Emily Joanna Gowers, ( Thomas; born 27 September 1963) is a British
classical scholar. She is Professor of Latin Literature at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and a Fellow of
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
. She is an expert on
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
,
Augustan literature
Augustan literature (sometimes referred to misleadingly as Georgian literature) is a style of British literature produced during the reigns of Queen Anne, King George I, and George II in the first half of the 18th century and ending in the 17 ...
, and the history of food in the Roman world.
Early life and education
Gowers attended
Oxford High School. She studied
Classics
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 ...
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 ...
and was awarded her BA in 1985 followed by her MA in 1990. Gowers remained in Cambridge for her PhD with a dissertation entitled ''The representation of food in Roman literature'' in 1990 for which she was awarded the Hare Prize. She was a Junior Research Fellow 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 ...
from 1988 to 1991.
Academic career
From 1991 to 1993, Gowers was a lecturer in Latin at
University College, London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = Â ...
followed by a period as an honorary research fellow at the same institution. In 1998 Gowers became an affiliated lecturer for the Faculty of Classics,
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and then moved to
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
in 2000 as a lecturer in the Department of Classics. She returned to Cambridge as a lecturer in Classics in 2002 and became a Senior Lecturer in 2009. Since 2013 Gowers has been a
Reader
A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to:
Computing and technology
* Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader
* Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application
* A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
in Latin Literature.
Gowers was made Professor of Latin Literature in 2016.
Gowers's work on the representation of food in Latin literature stemmed from her PhD research into the subject. Her 1993 publication, ''The Loaded Table'', was awarded the ''Premio Langhe Ceretto'' (per la cultura del cibo) in 1994 and translated into Italian in 1996. This work drew together evidence from literature for Roman diet and food culture.
Gowers's current work focuses primarily on the interpretation of
Augustan literature
Augustan literature (sometimes referred to misleadingly as Georgian literature) is a style of British literature produced during the reigns of Queen Anne, King George I, and George II in the first half of the 18th century and ending in the 17 ...
, particularly the works of
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
.
She was awarded a
Leverhulme
The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to suppo ...
Major Research Fellowship (2014–16) for her project ''Maecenas: Transformations of an Augustan Patron''.
In 2012 Gowers was a Visiting Professor and Distinguished Webster Lecturer, Stanford University and in 2014 she was a Visiting Professor for the Spring Semester at Princeton University. She delivered the 2013 Fowler Lecture (
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...
) on the subject "Maecenas and the Women". In 2013-14 Gowers was a guest speaker in the Classical Studies Department of
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
. Gowers will be the
Sather Professor of Classical Literature
The Jane K. Sather Professorship of Classical Literature is an endowed chair for the study of classics at the University of California, Berkeley. Established in 1914 after a donation by Jane K. Sather, widow of the Norwegian-American banker Peder ...
at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in 2021/2, the eleventh woman to be invited to hold the position. The role was founded by
Jane K. Sather
Jane K. Sather (''née'' Krom; March 9, 1824 – December 11, 1911) was an American philanthropist and one of the University of California, Berkeley's most significant benefactors. She founded the Sather Professorship of Classical Literature and t ...
, with the first Sather Professor established in 1914.
The position is annual, and involves teaching a course, delivering lectures on a specific topic, and publishing the lectures as a book.
In 2018 Gowers was appointed a Member of the Press Syndicate at Cambridge University Press, a role that contributes to the governance of the press. Gowers regularly reviews books for the ''
Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
''.
Honours
Gowers was elected a member of the
Academy of Europe
The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences.
The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...
in 2013.
In July 2019, she was elected a
Fellow of the British Academy
Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are:
# Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom
# C ...
(FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.
Personal life
In 1988, Gowers married
Timothy Gowers
Sir William Timothy Gowers, (; born 20 November 1963) is a British mathematician. He is Professeur titulaire of the Combinatorics chair at the Collège de France, and director of research at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity Col ...
, a mathematician and Cambridge academic: they divorced in 2007. Together they have three children.
Selected publications
* ''Tasting the Roman World'' in K. C. Rudolph, ed., ''Taste and the Ancient Senses'' (Routledge, Abingdon/New York, 2018, pp. 90–103)
* ''Under the Influence: Maecenas and Bacchus in Georgics 2'' in P. Hardie, ed., ''Augustan Poetry and the Irrational'' (Oxford University Press, 2016, pp. 134–152)
* ''Girls will be boys and boys will be girls, or, what is the gender of Horace's Epodes?'' in P. Bather and C. Stocks, eds., ''Horace's Epodes: Contexts, Intertexts, and Reception'' (Oxford University Press, 2016, pp. 103–130)
* ''Horace Satires Book I'' (Cambridge Greek and Latin Texts series, Cambridge University Press, 2012) (rev. BMCR 2012.11.11)
* ed. with W. Fitzgerald ''Ennius Perennis: The Annals and Beyond'' (Cambridge Classical Journal Supplement 31, 2007)
* ''Fragments of Autobiography in Horace Satires I'' (Classical Antiquity 22.1, 2003, pp. 55–91)
* ''The Loaded Table: Representations of Food in Roman Literature'' (Oxford University Press, 1993) (paperback 1997, translated into Italian in 1996 as ''La pazza tavola'', Società editrice internazionale di Torino)
References
External links
Academy of Europe publication listEmily Gowers - Faculty page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gowers, Emily
British classical scholars
Women classical scholars
Living people
Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge
Classical scholars of the University of Cambridge
Members of the University of Cambridge faculty of classics
Fellows of the British Academy
1963 births