Council

Dr Anne Carson CM is an award-winning poet, translator and professor of classical languages. Having studied classics at the University of Toronto and the University of St Andrews, Anne’s interests in comparative literature, history and the arts infuse her work, which includes both long and short form poetry, essays, and translations of ten Greek tragedies as well as the works of Sappho (If Not, Winter).

Her verse novel, the Autobiography of Red, won the T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry in 1998 and An Oresteia won the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation in 2010. She has been the recipient of Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellowships and is the subject of two edited volumes about her work and influences.

Douglas (FHEA, FRSE, FBA, MAE) is Professor of Classics in the University of Edinburgh. He first joined CA Council in 2002 as Honorary Secretary designate, and held the role of Honorary Secretary from 2003 to 2011. He was Chair of the Classical Association Journals Board from 2015 to 2020 before becoming Chair of Council. Douglas learned Latin and Greek at Eastbank Academy in Glasgow’s East End and did his MA and PhD at Glasgow University. He has taught at the Universities of St Andrews, Otago, Leeds, and Glasgow and has held visiting positions at Florida State, Fu Jen (Taiwan), Kyoto, Mainz, Pisa, and Tokyo. He currently leads a five-year ERC project on Honour in Classical Greece and holds an Anneliese Maier Research Prize, awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Alex (FRHistS OMLJ) is Senior Lecturer in Hellenistic History at Cardiff University, where he has been since 2016 after teaching at McGill University in Montreal and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. His teaching and research focus on several aspects of Hellenistic society, especially local culture in the Greek Mainland and the role and ideology of royal women in the Hellenistic dynasties. He also works on the reception of the ancient world in contemporary popular culture. Alex did not really encounter the classical world or the study of Greek and Latin until university, and since then has developed a passion for broadening access to the classical world and advocating for the transferable skills that come with studying ancient culture and languages.

George holds honours degrees in both Classics and Mathematics and a PhD in the finances of the Roman Empire from Kings College London. During his career as a financial services expert, he has worked with clients across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas and he is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. A former Partner at Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, the international firm of actuaries and risk management consultants, he became CA Hon. Treasurer in 2023. George is the author of Pugnare. Economic Success and Failure which uses the Roman Empire as a parable for our times and was listed by The Week magazine as one of the top ten business books of 2021.

Sharon is a Senior Lecturer and the Director of Education in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter, where she has taught for over ten years. Her teaching and research centres largely on Latin language and literature and she is particularly interested in the reception of classical literature among female authors in sixteenth-century France. Having been fortunate enough to attend a state school that offered Latin, she is committed to promoting the study of classical subjects at all levels in schools across the UK. Sharon also sits on the Standing Committee of the Council of University Classical Departments, where she holds the role of Statistics Officer and is responsible for the annual collection and publication of statistics on Classics in UK universities.

James first encountered the classical world at primary school with a class project on the Romans but didn’t get the opportunity to study the societies of Greece and Rome formally until sixth-form college, where he took A Levels in Classical Civilisation and Ancient History.  He is now Professor of Classical Studies at the Open University, where his teaching and research focus on the Ancient Greek comic playwright, Aristophanes, attitudes towards sex and relationships in classical Athens, and the Greek and Latin languages. 

Arlene is Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Durham where she specialises in Classics education. After studying Classics at Oxford, Harvard and Cambridge, Arlene qualified as a schoolteacher. She taught for more than a decade in a range of schools in the UK and internationally, leading departments and assuming school-wide responsibilities. She holds a doctorate in Classics education and is an expert in educational research, policy and practice. An advisor to governments in the UK and around the world on curriculum and assessment, she believes strongly the importance of knowledge exchange. Arlene is the Chair of the Classics Development Group and the Vice Chair of the Teaching Board. For more information, see www.drarlenehh.com

Jasmine is an experienced Classics teacher, having taught in state and private schools on both a national and international level. The former Devon and Cornwall co-ordinator for Classics for All, based at the University of Exeter, Jasmine is from a working-class background, hailing from a single parent household in East London. She is proudly of dual heritage and a passionate advocator for the equal rights of individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds. Jasmine studied Ancient World Studies at University College London from 2001-2004, with no prior knowledge of Classics. From here, she obtained a PGCE in Classics from the University of Cambridge in 2005, and in 2017 returned to academia, completing an MA in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter. Jasmine embarked on a PhD in Classics and Ancient History in 2018, however she has recently paused her studies to dedicate her time to promoting classical subjects in schools and her passion for equality, diversity and inclusion.

Anastacia graduated from the University of St. Andrews in 2000 with an MA (Hons) in English and Latin, additionally studying Ancient Greek and Medieval History. After completing a PGCE in Post-Compulsory Education, she taught English at a range of levels in FE, Classics in Adult Community Education settings and she currently teaches Latin as part of the Enrichment programme at St. John Rigby College where she also manages a team of Learning Mentors as a Team Leader in the Learner Support department. She is passionate about helping students to achieve their potential and co-ordinates support for learners with varied barriers to learning and special educational needs including dyslexia and autism. She is excited to be in a position where she can help to develop more accessibility for SEND learners and extend Classics outreach beyond mainstream education to include alternative provisions, home schooling and community education. She is the CA EDI representative for the Working-Class Classics Network and Secretary for the CA’s Liverpool branch.