Stijn Praet (°1986) is a Visiting Professor of Latin at Ghent University. He is currently doing research on Latin homoerotic poetry from Antiquity to the Italian Renaissance, while teaching a course on the history of classical reception in European culture. He is also envolved in the development of a project on translation scholar and gay activist James Holmes (with Jack McMartin, KULeuven).

Praet holds a BA in Latin and English (Ghent University, 2007), an MA in Comparative Modern Literature (Ghent University, 2008), an advanced MA in Literary Studies (University of Leuven, 2009), and a PhD in Literary Studies (Ghent University, 2014). His doctoral dissertation 'Fairy Tales and the Latin Tradition: A Literary-Contextualising Approach' considers some of the parallels and intersections between premodern Latin literature and the vernacular fairy tale tradition as it developed from Early Modernity onward.

After obtaining his doctorate, Praet was employed at Stockholm University as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Latin literature (2016-2018), and at Harvard University as a Visiting Scholar with the Standing Committee on Medieval Studies (2017), where he pursued research on the multi-narrative organisation of high medieval Latin tale compilations. He then returned to Ghent University as a Doctor-Assistant (2018-2020) and Visiting Professor (2021-) in the Department of Literary Studies.

Praet is the author of various articles and book chapters on Latin homoerotic poetry, translation and reception studies, and Latin and vernacular fairy tales, as well as co-editor of essay collections in Latin and fairy tale studies. Over the years, he has taught a variety of topics, including courses pertaining to the Latin tradition in Europe (late antiquity to modernity), medieval Latin literature, the writings of Cicero and Caesar, the medieval and early modern reception of Vergil and Ovid, Latin homoerotic poetry, Latin reading and research skills, fairy tales, and the theory and practice of literary translation (from Latin and Greek into Dutch, see https://doi.org/10.1017/S2058631020000392 and https://www.cliv.be/nl/o...).

He sits on the editorial board of JOLCEL (Journal of Latin Cosmopolitanism and European Literatures, https://jolcel.ugent.be/) and previously served as research coordinator of the international platform RELICS (Researchers of European Literary Identity, Cosmopolitanism and the Schools, https://relicsresearch.com/). He is also active as a literary translator of Latin poetry. Radio interview in Dutch pertaining to his latest book 'Lieve Ganymedes: homo-erotische gedichten uit de middeleeuwen': https://radio1.be/luister/select/nieuwe-feiten/homo-erotische-gedichten-...

Projecten

Projecten als doctoraatsonderzoeker

Multi-narrative organisation in high medieval Latin tale compilations (2016 - 2018)
Fairy tales and the Latin tradition. A literary-contextualising approach (2009 - 2014)

Publicaties

Meest recente publicaties

Volledige bibliografie

Onderwijs

BA:

Latin Language Acquisition II, with Frédéric Van Vosselen: Working off the writings of Livy and Caesar, students acquire the ‘positional reading method’ which allows them to detect normative classical sentence structures and their stylistic variations.
Reading Latin Texts, with Frédéric Van Vosselen: Through the writings of Cicero, students acquire theoretical and practical insight into how classical Latin prose texts and genres (oration, treatise, letter) are constructed on a micro- and macroscopic level.
The Latin Tradition in Europe, with Thomas Velle and Klazina Staat: Students acquire a broad cultural history of the Latin language and its written tradition after Classical Antiquity, from the 4th to the 20th century.
Latin Literature III: This course has students partake in ongoing research that involves large text corpora. The focus this year is homoerotic poetry from the 1st century BC to the 16th AD. The texts are approached from both cultural-sociological and literary perspectives.
Translation Theory and Practice: Texts in Classical Languages, with Berenice Verhelst: This course has students reflect on the craft of translation as a linguistic and literary activity. While offering them the theoretical and conceptual tools to evaluate the quality of a given translation, it also hones their own skills and critical self-awareness as translators of Latin or Greek literature from Antiquity onwards.

MA:

Latin Poetics: Middle Ages. Selective history and survey of medieval Latin prose and poetry from the 6th to 15th century in broader historical, cultural and literary contexts.