Staff Research Interests
Martin Brady, PhD (Bristol):
My PhD was on the relationship between's Homer's epics and the poetry of Ovid, and more generallyI am interested in the processes of poetic influence and transmission, particularly in the epic genre, and with a particular interest in Homer, Ovid and Lucan. I am also interested in the role Classical texts and themes play in post-Classical times, particularly Oscar Wilde (whose style is comparable to Ovid's) and more recently in the ways the Classical world is represented in contemporary popular culture.
Augustan poetry, esp. Ovid, and the ancient epic tradition.
Jo Day, PhD (TCD):
My research interests are focused chronologically and geographically on the Aegean Bronze Age, although I explore a number of different themes within this field. Much of my work embraces a multisensory approach to the past, which is closely linked to my interests in the production and consumption of food and of perfumed products in the ancient world. I continue to research human-plant interaction too (the focus of my PhD), especially as manifest in iconography. I am actively involved in archaeological fieldwork in Crete and currently working on publishing the Early Minoan ceramics from the site of Priniatikos Pyrgos, as well as collaborating with the UCD Centre for Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture on experiments in early firing technology. As Curator of the UCD Classical Museum, I also oversee research and publication of the collection.
Select Publications:
- The Routledge Handbook of Sensory Archaeology. London: Routledge. Co-edited with Robin Skeates (forthcoming 2019).
- "Seeing is (not) believing: visual and non-visual interpretations of Aegean Bronze Age frescoes", in The Multisensory Image from Antiquity to the Renaissance, ed. H. Hunter Crawley and E. O'Brien, pp. 25-45. London: Routledge (2019).
- “Scents of place and colours of smell: fragranced entertainment in ancient Rome,” in Senses of the Empire: Multisensory Approaches to Roman Culture, ed. E. Betts, pp. 176-192. London: Routledge (2017).
- “Life and death of a Bronze Age house: excavation of Early Minoan I levels at Priniatikos Pyrgos," American Journal of Archaeology 118, pp. 307-358. Co-author with B. Molloy, S. Bridgford, T. Carter, V. Issakidou, G. Kotzamani, E. Nodarou, P. Westlake, E. Larsson, E. Bates (2014)
- “Botany meets archaeology: people and plants in the past,” Journal of Experimental Botany 64, S1, pp. 1-12 (2013).
Supervision:
I would be willing to supervise research students working on Aegean Bronze Age and Greek archaeology, sensory approaches to the past, ancient food and foodways, human-plant interaction in the past, and ceramics (especially technological aspects of production and Early Bronze Age material).
Helen Dixon, PhD (Cantab):
Transmission and reception of Latin literature (especially in the fifteenth-century), Latin palaeography, history of classical scholarship.
Aude Doody, PhD (Cantab):
Ancient Scientific and Medical Writing, Pliny the Elder, History of Encyclopaedism, Classical Reception, Ancient Technical Writing, Roman Historiography.
Philip de Souza, PhD (London):
Greek and Roman social and economic history, esp. warfare and piracy.
Michael Lloyd, DPhil (Oxon):
My main interest is Greek drama, and I have also worked on Homer, Herodotus, Plato, and Greek syntax. My doctoral thesis was on Euripides, about whom I have written a number of articles as well as two books: The Agon in Euripides (1992) and an edition of his play Andromache (1994; 2nd ed., 2005). I have also worked on the two other great 5th-century tragedians, Sophocles and Aeschylus. A book on Sophocles’ Electra appeared in 2005, and I edited an anthology of articles on Aeschylus in the Oxford Readings series published by Oxford University Press (2007). My current research focuses on narratology and pragmatics, especially politeness theory. I am also interested in the reception of Greek drama in Ireland.
Select publications:
- ‘The hortative aorist’, Classical Quarterly 68 (2018), 415–24
- ‘Sophocles’, in K. de Temmerman & E. van Emde Boas (eds), Characterization in Ancient Greek Literature (Studies in Ancient Greek Narrative IV; Leiden: Brill, 2017), 337–54
- ‘Realism in Euripides’, forthcoming in A. Markantonatos (ed.), Brill’s Companion to Euripides
- ‘Friendship terms in Plato’, forthcoming in L. Unceta Gómez and Ł. Berger (eds), Im/Politeness Research in Ancient Greek and Latin
- ‘Brian Friel’s Greek tragedy: narrative, drama, and fate in Living Quarters’, Irish University Review 30/2 (2000), 244–53
Supervision:
I would be willing to supervise research students on most areas of Greek literature, especially drama, and on the reception of Greek drama in Ireland.
Alexander Thein, PhD (Univ. of Pennsylvania):
My research is on politics and violence in the Late Roman Republic, in particular the period of Sulla’s dictatorship and the civil wars of the 80s B.C. One of my interests is the balance of power between Sulla and his faction, and the extent to which they imposed constraints on his power to dictate. The main focus of my research is the logic and mechanics of the proscriptions, and the extent to which this system of state-sponsored violence was defined ‘from below’ by non-political motives such as personal enmity and greed. I have also published on other topics ranging from Greek ethnicity and Roman Republican memoirs to the public image of Augustus and the topography of the city of Rome.
Select publications:
- Sulla: Politics and Reception. Berlin: De Gruyter. Co-edited with Alexandra Eckert (forthcoming 2019).
- ‘Percussores: A study in Sullan violence’, Tyche 32 (2017) 235-50.
- ‘Booty in the Sullan Civil War of 83-82 B.C.’, Historia 65 (2016) 450-72.
- ‘Reflecting on Sulla’s Clemency’, Historia 63 (2014) 166-86.
- ‘Capitoline Jupiter and the Historiography of Roman World Rule’, Histos 8 (2014) 284-319.
Supervision:
I would be willing to supervise research students on the following topics: politics and culture from the Late Republic to the Augustan period; and civil war and political violence in all periods of Roman history.
ADJUNCT/ RETIRED STAFF
(opens in a new window)Christina Haywood, Adjunct Assistant Professor, PhD (Liverpool):
Greek Bronze Age and Early Iron Age; the archaeology of the Ionian Islands; archaeological fieldwork.
Andrew Smith, Emeritus Professor, PhD (Hull), MRIA:
Ancient Philosophy, esp. Neoplatonism.
Theresa Urbainczyk, Adjunct Professor, PhD (Birmingham):
Historiography, slavery, social and economic history.
VISTING STAFF AND POSTDOCTORAL STAFF
Dr Alexandra Eckert, PhD (University of Oldenburg)
Dr Chiara Mauro, PhD (Complutense University of Madrid): IRC Research Fellow