Ancient History in Groningen has been one of the larger departments in the Netherlands. We
aim to covera wide range of subjects in teaching and research: from the Greek period tolate Antiquity, and from religion,culture and politics, to social and economic history, and historical demography.We are part of both a large History Department, and ofa thriving Department of Classics. There are also close ties with the Department of Archaeology, as well with the Faculty of Theology and Religious Sciences.Our courses are offered in the BA and MA programmes of History,and Classics,as well as in the interdisciplinary Research MA
Classical Medieval and Renaissance Studies
.
The tenured staff are active researchers with international experience and wide national and international networks.Our research projects include:
The Roman Economy Project
and
Political Culture, Religion and Identities from the Hellenistic Period to Late Antiquity
. These are carried out locally under the aegis of
ICOG
, i.a. in the contexts of the
Kossmann institute
, and
CRASIS
. Nationally we take part in the National Research Schools
OIKOS
and the
N.W. Posthumus Institute.
Our teaching and research are marked by a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary work. Besides classes in Ancient History, we organise joint courses. In our research projects we collaborate closely with archaeologists, classicists or historians of religion, and many of our Phd students are co-supervised by experts from these disciplines. Moreover we also co-supervise students in these departments.
There is an active graduate community. There are currently more than ten active PhD students in the Department or in adjoining Departments. Recent and current PhD subjects have included: Citizens, elites and benefactors: The politics of generosity in Roman Asia Minor; Societal Changes reflected in material culture: the Greek agora in the Hellenistic and Roman periods; The standard of living in the Roman empire; City and sanctuary inHellenistic Asia Minor;Emperors and decurions in Italy (27 B.C- AD 68); Cultural identities in in the Latin colonies of Central Italy; and Patronage and social hierarchies in Rome;The Antikythera mechanism. There is a regular interdisciplinary Ancient World Seminar which is organised by the Graduate students.
