My areas of expertise lie in the social, cultural and political history of the ancient Middle East (c.3000-100 BC), especially the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian and Seleucid empires.
Elected 2001
Classics and Ancient History
Classics, in particular: ancient and medieval ideas on language; the use of value terms in public debate; cognitive approaches to Greek literature; innovation processes in antiquity, in particular their 'anchoring'
Latin literature of the Flavian and Trajanic periods; Roman social history, especially spectacle and punishment