Yukai Li
Associate Professor
| Degrees: | A.B. (Princeton), M.St. (Oxford), Ph.D. (Yale) |
| Email: | YukaiLi@cunet.carleton.ca |
| Office: | 2A56 Paterson Hall |
Biography
I am a scholar of Greek literature and the Homeric epics in particular, although I also enjoy teaching a broader range of courses including language and history. In addition, I have strong interests in literary theory and contemporary continental philosophy. I am currently working on a book about Homeric poetics, the scholarship on oral traditional poetry, and the work of French philosopher Gilles Deleuze.
Research interests
My research interests lie between classical studies, literary theory, and continental philosophy. My first book,聽Future Fame in the Iliad: Epic Time and Homeric Studies, was published by聽Bloomsbury Academic in 2022. My most recent articles have been on Homer, Theocritus, and Deleuze.
Publications and presentations
Monographs
2022:听Future Fame in the Iliad: Epic Time and Homeric Studies.聽Bloomsbury Academic
Articles
2025: 鈥淗elpless spectators in the Odyssey and the cinematic image of time.鈥澛�Classical Antiquity聽44.1: 66鈥�93.
2023: 鈥淧astoral between words and things: Theocritus, ekphrasis, and ontology.鈥澛�Classical Philology聽118.1: 27-51.
2019: 鈥淭he distraction of pastoral and Theocritus鈥� painted world.鈥澛�Classical Philology聽114. 3: 383-405.
2018: 鈥淭he silence of the muse.鈥澛�Arethusa聽51. 2: 91-115.
Book reviews
2021: Review of Loney, Alexander A. 2019.聽The Ethics of Revenge and the Meaning of the Odyssey.聽 Oxford.聽Classical Journal.
2020: Review of Ready, Jonathan L. 2019.聽Orality, Textuality, and the Homeric Epics. Oxford.聽Phoenix.
2019: Review of Grethlein, J. 2017.聽Die Odyssee: Homer und die Kunst des Erz盲hlens. M眉nchen.聽Journal of Hellenic Studies聽139: 233-234.
Selected recent presentations
Upcoming: “Ontological requirements for the Homeric oral tradition” (Classical Association of Canada)
2026: “Pivotal counterfactuals in the Iliad and Homeric science fiction” (Society for Classical Studies)
2023: 鈥淔orking time and spectatorship in the Odyssey鈥� (Society for Classical Studies)
2023: “Beyond the action-image: Odysseus as spectator in Deleuze鈥檚 Cinema鈥� (McGill University)
2021: 鈥淚liadic fame and the splitting of time鈥� (Classical Association of the Middle West and South)