Morris Keith Hopkins, FBA (20 June 1934 – 8 March 2004) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

and sociologist. He was professor of

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

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 ...

from 1985 to 2000. Hopkins had a relatively unconventional route to the

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

professorship. After Brentwood School, he graduated in

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 ...

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

in 1958. He spent time as a graduate student, much influenced by

Moses Finley Sir Moses Israel Finley, FBA (born Finkelstein; 20 May 1912 – 23 June 1986) was an American-born British academic and classical scholar. His prosecution by the United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security during the 1950s, resulted ...

, but left before completing his doctorate for an assistant lectureship in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

(1961–1963). Hopkins returned to Cambridge as a research fellow at King's College, Cambridge (1963–1967) while at the same time taking a

lectureship Lecturer is an academic rank Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals ...

at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, before spending two years as professor of

Hong Kong University The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fir ...

(1967–1969) After a further two years at the LSE (1970–72), he moved to

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...

as professor of sociology in 1972, also serving as dean of the social sciences faculty from 1981 to 1985. He is most famed for ''Conquerors and Slaves'', whereas he argued that ancient historians need not submit to the sources they studied, but rather demanded they be questioned and understood within their larger context of interaction. His rethinking of traditionalist methodology, and famed disagreement with traditionalist Millar, makes him one of the most influential twentieth-century ancient historians. In 1985 Hopkins was elected to the Cambridge chair in ancient history. The fullest account of his career and significance as an ancient historian is in his

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

necrology An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

( W. V. Harris, ''

Proceedings of the British Academy The ''Proceedings of the British Academy'' is a series of academic volumes on subjects in the humanities and social sciences. The first volume was published in 1905. Up to 1991, the volumes (appearing annually from 1927) mostly consisted of the te ...

'', 130 (2005), 3–27).

Publications

;Books *''Conquerors And Slaves'' (1978) *''Death And Renewal'' (1983) *''A World Full of Gods'' (1999) *''Rome The Cosmopolis'' (2002), a volume of essays written in honour of Keith Hopkins *''The Colosseum'' (2005), coauthored with Mary Beard *''Sociological Studies in Roman History'' (2017), a collection of previously published articles, edited by Christopher Kelly. ;Articles
List of Links to Articles by Hopkins
published in ''

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 ...

References

1934 births 2004 deaths People educated at Brentwood School, Essex British sociologists Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Academics of Brunel University London Academics of the London School of Economics Academics of the University of Leicester Members of the University of Cambridge faculty of classics 20th-century British historians Professors of Ancient History (Cambridge) Fellows of the British Academy {{UK-sociologist-stub