Education
2019 PhD, Humanities, Faulkner University (Montgomery, AL)
2015 MA, Humanities, Faulkner University (Montgomery, AL)
2013 BA, History, American Military University (Charles Town, WV)
Experience
Founding Principal, American Classical Education, 5/2023 – Present
Founding Head of School, Jacksonville Classical Academy, Jacksonville, FL, 10/2019 – 5/2023
English and Humanities Instructor, Savannah Technical College, Savannah, GA, 3/2018 – 10/2019
Courses taught:
ENGL 0097: English II
ENGL 0098: English III
ENGL 1010: Fundamentals of English I
ENGL 1101: Composition and Rhetoric
ENGL 1102: Literature and Composition
HUMN 1101: Introduction to Humanities
History and Literature Teacher, Savannah Classical Academy, Savannah, GA, 8/2013 – 07/2018
Courses taught include:
5th Grade History
5th Grade English/Literature
5th Grade Science
6th Grade History
6th Grade English/Literature
7th Grade History
7th Grade Humanities
8th Grade History
8th Grade Government/Civics
8th Grade Humanities
9th Grade Literature and Composition
Humanities (high school elective)
Literary Types and Composition (high school elective)
Military Intelligence Analyst (Staff Sergeant), U.S. Army, 6/2004-8/2012
PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS
Co-workers in the Kingdom of Culture: Classics and Cosmopolitanism in the Thought of W. E. B. Du Bois. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2021. Forthcoming.
ARTICLES IN REFEREED JOURNALS
“American Archias: Cicero and The Souls of Black Folk.” Classical Receptions Journal. Forthcoming.
“Zora’s Bookshelf in The Quest of the Silver Fleece by W. E. B. Du Bois.” The Explicator 77, nos. 3–4 (2019): 124–127.
“‘A Dark, Abiding, Signing Africanist Presence’ in Walker Percy’s Dr. Tom More Novels.” The Costal Review 11, no. 1 (Fall 2019–Spring 2020): 1–18.
“W. E. B. Du Bois and Irving Babbitt: A Comparative Evaluation of Their Views on Education, Leadership, and Society.” Phylon: The Clark Atlanta University Review of Race and Culture 54, no. 1 (Summer 2017): 25–42.
“Washington and Du Bois in the Context of Western Thought on Education.” Journal of Faith and the Academy 9, no. 1 (Spring 2016): 32–52.
OTHER ARTICLES
“A Classical and Cosmopolitan Education.” Forma Journal 13 (Winter 2020): 46–50.
“Faith, Myths, and Black Prometheus.” Monthly Review Online (16 November 2017), https://mronline.org/2017/11/16/faith-myths-and-black-prometheus/.
“African Americans and the Classics: An Introduction.” Black Perspectives. Edited by Keisha Blaine. September 7, 2017. http://www.aaihs.org/african-americans-and-the-classics-an-introduction/.
“Making Peace with the World: T. S. Eliot & the Purpose of Poetry.” The Imaginative Conservative. Edited by W. Winston Elliott III. August 24, 2017. http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2017/08/poetry-ts-eliot-david-withun.html.
“Savannah Classical Academy Unfairly Criticized.” Savannah Morning News, August 3, 2017.
“The Pagan Origins of Christmas?” Leben: A Journal of Reformation Life 10, no. 1 (October–December 2014): 1–10.
DICTIONARY AND ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES
“The Washington-Du Bois Debate (1900-1910): Elitism and Racial Progress.” Anti-intellectualism and Elitism in America: An Encyclopedia of Conflict. Edited by Tim Lacy. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Forthcoming.
“Black Theology.” American Religious History: Belief and Society through Time. Edited by Gary S. Smith. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2020.
“Cone, James H.” American Religious History: Belief and Society through Time. Edited by Gary S. Smith. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2020.
“Crummell, Alexander.” American Religious History: Belief and Society through Time. Edited by Gary S. Smith. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2020.
“Father Divine.” American Religious History: Belief and Society through Time. Edited by Gary S. Smith. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2020.
“Benham, Robert.” BlackPast.org. Edited by Quintard Taylor. http://www.blackpast.org/aah/benham-robert-1946. 2018.
“Beasley, Mother Mathilda.” BlackPast.org. Edited by Quintard Taylor. http://www.blackpast.org/aah/beasley-mother-mathilda-1832-1903. 2018.
BOOK REVIEWS
“The Classics in Modernist Translation. Edited by Miranda Hickman and Lynn Kozak. London, UK and New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2019. Pp. xviii + 270. Hardback, $114.00. ISBN: 978-1-350-04095-3.” Classical Journal Online, 31 October 2020.
“Faith, Myths, and Black Prometheus.” A review of Hickman, Jared. Black Prometheus: Race and Radicalism in the Age of Atlantic Slavery. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Black Perspectives. November 14, 2017. http://www.aaihs.org/faith-myths-and-black-prometheus/.
“Malamud, Margaret. African Americans and the Classics. New York: I. B. Taurus, 2016.” Journal of African American Studies 21, no. 2 (June 2017): 287–289.
“Cooper, Derek. Introduction to World Christian History. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016.” Journal of Faith and the Academy 9, no. 2 (Fall 2016): 85–87.
PRESENTATIONS
“‘A Dark, Abiding, Signing Africanist Presence’ in Walker Percy’s Dr. Tom More Novels.” Southeast Coastal Conference on Languages and Literatures. Georgia Southern University. April 4, 2018.
“The Semiotics of Sacrifice in T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral.” Scholars Seminar, T. S. Eliot Society Annual Meeting. St. Louis, Missouri. September 22, 2017.
“‘Only Hints and Guesses’: Overcoming Isolation in T. S. Eliot’s ‘Dry Salvages.’” College English Association Annual Conference. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. April 1, 2017.
“American Archias: The Influence of Cicero’s Pro Archia Poeta in W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk.” African American Intellectual History Society Conference. Vanderbilt University. March 25, 2017.
“The Creative Power of Love in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.” Institute of Faith and the Academy Conference. Faulkner University. February 10, 2017.
“Identity and Ostentation in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.” Southeast Coastal Conference on Languages and Literatures. Georgia Southern University. April 7, 2016.
“Washington and Du Bois in the Context of Western Thought on Education.” Institute of Faith and the Academy Conference. Faulkner University. February 5, 2016.
“Sacramental Anthropology: Human Nature According to Early Christian Eucharistic Rites.” Institute of Faith and the AcademyConference. Faulkner University. February 6, 2015.
GRANTS
Society for Classical Studies, “Classics Everywhere” Initiative. December 2018 ($1350).
Bridge Initiative Grant, Classical Association of the Middle West and South. December 2018 ($500).
Leadership Initiative Grant, Classical Association of the Atlantic States. October 2018 ($3000).
Bridge Initiative Grant, Classical Association of the Middle West and South. October 2017 ($500).
Leadership Initiative Grant, Classical Association of the Atlantic States. September 2017 ($2000).
Travel Grant, African American Intellectual History Society Conference. February, 2017 ($250).
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
Award for Outstanding Promotional Activity in the Schools. Committee for the Promotion of Latin, Classical Association of the Middle West and South. April 2018.
Editorial Internship, Black Perspectives. African American Intellectual History Society. June 1–August 31, 2017.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AND PUBLIC ENGAGMENT
Anonymous Reviewer. MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States. 2020.
Volunteer. 2019 Autism Conference. Savannah Convention Center, Savannah, GA. February 16–17, 2019.
Advisor to Likewise College, liberal arts higher education program for inmates of the Arkansas Department of Corrections. 2016–Present.
Organizer and moderator. “The Symposium on African American History and Liberal Education: A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Anna Julia Cooper.” The Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship (Hillsdale College), Washington, D.C. Participants: Shirley Moody-Turner (Pennsylvania State University) and Carolivia Herron (Howard University). February 16–17, 2019.
Editorial Assistant, Black Perspectives. African American Intellectual History Society. September 2017–February 2018.
Organizer and moderator. “Savannah Symposium on African American History and Liberal Education: A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of William Sanders Scarborough.” Savannah Classical Academy, Savannah, Georgia. Participants: Michael Benjamin (Georgia Southern University), Patrice Rankine (University of Richmond), Michele Ronnick (Wayne State University). February 16–17, 2018.
Savannah Philosophy Club, afterschool philosophy learning and discussion program for middle and high school students. 2016 – 2017.
Savannah Classical Academy Thespian Society, afterschool drama club for middle school students. 2016 – 2017.
Church history lecture series. 8 lectures. St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church, Rincon, Georgia. September 2013–May 2014.
PERFORMANCE HISTORY
Measure for Measure. Pompey Bum. Savannah Shakes: Savannah Repertory Theatre, Savannah, GA. Directed by Terresa Kizer. June 13–16, 2019. 4 shows.
Twelfth Night. Sir Toby Belch. Savannah Shakes: Kennedy Fine Arts Building, Savannah State University, Savannah, GA. Directed by Mike Moore. June 22–July 1, 2018. 6 shows.
Henry V. John Bates. Savannah Shakes: The Muse Arts Warehouse, Savannah, GA. Directed by Sheila Lynne Bolda. November 11–20, 2016. 6 shows.
Much Ado About Nothing. Conrade. Savannah Shakes: The Muse Arts Warehouse, Savannah, GA. Directed by Karla Knudsen. June 10–19, 2016. 6 shows.
The Taming of the Shrew. Christopher Sly. Savannah Shakes: The Muse Arts Warehouse, Savannah, GA. Directed by Shiela Lynne Bolda. July 10–19, 2015. 6 shows.
MEDIA
“Leading Figures in Education: W. E. B. Du Bois,” Hillsdale College Classical Education Podcast, interview by Scot Bertram, 5 April 2021.
McClean, Joe. “Rubio touts school choice in visit to Jacksonville charter school,” WJXT, 19 March 2021, https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/03/29/rubio-touts-school-choice-in-visit-to-jacksonville-charter-school/.
“New school looks like a classic success,” editorial, Florida Times-Union, 29 November 2020, https://www.jacksonville.com/story/opinion/editorials/2020/11/29/editorial-new-charter-school-looks-like-classic-success/6373373002/.
Solé, Elise. “School Report Card,” Yahoo! Life, 23 October 2020, https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/school-report-card-teen-sues-school-trump-face-mask-policy-student-newspaper-halts-mental-health-204603104.html.
Press briefing on education and the Coronavirus with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Secretary of Education Richard Corcoran, Jacksonville Classical Academy, 20 October 2020, https://thefloridachannel.org/videos/10-20-20-briefing-on-education-and-coronavirus-covid-19/.
Ready, Jennifer. “Coronavirus quarantine causes ‘disruption crisis’ for school aged children,” WJXT, 2 April 2020, https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2020/04/02/coronavirus-quarantine-causes-disruption-crisis-for-school-aged-children/.
Edwards, Jennifer. “New charter school beginning enrolment, selection process,” The Resident, 2 February 2020, https://residentnews.net/2020/02/02/new-charter-school-beginning-enrollment-selection-process/.
First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross, WJCT, Jacksonville, Florida, 13 January 2020, https://news.wjct.org/post/homicide-statistics-divorce-jacksonville-classical-academy-0.
River City Live, 9 January 2020, WJXT, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InxZMkLkTNM
Hoskinson, Cyd. “Enrolling Now for 2020: New Charter School Choices in Jacksonville,” WJCT, Jacksonville, Florida, 5 December 2019, https://news.wjct.org/post/enrolling-now-2020-new-charter-school-choices-jacksonville.
Chandler, Anna. “Bringing the Bard Back to Savannah,” Savannah Connect, 20 June 2018, https://www.connectsavannah.com/savannah/bringing-the-bard-back-to-savannah/Content?oid=8779972.
Margol, Ian. “Education vs Poverty: Money Preventing Progress,” WSAV, Savannah, Georgia, 12 August 2015, https://www.wsav.com/news/education-vs-poverty-money-preventing-progress/.
Morekis, Jim. “Review: The Taming of the Shrew by Savannah Shakes,” Savannah Connect, 14 July 2015, https://www.connectsavannah.com/savannah/review-taming-of-the-shrew-by-savannah-shakes/Content?oid=2826196.
Morekis, Jim. “Do You Shrew?”, Savannah Connect, 8 July 2015, https://www.connectsavannah.com/savannah/do-you-shrew/Content?oid=2814594.
LANGUAGES
Ancient Greek
Latin
Spanish
HISTORICAL PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Society for Classical Studies (SCS)
Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS)
Classical Association of the Atlantic States (CAAS)
African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS)
Modern Language Association (MLA)
College English Association (CEA)
T. S. Eliot Society
American Society of Church History (ASCH)
Dr. David Withun 