F&M Stories
Socrates Citation in Honor of Shawn O鈥橞ryhim
Shawn O鈥橞ryhim came to Franklin & Marshall College in 2004 as an associate professor with a B.A. in Social Studies Education and an M.A. in Latin from Ball State University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Texas at Austin.
He has always believed that research is an inalienable part of a professor鈥檚 identity. He has written three books: 鈥淕reek and Roman Comedy鈥� (University of Texas Press), 鈥淎 Student鈥檚 Commentary on Ovid鈥檚 Metamorphoses, Book 10鈥� (Wiley-Blackwell), and 鈥淏eginning Latin鈥� (Create Space). He has also authored approximately 30 articles in international journals, contributed chapters to volumes on Greek and Roman history and literature, and delivered many papers at international conferences, one of which earned him the Copernicus Prize from the Polish Neuropsychological Society. He believes strongly that professors and students should expand beyond the often narrow confines of their fields 鈥� and he practices what he preaches. His publications incorporate literary analysis, history, art, archaeology, ancient Near Eastern and Greek religion, Greek and Roman law, astronomy, zoology, entomology, psychology, medicine, and numismatics.
Professor O鈥橞ryhim鈥檚 body of creative work includes several literary translations of Greek and Roman literature and the musical score for a modern adaptation of Plautus鈥� 鈥淎mphitryo,鈥� whose script was written and performed onstage by his students. He and Professor Ken Krebs from the Department of Physics received a patent for an invention that utilizes UV light to make illegible medieval manuscripts readable again. This 鈥淢anuscript Illuminator鈥� was featured in the blog of Scientific American and on NPR.
Professor O鈥橞ryhim鈥檚 courses incorporate both traditional scholarship and creative projects that enable his students to discover new talents that they never knew they had, and to use them in their professions. Alumni report that Classics gave them the skills needed to succeed in a variety of fields, including law and medicine.
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