' (first published 1990; revised edition 2002; Focus Classical Library, Newburyport MA). * ''Women on the Edge: Four Plays by Euripides,'' co-authored with Bella Zweig, Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz and Mary-Kay Gamel (Routledge, New York and London 1999).

Media

Blondell has featured in the following media broadcasts discussing their research: * Letter of Liberty Podcast, Episode 19, discussing 'Helen of Troy' (2018). * Interviewed for 'Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines', directed by Kristy Guevara-Flanagan (2012).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blondell, Ruby Living people Alumni of the University of Oxford American classical scholars Year of birth missing (living people)