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Classical studies staff have expertise in a wide range of research areas in Greek and Roman civilization, including: archaeology, art and sculpture; epic, lyric poetry, tragedy and comedy; historiography and philosophy; popular culture and social history; and digital humanities. Research clusters include:
- Greek and Latin texts
- Greek and Roman material culture
- Ancient and modern reception of classical antiquity
- Ditigal classics.
The department encourages applications for research that is based in any of these clusters, particularly projects that work across clusters. The research clusters overlap in important respects and this informs debate and collaboration across themes as well as providing opportunities for exchange with researchers in other subject areas.
The department’s research has been recognised by grant awards from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Academy, the Leverhulme Trust, JISC and Google. Department members also have leading roles in internationally-funded projects such as the Linkeage project in Australia (Classics and Theatre), the European Network of Research in Greek Drama, the Classical Reception Studies Network and EuGeStA (Gender Studies in Antiquity).
The UK’s Research Assessment Exercise (2008) feedback highlighted outstanding contributions by the department to the national and international research environment, and we aim to ensure that all our research students have the chance to benefit from and contribute to international debates in their field.
Key facts
- Current fully-funded studentships include the Michael Comber Studentship in Classical Reception (funded jointly with University of Oxford), Faculty studentships, and OU-funded studentships (fees only).
- Part-time research students are fully integrated into the department research environment, including regular research days and opportunities to attend conferences and present papers.
- The department hosts the Classical Reception Studies Network, an international collaboration of researchers working on classical reception.
- Places are available each year for OU graduate students to attend the intensive summer course held in Epidauros, Greece, by the European Network of Research in Greek Drama.
- The department hosts New Voices in Classical Reception, a refereed e-journal for early career researchers. The department also hosts Practitioners’ Voices in Classical Reception, a refereed e-journal which discusses through articles, interviews, audio and video media how arts practitioners in the creative industries (including poets, theatre directors and translators) use Greek and Roman texts, images and ideas in their works.
- The department hosts a number of international digital classics projects, including Google Ancient Places and Pelagios.
Facilities
The Open University Library is particularly strong in the provision of electronic resources to which research students have access whether working on or off campus.
Research students in classical studies are also encouraged to join the Hellenic or Roman Societies. These societies have a joint library based at the Institute of Classical Studies in London. This is an internationally leading research library. Student membership of either of the societies provides borrowing rights (including postal borrowing).
Further information
If you have an enquiry specific to this research area please contact:
- Name:
- Dr Jessica Hughes
- Email:
- arts-classics-gen-enquiries@open.ac.uk
- Phone:
- +44 (0)1908 653247
For general enquiries please contact the Research Degrees Team via the link under ‘Your questions’ on the right of the page.
Publications
Research publications by Open University staff are available through Open Research Online (ORO), the university's repository of research publications and other research outputs. ORO can be searched or browsed by staff name or subject.
The following list, generated from ORO, provides a flavour of the most recently published work in Classical Studies:
- Bakogianni, Anastasia (2013). Annihilating Clytemnestra: the severing of the mother-daughter bond in Michael Cacoyannis’ Iphigenia (1977). In: Nikoloutsos , Konstantinos P. ed. Ancient Greek Women in Film. Classical Presences . Oxford: Oxford University Press, (In Press).
- Robson, James (2013). Sex and Sexuality in Classical Athens. Debates and Documents. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (forthcoming).
- Bakogianni, Anastasia (2013). The triumph of dimotiki: the triumph of Medea. In: Hardwick, Lorna and Harrison, Stephen eds. Classics in the Modern World: A Democratic Turn? Classical Presences. Oxford: Oxford University Press, (In Press).
- Paul, Joanna (2013). The Democratic Turn in (and through) pedagogy: a case study of the Cambridge Latin Course. In: Hardwick, Lorna and Harrison, Stephen eds. Classics in the Modern World: A 'Democratic Turn'? Oxford University Press, (In Press).
- King, Helen (2013). Female fluids in the Hippocratic corpus: how solid was the humoral body? In: Horden, Peregrine and Hsu, Elisabeth eds. The Body in Balance: Humoral Medicines in Practice. Epistemologies of Healing (13). Oxford: Berghahn Books, (In press).
- More publications relating to Classical Studies
Research degrees
Your questions
For advice about applying for a research degree, or sponsoring a research student, send us an email or call +44 (0)1908 654882.