The Faculty of Classics, previously the Faculty of Literae Humaniores, is a subdivision of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

concerned with the teaching and research of

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. The teaching of classics at Oxford was present since its conception and was at the centre of nearly all its undergraduates' education well into the twentieth century. The Faculty was renamed "Classics" in 2001 after

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, which had previously been a sub-faculty, became a faculty in its own right. The Faculty of Classics is divided into two sub-faculties of Classical Languages & Literature, and Ancient History & Classical Archaeology. The Faculty organises teaching and research - the main undergraduate programme being known as Literae Humaniores. It also runs a BA programme in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History. The Faculty of Classics is part of the Humanities Division. It runs projects including the Oxyrhynchus Papyrus Project and the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama. It is the largest Classics department at any university in the world.

Location

The Faculty is based at the Ioannou School for Research in Classical and Byzantine Studies on St. Giles', next to the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

and

Sackler Library The Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library (‘Bodleian Art Library’ in its shortened form, formerly the Sackler Library) holds a large portion of the classical, art historical, and archaeological works belonging to the Universi ...

. These three therefore form an informal 'Classics Triangle' in Oxford. The Stelios Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies was opened in 2007 and designed by

van Heyningen and Haward Architects van Heyningen and Haward is an architectural practice, founded in 1983 by Birkin Haward and Joanna van Heyningen, and now owned and managed by James McCosh and Meryl Townley. The London architects work primarily in education, and have also work ...

. It provides research and teaching facilities for the Faculty and involved demolishing the old subsidiary buildings, while the significant parts of the existing buildings were retained to create a new central atrium.

Research

The Faculty runs a large number of research projects, including: *

Oxyrhynchus Oxyrhynchus ( ; , ; ; ), also known by its modern name Al-Bahnasa (), is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo in Minya Governorate. It is also an important archaeological site. Since the late 19th century, t ...

Papyri *Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources *Classical Art Research Centre (which includes the Beazley Archive) *Lexicon of Greek Personal Names *Roman Inscriptions of Britain *Sphakia Survey * Byzantine Ceramics *Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents * Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama *Bibliotheca Academica Translationum *Roman Provincial Coinage in the Antonine Period *Research Archive for Greek and Roman Sculpture *Greek Literary Hands of the Roman Period *Imaging Papyri *Reception of Greek Literature 300 BC-800 AD: Traditions of the Fragment *e-Science and Ancient Documents Project *The Oxford Roman Economy Project (OxRep) *The Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua XI *Social and Cultural Construction of Emotions: The Greek Paradigm *

Manar al-Athar Manar al-Athar is a photo archive based at the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford which aims to provide high-quality open-access images of archaeological sites and buildings. The archive's collection focuses on areas of the Roman Em ...

photo archive

Notable academics

Statutory Professors: *

Camden Professor of Ancient History The Camden Professorship of Ancient History at the University of Oxford was established in 1622 by English antiquary and historian William Camden, Clarenceux King of Arms, and endowed with the income of the manor of Bexley, becoming the first and ...

(currently Nicholas Purcell) * Corpus Christi Professor of Latin (currently Tobias Reinhardt) * Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art (currently R.R.R. Smith) * Regius Professor of Greek ( Gregory Hutchinson) * Wykeham Professor of Ancient History (currently

Nino Luraghi Nino Luraghi (born 30 November 1964) is an Italian historian of ancient Greece, who holds the Wykeham Professorship of Ancient History at Oxford University. Life Luraghi is the son of (1921–2012), an Italian resistance fighter and historian. ...

) Other notable current academics: * Rhiannon Ash * Anna Clark * Ursula Coope, Professor of Ancient Philosophy * Martin Goodman * Stephen Harrison * Simon Hornblower * Christopher Howgego * Irene Lemos * Jane Lightfoot * Fiona Macintosh, Professor of Classical Reception * Catherine Morgan * Rosalind Thomas, Professor of Greek History * Andrew Wilson Notable former academics: * John Boardman *

Myles Burnyeat Myles Fredric Burnyeat (; 1 January 1939 – 20 September 2019) was an English scholar of ancient philosophy. Early life and education Myles Burnyeat was born on 1 January 1939 to Peter James Anthony Burnyeat and Cynthia Cherry Warburg. He re ...

Averil Cameron Dame Averil Millicent Cameron ( Sutton; born 8 February 1940), often cited as A. M. Cameron, is a British historian. She writes on Late Antiquity, Classics, and Byzantine Studies. She was Professor of Late Antiquity, Late Antique and Byzantine ...

Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe (born 10 December 1939), usually known as Sir Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been ...

Jasper Griffin Jasper Griffin (29 May 1937 – 22 November 2019) was a British classicist and academic. He was Public Orator and Professor of Classical Literature in the University of Oxford from 1992 until 2004. Early life Griffin was born on 29 May 1937. He ...

Terence Irwin Terence Henry Irwin Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (; born 21 April 1947), usually cited as T. H. Irwin, is a scholar and philosopher specializing in ancient Greek philosophy and the history of ethics (i.e., the history of Western moral philo ...

* Elizabeth Jeffreys * Donna Carol Kurtz *

Robin Lane Fox Robin James Lane Fox, (born 5 October 1946) is an English classicist, ancient historian, and gardening writer known for his works on Alexander the Great. Lane Fox is an Emeritus Fellow of New College, Oxford and Reader in Ancient History, ...

Hugh Lloyd-Jones Sir Peter Hugh Jefferd Lloyd-Jones (21 September 1922 – 5 October 2009)

Fergus Millar Sir Fergus Graham Burtholme Millar, (; 5 July 1935 – 15 July 2019) was a British ancient historian and academic. He was Camden Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford between 1984 and 2002. He is among the most influentia ...

* Christopher Pelling * Donald Russell *

Oliver Taplin Oliver Taplin, FBA (born 2 August 1943) is a retired British academic and classicist. He was a fellow of Magdalen College and Professor of Classical Languages and Literature at the University of Oxford. He holds a DPhil from Oxford University. ...

Susan Treggiari Susan Treggiari is an English scholar of ancient Rome,John Simon Guggenheim Memoria ...

Martin Litchfield West Martin Litchfield West, (23 September 1937 – 13 July 2015) was a British philologist and classical scholar. In recognition of his contribution to scholarship, he was appointed to the Order of Merit in 2014. West wrote on ancient Greek music ...

* Stephanie West

References

External links

Official Website

Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faculty Of Classics, University Of Oxford Educational institutions established in 2001

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

2001 establishments in England Classical educational institutes