Greek and Latin Literature (A)

Widely recognized as one of the most intellectually innovative centres for the study of Greek and Latin literature, Cambridge is characterised by an atmosphere of lively debate and collective enterprise. Members of the A Caucus work on the whole range of ancient authors and their cultural contexts, from Homer to Isidore. Our strengths include cultural poetics, comparative literature, gender studies, palaeography, reception studies and the study of texts and their transmission (this is, after all, the home of the Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics series).

The weekly literary seminar is a renowned forum for discussion of ancient literature and provides an important social as well as intellectual focus; leading international scholars present their research, as well as graduate students and faculty.

We also offer excellent resources for postgraduate study. For example, MPhil students have their own weekly seminar (where they are introduced to textual criticism, bibliographical methods and theoretical approaches) and they present work in progress both there and at an interdisciplinary seminar for all graduates. Cambridge PhD students have been instrumental in extending the annual joint Oxbridge graduate conference (AMPAL) to the whole of the UK. A constant stream of visitors from around the world makes Cambridge an especially stimulating place to study ancient literature.

The influence of Cambridge in this field has spread far and wide. Cambridge Classics PhDs who hold senior posts in the UK and beyond include Danielle Allen (Institute for Advanced Study), Susanna Morton Braund (Vancouver), Monica Gale (TCD), Roy Gibson (Manchester), Mark Griffith (Berkeley), Stephen Hinds (Seattle), Duncan Kennedy (Bristol), Jim McKeown (Madison), Alison Sharrock (Manchester), Gareth Williams (Columbia), Peter Wilson (Sydney) and Maria Wyke (UCL).