Thomas Samuel Burns (born June 7, 1945) is an American historian who is Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor Emeritus of Late Ancient and Medieval History at
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
. He specializes on relations between "
barbarians
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...
" and
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
in
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
.
Biography
Thomas S. Burns was born in
Michigan City, Indiana on June 7, 1945. He received his
A.B.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
(1967) from
Wabash College
Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cu ...
and his
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
(1968) and
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
(1974) from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. His thesis was supervised by
Sylvia L. Trupp and
John W. Eadie.
After gaining his Ph.D., Burns served as Assistant Professor (1974-1980) and then Associate Professor (1980-1985) of History at
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
. Since 1985, Burns was Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Late Ancient and Medieval History at Emory University (1985-2010). He was Chair of the Department of History at Emory University in 1989-1992 and 2006-2007. Burns retired as S. C. Dobbs Professor Emeritus in 2010.
Burns specializes in late ancient and early medieval history and archaeology. He is particularly interested in relationships between "
barbarians" and
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. Burns is well known as an authority on the
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...
.
Selected works
* ''The Ostrogoths: Kingship and Society'', 1980
* ''A History of the Ostrogoths'', 1984
* ''Barbarians within the Gates of Rome: Roman Military Policy and the Barbarians, ca. 375-425 A.D.'', 1994
* ''Rome and the Barbarians, 100 BC - AD 400'', 2003
See also
*
Peter Heather
Peter John Heather (born 8 June 1960) is a British historian of late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Heather is Chair of the Medieval History Department and Professor of Medieval History at King's College London. He specialises in the fall ...
*
Herwig Wolfram
Herwig Wolfram (born 14 February 1934) is an Austrian historian who is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History and Auxiliary Sciences of History at the University of Vienna and the former Director of the . He is a leading member of the Vienna Sc ...
*
E. A. Thompson
*
Walter Goffart
Walter Goffart (born February 22, 1934) is a German-born American historian who specializes in Late Antiquity and the European Middle Ages. He taught for many years in the History Department and Centre for Medieval Studies of the University of Tor ...
*
Ian N. Wood
*
Patrick J. Geary
Sources
*
*
1945 births
Living people
American historians
American non-fiction writers
Emory University faculty
Historians of antiquity
People from Michigan City, Indiana
Wabash College alumni
University of Michigan alumni
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