We are delighted that Professor Edith Hall from our Department of Classics and Ancient History has been awarded the prestigious Classical Association Prize in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the promotion of Classics in the UK.
The Classical Association is an education charity that is dedicated to making classical subjects widely accessible.
Professor Edith Hall has published more than thirty books on many aspects of ancient Greek and Roman literature, philosophy, history and on the continuing presence of the ancient Mediterranean and Black Sea worlds in more recent times since the Renaissance.
She has written widely on ethnicity, gender and social class in ancient thought and their subsequent uses and abuses, for example in European and North American controversies over slavery and imperialism.
Her research has made important contributions in the understanding of Greek drama, the representation of ethnicity in antiquity, and the cultural history of Classics, from her ground-breaking first monograph ‘Inventing the Barbarian’ to her recent ‘A People’s History of Classics’, co-authored with Henry Stead.
In 2017, she was made Leadership Fellow on the AHRC project and campaign Advocating Classics Education, which seeks to make the study of Classical Civilisation and Ancient History more widely available in the State Secondary Sector.
She is a fellow of the British Academy and has been awarded an ERC grant and also a Leverhulme Trust research grant, which has been honoured by UKRI.
Professor Hall has nurtured the careers of many classicists, often going above and beyond with her support, particularly for those who do not come from traditional backgrounds.
She has always understood the importance of bringing this research to a wider audience and has won a legion of fans through regular appearances on BBC radio and television.
Her expertise in Greek drama has been lauded as a consultant to professional productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and Live Theatre Newcastle.
In 2018, Professor Hall introduced a new audience to Aristotelian ethics in an accessible volume called ‘Aristotle’s Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life’.
Since translated into numerous languages, it is just one of many markers of her influence and reach. All this outreach and public engagement work is firmly rooted in her belief that classics should not be the preserve of the elite.
One of the largest in the UK, the Classics and Ancient History Department ranks 13th in the 2022 QS World University Rankings by subject and with score of 85 for employer reputation graduates have gone on to careers in computing, civil service, gold dealing, insurance, journalism, law, accountancy, public relations and the theatre.
We’re confident that our work brings the relevance and importance of Classics to a wider audience and our engagement with partners outside academia demonstrates the continued impact of Classics on people’s lives today.
Feeling inspired? Visit our Classics and Ancient History webpages for more information on our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
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