Jenn Finn in Netflix Special
Jennifer Finn featured in Netflix docudrama on Alexander the Great
Jennifer Finn, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Classical Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago, lends her expertise as a featured commentator in Netflix’s six-part docudrama series, Alexander: The Making of a God, which premiered Jan. 31, 2024.
The series reveals the extraordinary life of Alexander the Great through his radical transformation from warrior prince to living god. The series explores his rise as an exiled young man into his obsession with defeating the mighty Persian Emperor Darius that led him to conquer the known world in just under six years. Alexander the Great's fascinating story is told through stunning drama intertwined with expert academic insight, ground-breaking archaeology and ongoing excavations at the archaeological site in Alexandria, Egypt led by Calliope Limneos-Papakosta.
“Dr. Finn is a renowned scholar of the Ancient Near East, and it is amazing to see her expertise, as it relates to one of the most notable figures in human history, featured on a platform of this magnitude.” said Peter J. Schraeder, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Congratulations to Dr. Finn on this incredible accomplishment.”
Watch the official trailer below.
“I think first and foremost it is important for people to remember that what they see on Netflix is only a portion of Alexander’s complex life and personality,” Dr. Finn noted. “It is also important to remember that every person who encounters Alexander—scholar of ancient studies, armchair historian, and everyone in between—will have their own opinions and personal picture of Alexander.”.
Finn highlighted that the docudrama brings public awareness to one of the most interesting people who ever lived.
“Alexander was incredibly accomplished, but also in many ways lived a very tragic life in which he had no true peers because of the nature of his extraordinary personality,” said. Dr. Finn. “Netflix’s story of his life sheds light on the timeless nature of the human condition: the search for greatness; the complexity of relationships; the multifold ways in which humans interact with religion and religious ideas; the unpredictability of politics; and the brutal consequences of war.”
She made sure to point out that while the overall experience was rewarding, it was also intensive.
“I was flown into London to film my responses to 28 pages worth of questions that were sent to me by the producers of the docudrama a few days before I arrived. I was interviewed for over eight hours and I never saw any of the dramatic film before it appeared on Netflix, so I only had a slight idea of what they were trying to do with Alexander’s character from the nature of the questions I was asked.”
Finn’s research interests include the ancient near east, Alexander the Great and ancient warfare. She recently published a book with the University of Michigan Press, entitled, Contested Pasts: A Determinist History of Alexander the Great. The book examines how Roman authors may have manipulated narratives about the historical figure’s campaigns to serve or achieve their own motivations in the centuries following Alexander's death.
Learn more about Dr. Finn’s recent book here.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest of Loyola University Chicago’s 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. More than 150 years since its founding, the College is home to 20 academic departments and 37 interdisciplinary programs and centers, more than 450 full-time faculty, and nearly 8,000 students. The 2,000+ classes that we offer each semester span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our campus in Rome, Italy, as well as at dozens of University-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the University’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”
Jennifer Finn, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Classical Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago, lends her expertise as a featured commentator in Netflix’s six-part docudrama series, Alexander: The Making of a God, which premiered Jan. 31, 2024.
The series reveals the extraordinary life of Alexander the Great through his radical transformation from warrior prince to living god. The series explores his rise as an exiled young man into his obsession with defeating the mighty Persian Emperor Darius that led him to conquer the known world in just under six years. Alexander the Great's fascinating story is told through stunning drama intertwined with expert academic insight, ground-breaking archaeology and ongoing excavations at the archaeological site in Alexandria, Egypt led by Calliope Limneos-Papakosta.
“Dr. Finn is a renowned scholar of the Ancient Near East, and it is amazing to see her expertise, as it relates to one of the most notable figures in human history, featured on a platform of this magnitude.” said Peter J. Schraeder, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Congratulations to Dr. Finn on this incredible accomplishment.”
Watch the official trailer below.
“I think first and foremost it is important for people to remember that what they see on Netflix is only a portion of Alexander’s complex life and personality,” Dr. Finn noted. “It is also important to remember that every person who encounters Alexander—scholar of ancient studies, armchair historian, and everyone in between—will have their own opinions and personal picture of Alexander.”.
Finn highlighted that the docudrama brings public awareness to one of the most interesting people who ever lived.
“Alexander was incredibly accomplished, but also in many ways lived a very tragic life in which he had no true peers because of the nature of his extraordinary personality,” said. Dr. Finn. “Netflix’s story of his life sheds light on the timeless nature of the human condition: the search for greatness; the complexity of relationships; the multifold ways in which humans interact with religion and religious ideas; the unpredictability of politics; and the brutal consequences of war.”
She made sure to point out that while the overall experience was rewarding, it was also intensive.
“I was flown into London to film my responses to 28 pages worth of questions that were sent to me by the producers of the docudrama a few days before I arrived. I was interviewed for over eight hours and I never saw any of the dramatic film before it appeared on Netflix, so I only had a slight idea of what they were trying to do with Alexander’s character from the nature of the questions I was asked.”
Finn’s research interests include the ancient near east, Alexander the Great and ancient warfare. She recently published a book with the University of Michigan Press, entitled, Contested Pasts: A Determinist History of Alexander the Great. The book examines how Roman authors may have manipulated narratives about the historical figure’s campaigns to serve or achieve their own motivations in the centuries following Alexander's death.
Learn more about Dr. Finn’s recent book here.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest of Loyola University Chicago’s 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. More than 150 years since its founding, the College is home to 20 academic departments and 37 interdisciplinary programs and centers, more than 450 full-time faculty, and nearly 8,000 students. The 2,000+ classes that we offer each semester span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our campus in Rome, Italy, as well as at dozens of University-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the University’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”