Overview
Sara Merker is a first-year PhD student concentrating in Classical Philology and Literature. She graduated with Distinction from McGill University (2020), receiving a B.A. with First Class Honours in Honours Classics. During her undergraduate degree, Sara conducted archaeological fieldwork at the Salapia Exploration Project (Trinitapoli, Italy) and worked as a Research Assistant for Prof. Heidi Wendt (Religious Studies/Classical Studies) under an ARIA research grant. Sara aims to research the literature of the ‘so-called’ Second Sophistic period, with a special focus on how Apuleius’ Apologia fits within this literary movement. She additionally hopes to examine how the Apologia’s implementation of comedy contributes to the effectiveness of its court-room rhetoric, as well as the religious implications of Apuleius’ defense and the instances in which he enlists material objects to support his arguments.
Classical Literature and Philology Concentration