Warwick's Classics Department believes that research into Greek and Roman antiquity contributes important social and cultural insights for modern society. We're committed to engaging diverse audiences and communicating our research in innovative ways to organisations and individuals. Our research has increased popular engagement with, and knowledge about, the ancient world by feeding into critically-acclaimed radio and television programmes and by collaborating with journalists around the world.
We're committed to supporting teaching and learning of Classics in secondary education in the UK by providing educational resources and teacher training sessions based on the most recent research developments. We utilise cutting-edge digital technology to make the world of ancient Greece and Rome accessible to the widest audience possible. Writing for mainstream and online media for a variety of audiences further extends engagement with our research.
Our researchers appear regularly on radio and television as expert interviewees and programme presenters, bringing ancient Greek and Roman civilisation to audiences around the world. Prof. Michael Scott
is lead contributor for a Lion TV documentary on Socrates and Confucius for the Chinese TV channel Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation, and for the ZDF German Television series
Dark Greece, whilst Prof. Alison Cooley was interviewed for a four-part documentary
The Roman Empire Beyond the Myths produced by Indigenes Productions.
An understanding of the ancient world can offer insights into modern society and culture. By acting as consultants for journalists, and by writing for mainstream media, online information providers, and for young people, we encourage widespread interest in the Classics. Prof. Michael Scott has co-written
a children’s book on Ancient Greece with Greg Jenner in his ‘Totally Chaotic History’ series (soon to be published by Walker Books). Books written for non-academic audiences include Themistocles (Yale UP) and X Marks the Spot: An Adventurous History of Archaeology (Hodder books) by Michael Scott and Pompeii (Bloomsbury) by Alison Cooley, who has also supported journalists publishing in the New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine.
We are committed to improving the quality of teaching and learning in classical antiquity and to increasing access to university classics.
Sourcebooks and
textbooks written by our researchers on a range of topics are used by UK exam boards for GCSE, AS-Level and A-Level courses in ancient history. Our researchers regularly communicate their work on
Greek drama, ancient coins and tokens, myths and festivals, and inscriptions to schools and work with the Classical Association to offer teacher training. The
Warwick Classics Network coordinates the presentation of our research in literature, history, and archaeology to teachers and schools students alike and hosts a wide range of
online resources to support teaching in schools.
We are at the forefront in exploiting the latest digital technology to preserve, enhance and increase access to classical materials and their history. Our databases include
The Beginnings of Empire, gathering together provincial coins from the Roman Republic, whilst
Tokens of the Ancient Mediterranean brings into focus a little study category of object which illuminates cultural, political, social and economic aspects of the ancient world. An online exhibition discusses the case of
Tokens from Athens. We have been collaborating with Warwick Manufacturing Group to produce
3D Sketch-fab models of coins and tokens for use in teaching. A wide range of
podcasts and
vodcasts also cover aspects of the ancient world, from Athenian democracy to Indiana Jones!
Warwick is a leading centre for the study of the history of medicine. Three current funded projects are opening up the continuity and transformations in medicine from ancient Greece through the Middle Ages to the present day by exploring surviving medical texts.
Medical Prognosis in Late Antiquity, led by
Caroline Petit,
Galen's Commentary on the Hippocratic Epidemics and
The Best Accounts of the Classes of Physicians, are bringing important historical moments in the advancement of medicine to public audiences through popular books, exhibitions and public lectures.
Our department hosts the
Money and Medals Network, a Subject Specialist Network that aims to enhance knowledge and understanding of coins, medals, tokens, and paper money in British collections. Funded by The Royal Numismatic Society and the British Numismatic Society, the Network facilitates dialogue and debate around research methodologies, interpretation, display and learning programmes, facilitating knowledge exchange and training of museum curators in how to make the most of their collections.
