RESEARCH PROFILE
- RAE score (2008): 30 per cent of our research activity is 'world-leading' (4*), and 35 per cent 'internationally excellent' (3*). The same Exercise rates our 'Research environment' 75 per cent at 4* and 25 per cent at 3*, and our 'Esteem indicators' 100 per cent at 4*.
- Research income: Recent awards include one Leverhulme Research Professorship, four Leverhulme Major Research Fellowships, one British Academy Fellowship, three AHRC Research Leave Awards, an AHRC collaborative doctoral award and three RCUK Research Fellowships.
- Current number of academic staff: 22.
- Current number of research students: 17.
- Recent publications:
- The Persian Empire: a History;
- Egypt from Alexander to the Copts;
- Classical Athens and the Delphic Oracle;
- Callimachus: Hymns, Epigrams and Fragments;
- Martial: the world of the epigram;
- Silent Eloquence: Lucian and pantomime dancing;
- Ambrosiaster's Political Theology;
- On-line edition of the Inscriptions of Aphrodisias.
- Partner organisations: British Museum.
KEY FACTS
Student destinations
Recent doctoral students of the department have gone on to full academic posts in the UK, the USA, and Greece, and to the Civil Service.
Head of group/division
Dr Hugh Bowden
Duration
Expected to be: MPhil two years FT, three years PT. PhD three years FT, four-six years PT.
Location
Strand Campus; other University of London Colleges and Institutes.
Year of entry 2013
Offered by
School of Arts and Humanities
Department of Classics
Closing date
There is no formal deadline for applications. Applicants are strongly encouraged to start their degree at beginning of the academic year in September, when the College offers a full induction programme. However, if it is not possible for a student to start at that point, by agreement with their prospective supervisor they may apply to begin in January or April. But please note that students receiving funding may have their possible start time restricted by the terms of their funding. Applicants wishing to apply for funding must submit their application by the relevant funding deadline, which is usually early in the year. Please see
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources/index.aspx for information on the available funding opportunities and deadlines.
No set number.
Fees
CONTACTS
Contact information
Postgraduate Officer, Centre for Arts & Sciences Admissions (CASA)
tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 2736
fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 7200
Email
Website
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION
We pursue and supervise research across an exceptionally wide range of topics in Greek, Roman and Near Eastern history, archaeology and art, as well as Greek and Latin language, literature and thought, late antique and Byzantine studies, and reception studies.
We have a strong record of attracting major research grants. Our senior staff have recently received funding from the AHRC, the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust for projects concerning the digitisation of Greek inscriptions, the economy of Greek and Roman Egypt, freedmen in the Roman world, Classical Greek poetic style, ancient pantomime and philosophy under the Roman Empire.
Other areas of activity brought into the Department, or strengthened, by recent appointments, include Medieval Latin, Roman mosaics and mosaicists, and ancient Persia. We have successful ongoing research projects in collaboration with the College's Centre for Computing in the Humanities and the British Museum. We work with the School of Arts & Humanities Centre for Hellenic Studies, which combines the resources of Classics and Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies in organising major public lectures by leading scholars (the Runciman Lecture, the Greek Archaeological Committee Lecture) and biennial international conferences (recent topics include Images of Alexandria, Personification in the Ancient World, and Images and Uses of Socrates).
Staff interests associated with the research programme and its research groups
Interests:
Archaeology of the Early Iron Age and Archaic Greek world; Greek religion; Corinth and the west; The Black Sea; Ancient pottery studies
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(Professor of Ancient History) Greek and Roman Egypt; Roman Italy; Roman state finance.
Tel:
020 7848 2059
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Interests:
Minoan Crete
Bronze Age Cyprus
Greek Archaeology
Tel:
020 7848 2768
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Interests:
Late Antiquity - especially the history and literature of the 5th & 6th centuries; developments in Classical and Byzantine Greek.
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Interests:
Greek lyric and dramatic poetry, Hellenistic poetry.
Tel:
020 7848 2295
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giambattista.d'alessio@kcl.ac.uk
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Interests:
History of the Roman Republic; Pompeii; historiography; epigraphy.
Tel:
020 7848 2674
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Alexander the Great; archaic and classical Greek history; Greek religion; mystery religions.
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020 7848 2010
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Greek history and religion, especially Aigina.
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020 7848 1762
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Fifth-century drama and ritual; ancient performance culture; pantomime dancing; reception
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020 7848 1090
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Archaeology of the Roman western provinces, Latin epigraphy; archaeology of death & burial; archaeology of documents and literacy; archaeology of Roman and pre-Roman landscapes.
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020 7848 2252
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Interests:
Ancient Iran; Hellenistic Mediterranean and Near East; history of scholarship, travel and archaeological exploration.
Tel:
020 7848 2626
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Interests:
Neronian Literature, Roman Comedy and Epigram.
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020 7848 2075
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Interests:
Poetry in theory and practice; Tragedy and comedy in theory and practice; Greek poetry and drama; Literary theory, ancient and modern; The classical tradition
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+44 (0)20 7848 2627
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(Professor of Greek literature and thought) Imperial period Greek literature and thought; the representation of Socrates; Greece and Rome on the Strand.
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020 7848 2012
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(Professor of Classics) Latin literature; Greco-Roman literary criticism; Roman culture.
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020 7848 2058
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Interests:
My research interests lie in the history of late antiquity, with particular interests in early Christianity and the history of ideas. My PhD was on the political theology of Ambrosiaster, an anonymous Christian writer of the later fourth century. My current major research project is on ideas and images of the Devil in late antiquity; I am also pursuing side topics on panegyric, late Latin commentary - especially Macrobius - and Polybius. In the future, I hope to embark on a major research project on anonymity and pseudonymity in antiquity.
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020 7848 2534
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Interests:
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+44 (0)20 7848 1292
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+44 (0)20 7848 2926
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Roman Art, especially mosaics & wall paintings.
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020 7848 1015
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Interests:
Latin poetry, literary theory, comparative literature
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020 7848 2353
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ACADEMIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
General entry advice
Normally an MA awarded with merit or distinction, in classics or a closely related subject and a first or 2:1 BA first class degree, or overseas equivalents.
APPLYING TO KING'S
To apply for graduate study at King's you will need to complete our graduate online application form. Applying online makes applying easier and quicker for you, and means we can receive your application faster and more securely.
King's does not normally accept paper copies of the graduate application form as applications must be made online. However, if you are unable to access the online graduate application form, please contact the relevant admissions/School Office at King's for advice.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Admission to our research programmes will initially be for the MPhil but we expect students to transfer to the PhD after an appropriate period, by agreement with their supervisor, the Departmental Postgraduate Research Committee and the University.
PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPORTING INFORMATION
No information required.
FUNDING
AHRC, the Ronald Burrows Memorial Studentship, Graduate School and School of Arts & Humanities studentships and bursaries; The Robert Browning Memorial Fund Graduate Scholarship is available for full-time doctoral research in any field of Hellenic Studies. Cyprus Scholarship. Teaching Assistantships may also be available.
Student profiles
Classics Research MPhil/PhDI am a 25 year old Italian girl who, after completing a BA in Classics at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy, decided to move to London to attend a Masters in Classics at King’s College London. I chose King’s because of its outstanding academic reputation in my field of studies and of the well-known high quality of the courses provided by the College.
My expectations were completely fulfilled, and that is why, while I was still attending my MA, I decided to apply for a PhD in Classics with a research proposal on the manifold and complex relationship between Herodotus and Greek Lyric Poetry under the supervision of
Professor D’Alessio. In my view, in fact, King’s represented the best possible institution to undertake such a research, in that first of all Professor D’Alessio was the ideal supervisor for my project, secondly because I knew from my MA experience that the College could offer excellent studying facilities such as extremely well-stocked libraries or several further learning opportunities such as that of attending stimulating seminars and conferences.
Finally, the possibility of getting a scholarship from the College for the funding of research projects - which in fact I myself was so lucky to obtain - represents, I believe, an important incentive to work hard as well as a fundamental step in a young scholar’s attempt to pursue an academic career.
Perhaps what I have reckoned to be the most amazing trait of my experience so far is the chance to express my own views and opinions on my subject, enjoying the privilege of sharing my thoughts with a vibrant community of students and with a distinguished body of Professors whose helpfulness, competence and guidance have allowed me to become even more enthusiastic about my subject than I already was and, most importantly, more self-confident as a young scholar.
Staff profiles
Classics Research MPhil/PhD
I am one of four new Research Council UK (RCUK) fellows in the Department of Classics, my particular subject area being Roman Art. The fellowship gives me the opportunity to teach while at the same time developing my research profile. I am currently initiating a major research project at the interface between craft production and visual history in the ancient world. This focuses on craftsmen as producers, analysing their role in the formation of visual culture through a material-based approach which highlights the processes of production alongside their social status and modes of organisation.
King's is an excellent place to teach and study Classical Art & Archaeology, having received the top rating in both the teaching review by the Quality Assurance Agency and the Research Assessment Exercise. The programme itself combines the practical aspects of archaeological excavation with a through grounding in the material culture and history of the classical world.
My own background is both academic and practical. I recently completed a doctorate on the techniques of mosaic production, but have also made mosaics for many years. I enjoy teaching ancient art and archaeology, and have developed a postgraduate module, Ancient Mosaics: Making & Meaning.
The department is on the Strand, so in the heart of London. We are lucky enough to have fantastic resources close by, including some of the most prestigious research libraries and world-renowned institutions such as the British Museum, the Museum of London and the Victoria and Albert Museum, along with the smaller collections of the Soane Museum. Altogether this makes the department one of the best places for the study of Greco-Roman and Byzantine material culture.