Assistant Professor/Teacher of Classics Cover Letter Samples and Templates

502 W. Main Street #221

Houston, TX 77204

November 21, 2012

Professor Michael Smith

Chair, Classics Search Committee

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa 52240

Dear Professor Smith,

I am writing to apply for the Assistant Professor of Classics position, as advertised on the

American Philological Association’s website. I am a doctoral candidate at the University of

Houston, and I will complete degree requirements by May 2011.

Teaching has been an important part of my training at the University of Houston, and I believe my

background would be useful in your department. I have had considerable undergraduate teaching

experience in several types of courses, including first– and second-year Latin classes and

discussion sections of the Classical Mythology class. The latter experience introduced me to the

pleasures of leading class discussion and the challenges of transforming new material—some of it

unfamiliar to me—into useful discussion sections each week.

I have been equally devoted to the research side of my graduate training. My dissertation, directed

by Dr. Robert Palmer, is entitled “Model Behavior: Generic Construction in Roman Satire.” This

study investigates the metaphorical language used to describe satire, and its implications for the

poets’ self-presentation. With this research, I have been working to secure a place for myself in the

scholarly community. In the past two years, I have delivered papers at regional meetings such as

the Classical Association of Atlantic States, and at national meetings, including the American

Philological Association. My most recent conference paper was a collaborative effort; I helped to

organize a panel on the satiric persona for the APA meeting in December.

Although my dissertation focuses on a single genre, it reflects interests that I expect to resurface in

teaching contexts in the future. One area that fascinates me is the place of ancient comic genres in

the literary canon and cultural contexts of Classical antiquity. Comedy, satire, and related genres

make excellent material for courses on ancient culture, and I eagerly welcome the opportunity to

develop such a course at some point. Another special interest of mine is ancient literary criticism,

which I studied intensively for a Ph.D. exam on the ancient reception of Homer. Moreover, while

both of these areas interest me, I believe that I can also parlay them into general civilization

courses such as Iowa’s Freshman Humanities courses.

I would enjoy discussing this position with you in the weeks to come. In the meantime, I am

enclosing my Curriculum Vitae; letters of recommendation will arrive under separate cover. If you

require any additional materials or information, I would be happy to supply it. Thank you for your

consideration.

Sincerely,

Laura Hayes