Christie Pavey is currently finishing a PhD in History at Royal Holloway, University of London, as part of the CONNEC project (“Connected Clerics: Building a Universal Church in the Late Antique West (380-640 CE)”).  Her dissertation focuses on bishops and their communities within the institution of the church in late Roman Africa, under the bishoprics of Augustine and Aurelius.  She primarily considers evidence from the African church councils held between 393 and 427, examining who attended the councils and what kinds of communities they represented.  She is particularly interested in the relationship between Roman imperial power and bishops’ influence within ecclesiastical institutions in North Africa in this period of change.  As an instructor, she values drawing out students’ creative thinking and sparking thoughtful debate that considers multiple viewpoints.  As a Life Worth Living Fellow in its inaugural year, Christie looks forward to developing a course in which students engage with their five senses, as well as each other and their larger communities, to gain a greater understanding of what it means to live a good life.