Hi, I'm Olga, a Classics researcher from Italy currently based in California

My current research interests include: Greek tragedy, performance, trauma studies, social justice, intersections between Classics and civic activism

HODGES FELLOW 2021-22

I was awarded a Doctoral Dissertation fellowship by the Hodges Foundation for Philosophical Orientation (HFPO), to complete my dissertation project on the process of disorientation caused by death and trauma in the work of Athenian playwright Euripides


Teaching Ovid in Prison: An Experiential Analysis

I recently authored a chapter on teaching Ovid's myth "Baucis and Philemon" as a prison correspondence course, in Classics and Prison Education in the US, N. Rabinowitz and E. Capettini (eds.), Routledge Focus Series, 2021. Coauthored with Nicole Dib

Fostering a Community of Learning

I presented on my experiences teaching courses in the Humanities at the UC Santa Barbara Grad Student Teaching Symposium, with a talk entitled “Bring Your Classroom to Life: Creative Methods to Engage Students”

Tragedy of Displacement

I was awarded the 2021 UC Santa Barbara Dean’s Prize Teaching Fellowship for the creation of the course “Tragedy of Displacement: ancient theater and modern immigration, migration, and incarceration”

Invited Guest Lectures

I recently delivered two invited lectures, "I Greci in Italia: la Magna Grecia" for the Department of Italian at Dickinson College, and "Homer’s Odyssey and Naomi Iizuka’s Anon(ymous)" for the Department of Theatre and Dance at UC Davis

My Pedagogy

As a teacher of Latin 1, I introduced several pedagogical techniques and games in my class aimed at fostering student engagement and enthusiasm for the study of the Latin language

Turning Ancient Stories Into Modern Ideas


In Summer 2020, I took part in the Harvard Institute for World Literature Program, a competitive four-week program that explores the study of literature in a globalizing world, and how world literature travels across cultures


Inside the Odyssey Project


Since 2019, I have worked for The Odyssey Project, a collaborative writing and theater process between incarcerated youth from the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility and undergraduate students from UC Santa Barbara



Podcast project with The Hodges Foundation for Philosophical Orientation (HFPO)


In this podcast episode, I met with Dr. Reinhard G. Mueller, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the HFPO, to discuss the connections between Classical Theater and modern-day issues, disorientation, healing after trauma, and civic engagement


Identifying and Connecting Values to Humanities training


In Fall 2021, I presented at a UC-wide virtual retreat on career futures for humanities PhD students organized by the humanities center at UC Irvine

Get in touch at ofaccani@ucsb.edu