Christopher Kelly (born 1964) is an Australian

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

, who specializes in the

later Roman Empire The Later Roman Empire spans the period from 284 AD (Diocletian's proclamation as emperor) to 641 (death of Heraclius) in the history of the Roman Empire. Evidence Histories In comparison with previous periods, studies on Later Roman history a ...

and the

classical tradition The Western classical tradition is the reception of classical Greco-Roman antiquity by later cultures, especially the post-classical West, involving texts, imagery, objects, ideas, institutions, monuments, architecture, cultural artifacts, ritua ...

.Corpus Christi Colleg
faculty bio
He has been

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

since 2018.

Early life and education

He studied history and law at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

as an undergraduate. He earned a doctorate at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. His doctoral thesis was titled "Corruption and bureaucracy in the later Roman Empire", and was submitted in 1993.

Academic career

Kelly is Professor of Classics and Ancient History in the

Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge The Faculty of Classics is one of the constituent departments of the University of Cambridge. It teaches the Classical Tripos. The Faculty is divided into five caucuses (i.e. areas of research and teaching); literature, ancient philosophy, ancien ...

. He is a previous chairman of the faculty. From 2006 to 2008, he held a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship. On 12 July 2017, he was elected Master of

. His term as Master began in Michaelmas 2018. His appointment follows his tenure as senior tutor in the early 2000s, when he was strongly criticised by some members of the student body for his policies, and the college JCR threatened to refuse to acknowledge his plans to assign rooms based on exam results. Kelly was editor of the ''Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society'' and ''Cambridge Classical Journal'' from 2000 to 2006. He is currently editor of the Journal of Roman Studies and President of the Cambridge Philological Society.

Author

Kelly's first major work was ''Ruling the Later Roman Empire'' (2006). In ''The End of Empire'' (2009), characterized as a "semi-popular work", he took a revisionist view of

Attila the Hun Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and Ea ...

as a "thoughtful and effective political and military leader." Kelly contributed to ''

The Cambridge Ancient History ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' is a multi-volume work of ancient history from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press. The first series, consisting of 12 volumes, was planned in 1919 by Irish historian J. B. Bury ...

'' and to ''Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World'', edited by

G.W. Bowersock Glen Warren Bowersock (born January 12, 1936 in Providence, Rhode Island) is a historian of ancient Greece, Rome and the Near East, and former Chairman of Harvard’s classics department. Early life Bowersock was born in Providence, Rhode Islan ...

, Peter Brown, and

Oleg Grabar Oleg Grabar (November 3, 1929 – January 8, 2011) was a French-born art historian and archeologist, who spent most of his career in the United States, as a leading figure in the field of Islamic art and architecture. Academic career O ...

. He is an occasional reviewer for publications such as ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of ...

'',''London Review of Books'
contributor's note
/ref> ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years by v ...

'', and ''

History Today ''History Today'' is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and pub ...

.''

Selected works

* * * * As editor: * As editor:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Christopher Scholars of Roman history 1964 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Presidents of the Cambridge Union