New UGP publication: Classical Receptions and Settler Colonialism: A Reader

The publication Classical Receptions and Settler Colonialism: A Reader is now available online and as open access from University of Groningen Press (UGP).

The publication is edited by Dinah Wouters and Susanna de Beer.

About the book

This reader presents a carefully selected collection of primary texts, ranging from antiquity to the modern era, to explore the entangled histories of classical reception and settler colonialism. The “classics” here encompass texts and ideas from the ancient Mediterranean, the Roman Empire, and the Bible, which acquired canonical status in European literature. Settler colonialism, meanwhile, denotes the occupation of new lands by settler societies, characterized by territorial domination, legal imposition, and the suppression of Indigenous cultures.

Offering mostly Latin sources in combination with translations, this anthology investigates how Greco-Roman and Biblical traditions were mobilized to justify and structure settler colonial projects. It examines how classical ideas shaped territorial claims, legal systems, and religious frameworks on slavery, superiority, and power.

Intended for university teaching, this volume bridges classical reception studies, settler colonial studies, and related fields. It provides accessible primary materials to deepen understanding of how antiquity’s legacy has shaped colonial and postcolonial worlds, and invites reflection on the responsibilities of scholarship today.

With contributions by:
Dinah Wouters, Susanna de Beer, Jeremia Pelgrom, Anouk Vermeulen, Ivo Wolsing, Lukas Reddemann, Theodore R. Delwiche, Tycho Maas, Gert den Hartogh, Aza Goudriaan, Gert van Klinken, Martijn Stoutjesdijk, Katharina-Maria Schön.