Boris is a 3rd year graduate student in the Comparative Literature PhD program. His interests in ancient Greek and Latin literature—especially Homer and Archaic Greek poetry—continue to inform his study of later traditions.
 His Master’s thesis investigated the adaptations of Greek mythic figures in the 20th century epic of Nikos Kazantzakis and the philosophical treatise of his contemporary Albert Camus. Before beginning his PhD at Stanford, Boris taught English and Latin in a private high school in Istanbul, Turkey.
In his dissertation, he is exploring and developing a different approach to epic: as a form of world-building narrative that exists beyond the confines of what we typically call literature. His comparanda for the project include the Homeric epics, the Biblical scriptures, the scientific narrative of evolutionary biology, and the emergence of the fantasy fiction genre in the 20th century.
 
His conference presentations include:
 

“The Maker of Plots: Classicizing Borges”, 2012 American Comparative Literature Association Seminar, Providence, RI. (March 2012)

“Thanatos to Charos: A Modern Greek Author’s Adaptation of Death in Antiquity”, 2011 Modern Greek Studies Association Symposium, New York, NY. (October 2011)

“Sleep and Death: the Reception of Homer by Nikos Kazantzakis”, 2011 Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association Convention, Scottsdale, AZ. (October 2011)