Shannon-Henderson, an associate professor of classics at the University of Cincinnati, will make her TV debut in the long-running CBS show. At UC, Shannon-Henderson studies Greek and Latin prose literature, among other research topics. She received the 2020 Goodwin Award of Merit from the Society for Classical Studies.
“My biggest nightmare would be getting a classics question wrong on national television,” she said.
Shannon-Henderson said her worst subjects are sports and pop culture, but she does better in science and history. Show rules won’t permit her to say how she fared.
“A lot of science questions are secretly Greek and Latin questions because the vocabulary is derived from classical languages,” she said.
Her mom in Charlottesville will be watching. Both mom and daughter are longtime fans of the show.
“My mom would have it on when she was making dinner. I always loved it,” Shannon-Henderson said.
She credits the late host Alex Trebek for much of the show’s enduring appeal. Trebek died in 2020.
“He had a lot of gravitas as host, but also was clearly kind and humane as a person,” said Shannon-Henderson. “There’s always excitement watching and wondering if one of the new contestants is going to dethrone the champion from last night’s game.”
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Crystal Graham
