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Faculty of Classics

 

For the last 50 years, at least, Greek and Roman historians in Cambridge have been grappling with big issues about the nature of Greek and Roman society and Greek and Roman politics.  

Cambridge’s current staff in Greek and Roman history, many of whom have had long careers here, introduce themselves on the web-pages to which you will find links below.  As a group they offer expertise that covers the whole range of ancient history from the early Iron Age in Greece to the end of the Roman empire in the west.  They work on the full range of political, economic, social and cultural history.  Above all they work in a methodologically sophisticated way, as keen to tackle the fundamental problems of how one writes the history of past societies at all as to revisit the classic problems of Athenian democracy or late Republican Rome.

The liveliness of the group manifests itself in rich records of individual publication, but also in a range of conference activity, graduate seminars, and workshops every year.  The history of research projects stretches back to the era before research projects were fashionable and in recent years has frequently involved projects that cross into other Faculties and Departments (in particular History and Archaeology).  Greek and Roman history in Cambridge is fully engaged at every level with the whole range of issues and evidence, from the most esoteric technical texts to the most banal archaeological finds.

Graduate students in Ancient History benefit from 24-hour access to the very fine Classics Faculty Library.  Their progress is carefully overseen both by their own supervisor and by a secondary supervisor, and is further subject to annual review.  Faculty funds enable fieldwork (whether independently or through the British Schools of Athens and Rome) and other travel abroad, and attendance at conferences. There are exchange arrangements with a range of European universities (particularly Bologna and Cologne).

The following ancient historians are currently active members of the faculty:


Associate Professor in Classics
Fellow in Classics, Gonville and Caius College
Professor Mary  Beard
Professor of Classics
Professor  Paul  Cartledge
A.G. Leventis Senior Research Fellow, Clare College
Emeritus A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture
 Daniel  Hanigan
Praeceptor in Classics at Corpus Christi College
Supervisor: Prof. Tim Whitmarsh
Title of Thesis: The Politics of Form in Imperial Greek Periplography
Professor Christopher  Kelly
Professor of Classics and Ancient History
Master of Corpus Christi College
Teaching Associate in Classics (Ancient History)
Director of Studies in Classics for Sidney Sussex (Prelim & IA)
Dr Alessandro  Launaro
Associate Professor in Classics (Classical Art & Archaeology)
Fellow and Director of Studies in Classics at Gonville & Caius College
Assistant Professor in Classics
Onassis Classics Fellow at Newnham College
Professor Martin  Millett
Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology
Fellow of Fitzwilliam College
Assistant Professor in Classics (Late Antique and Early Byzantine History)
Fellow and Director of Studies in Classics, Trinity College
Professor Stephen  Oakley
Kennedy Professor of Latin
Fellow of Emmanuel College
University Associate Professor
Fellow and Director of Studies at King's College
Director of Studies at Robinson College
Professor Robin  Osborne
Professor of Ancient History
Fellow at King's College
Senior Lecturer in Classics (Ancient History)
Fellow and Director of Studies at Magdalene College
Director of Studies at Lucy Cavendish College
Dr Jerry  Toner
Fellow and Director of Studies at Churchill College
Director of Studies at Hughes Hall
Professor of Classics
Director of the Museum of Classical Archaeology (on sabbatical, Michaelmas 2023)
Fellow in Classics at Christ's College and Director of Studies, Prelim and IA
Byvanck Chair of Classical Archaeology/Art History at the University of Leiden
Professor Andrew  Wallace-Hadrill
Director of Research
Honorary Professor of Roman Studies
Dr Hannah  Willey
Associate Professor of Classics (Ancient History)
Fellow & Director of Studies in Prelim and 1A Classics at Murray Edwards

Latest news

Classical Equalities Lecture 25 April 2024 at 17.00 in G19

4 March 2024

Jane Draycott will be giving this year’s Classical Equalities lecture, on ‘ Prostheses in Classical Antiquity: Everything You Never Knew You Wanted To Know’. Jane Draycott is Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Glasgow. Her research investigates science, technology, and medicine in the ancient world. She has...

Soundmarks Project

12 February 2024

Soundmarks, an art/archaeology collaboration between Rose Ferraby, Cambridge Archaeologist, and Rob St John using sound and visual art launches at DIG in York. In 2019 the pair created work exploring and animating the sub-surface landscape of Aldborough Roman Town in North Yorkshire, UK. Soundmarks Aldborough was re-shown...

Vacancy: Assistant Professor in Latin literature

8 February 2024

The Faculty of Classics is seeking to appoint an Assistant Professor in Classics (Latin literature) from 01 September 2024. The role is open to those, at any stage in their career, with a primary research interest in Latin literature. The successful candidates will have, or be expected to develop, a record of world-class...

Publication: The New Documents in Mycenaean Greek

24 January 2024

The Faculty of Classics is proud to announce the publication of The New Documents in Mycenaean Greek , edited by John Killen FBA, the Emeritus Professor of Mycenaean Greek. More than a dozen leading Mycenologists have contributed chapters and sections to this seminal work in two volumes, comprised of more than 1100 pages...