Dr Danchen Zhang

About

My fascination with classics started in China where I am originally from-- I did my BA and MPhil at Boya College, a Liberal Arts college at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, where I discovered and pursued my interest with the ancient worlds. I subsequently undertook an MSt in classical literature at Oxford, before coming to Warwick to complete a PhD in Greek literature.

Research and Projects

My doctoral research explored the significance of wind imagery in Sophocles' tragedy, and how it interacts with fifth-century BCE intellectual currents and literary tradition. More broadly, my work is concerned with how tragedy engages with a wider discourse that concerns natural, socio-political and psychological matters. The interdisciplinary nature of the materials I encountered when working on my thesis also makes me interested in ancient weather lore and in ancient medical ideas about the interconnectedness between body, mind and the environment in ancient medicine.

Having completed my PhD in 2025, I am currently working to develop the PhD thesis into a monograph for Bloomsbury's 'Ancient Environment' series. Meanwhile, I am actively involved in the department's outreach activities. I contribute to a bitesize video collection for the website 'Greek Theatre at Warwick', and assist with the Warwick Drama Festival. I am also responsible for analysing feedback on these online resources, performances and talks, and for assessing their impact on teaching and learning in secondary education, particularly in relation to the research and outreach initiatives led by Dr Emmanuela Bakola.

My research is informed by a cross-cultural perspective on classical antiquity and I am interested in its reception in East Asian cultures. I also write for Chinese newspapers and websites about ancient Greek literature and its relevance in today's world.

Publications

Zhang, D. (2026) ‘Wind, lightning and disturbance in Sophocles’ Ajax and Antigone’, in Meteorology beyond borders: ancient and modern reflections, eds. Korobili, G. and Tieleman, T. L., Leiden. pp. 101-124.

“寻找'索福克勒斯': 诗人之墓的想象与考古” (Looking for Sophocles: archaeology finds and imagination of the tomb of the poet), 希中时报 (China Greece Times: Κινέζικη Εφημερίδα) issue 881, 16 Dec 2024- 2 Jan 2025, pp. 6-7.

"风暴、以太与空气想象：重思阿里斯托芬《蛙》中的诗人之争 (Storm, ‘aither’ and the Battle between the Poets: Aristophanes’ Frogs and the imagination of air in Athenian intellectual currents), 《古典学研究》第十一辑《重读阿里斯托芬》，华夏出版社，30- 46 (Classical Studies, Vol. 11: Re-reading Aristophanes, Hua Xia Publishing, pp. 30-46.)

'Ismene in the wrong family? The tomb scene on the "Exeter vase"', blog article for Material Musings, run by students at the Department of Classics, University of Warwick (October 2022)

《阅读希腊悲剧》中译，生活·读书·新知三联书店，2020（Chinese translation of Goldhill, S. (1986) Reading Greek Tragedy (Cambridge), SDX Press）