Applications are now open for Departmental bursaries towards PG study (Research and Taught) in Classics. The competition is open to all offer-holders at PG level and the deadline for applying is Monday 12 April 2021. Please write a letter of application explaining why you think you deserve a bursary. Applications are ranked on academic merit but we take into account any special circumstances you may have.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Caroline Petit has been awarded the prestigious Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany.

The award recognises Dr Petit’s excellent academic achievements, and she will be invited to carry out a new research project of her choosing in collaboration with colleagues in Germany.

Dr Petit’s research interests lie in the textual transmission, translation and interpretation of ancient medical texts. This includes the many ways they have been appropriated up to modern times.

Her recent projects include ‘Medical Prognosis in Late Antiquity’ (Wellcome Trust University Award, 2013-2018) and ‘Rethinking Ancient Pharmacology' (British Academy - Leverhulme 2017-2019).

In 2019 she was awarded the prestigious Médaille de Chénier by the French Académie des Inscriptions et des Belles Lettres for her recent book on the Greek physician and philosopher Galen of Pergamum (Galien de Pergame ou la rhétorique de la Providence. Médecine, littérature et pouvoir à Rome, Brill 2018). This medal is a distinction awarded only to one scholar every five years in recognition of outstanding scholarship in ancient Greek.

Find out more about Dr Petit’s research.

A PG Open Day for PhD and MA studies will take place on Wednesday 2 December.

The M4C competition for PhD scholarships is now open. The Department of Classics welcomes applications from strong candidates in our areas of expertise.

Dr Sanzo said: “Although scholarly study of the early Jewish and Christian practices, rituals, and texts deemed “magical” has blossomed over the past few decades, this research has tended to be divided along disciplinary lines, with historians of Judaism studying Jewish magic and historians of Christianity studying Christian magic.

“This grant will allow an interdisciplinary team to address this scholarly gap by examining local and global features of the magical artefacts – and the literary traditions about magic – from late-antique Jewish and Christian communities. In particular, my project will focus on the similarities, differences, and contacts between these traditions in four central areas of their magical practices: biblical texts and traditions; sacred names and titles; the word-image-material relation; and references to illicit rituals.”