Research

I work on John Milton, ethical criticism, and virtue ethics, with a particular interest in how literature shapes moral character. My approach is philosophical rather than archival: I read Milton alongside Aristotle and the classical tradition's moral psychology. My secondary areas are classical reception, metacriticism, and the philosophy of language.

Dissertation

"Milton’s Eudaimonia: Paradise Lost and Moral Psychology"

PhD in English, University of Birmingham (expected May 2027). Supervisors: Hugh Adlington, Peter Auger, and Sheldon Brammall.

Moral psychology rarely draws on literature, but “Paradise Lost” offers one of its best test cases. Reading Milton’s epic through Aristotelian virtue ethics, my dissertation argues that Satan’s self-justifying narratives bar him from eudaimonia, while Adam and Eve in Eden model a life of authentic virtue, one the poem invites its readers to desire for themselves. I argue that literature should shape how virtue ethics theorizes moral psychology rather than merely illustrate it.

Selected Presentations

“Teaching Philosophy in the Age of AI.” American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division, March 2027 (accepted).

“Milton’s Virtuous Cosmopolitanism.” Conference on John Milton, October 2026.

“Milton’s Humorlessness and the Hyper-Ironic Age: Reconsidering Areopagitica.” Renaissance Society of America, February 2026.

“Philip Sidney’s Revenge.” Sixteenth Century Society, November 2025.

“Ethical Canonicity.” Midwest Modern Language Association, Literary Criticism Permanent Section, November 2025.

Publications

Review of "Against Better Judgment." LSE Review of Books, 2024.

Earlier Work

MA thesis, University of Colorado Boulder: “Two Propositions for Total Semantics” (philosophy of language).

Public Writing and Teaching

I write about literary humanism and education on my Substack. I also lead Great Books seminars for the Catherine Project, and my syllabi are on the Teaching page.