Regional Classics Podcast

Dr Sarah Cullinan Herring read for a BA and an MSt in Classics at Oriel College, and a DPhil at University College which she completed in 2012.  She was a lecturer in Ancient Greek literature at Balliol and Trinity Colleges before moving to Winchester College where she was Head of Classics for several years, during which time she became a qualified teacher. Her research interests are in epic and Greek lyric poetry. She is currently preparing a book for publication by OUP entitled The Mirror and the Lyre: song performance and poetic authority in Greek literature.  

Jenyth Evans, having never had the opportunity to study Classics or ancient languages at school, came from Northern Ireland in 2015 to study Classics for her undergraduate degree at Jesus College, Oxford. During that time, she picked up Greek, Latin and Irish, and studied the reception of Vergil in medieval Ireland for her dissertation. She enjoyed studying the medieval period so much she stayed on for a Masters in Medieval Studies at Jesus College, learning Welsh through the course and graduating in 2020. Jenyth is now studying for a doctorate at St Edmund Hall, researching pseudo-histories - that is, histories largely or wholly made up by medieval authors - which were written in medieval Ireland, England, and Wales.

Professor Peter Stewart was born and brought up in Belfast, before reading Classics at Cambridge University. He taught at Cambridge and Reading universities, and at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, before moving to Oxford in 2011. He is a specialist in Roman art with a particular interest in the relationship between art traditions in different parts of the ancient world.

Professor Bill Allan grew up in Bowhill, a former coal-mining village in Fife, Scotland. Thanks to the dedication and support of teachers at Denend Primary School and Glenrothes High School, he became the first person in his family to attend university. He studied Classics and Gaelic at Edinburgh University and taught at Harvard University before coming to University College, Oxford. He is particularly interested in the literature and intellectual history of archaic and classical Greece.

Jessica Curry studies Classics (Course IB) at St. Hugh's College and is currently in her final year. Previous to this she studied at St. Columba's School in Inverclyde where she first fell in love with all things Classical via the Percy Jackson novels. A past committee member of the Oxford University Classics Society, she started rowing as a beginner in Fresher's Week and has volunteered with the Clydeside Project, a student organization that gives support and mentoring to Scottish Oxbridge applicants.

Originally from Lanarkshire, Dr Arlene Holmes-Henderson studied Classics (IB) at St. Hilda’s College Oxford before completing further degrees at Harvard, Cambridge and Glasgow. A qualified school teacher, she taught Latin, Greek and Classical Studies to teenagers full-time while completing her doctorate in Classics education part-time. Since 2014, she has led the Classics in Communities project at the University of Oxford which investigates what impact the study of Classical languages has on children’s cognitive development. Arlene is an expert on the role of Classics in the curriculum and assessment systems of both Scotland and England and, in her role as OPEN Policy Leader, she acts as an advisor to both governments on education.

Dr Rebecca Armstrong grew up in North Devon and first came to Oxford to study Classics at Balliol College. She took up her current post at St Hilda’s in 2004. Her main research interests nowadays centre around ancient literary responses to the natural world, especially plants. Her students nobly tolerate her tendency to talk at length about beech trees.

Molly Gibson-Mee studied for a BA in Classics and English (Course II) and an MSt in Greek and Latin Languages and Literature at Oriel College from 2015-20. Molly grew up in rural Devon and attended a state comprehensive school there before discovering Classics at an FE College. She is a successful YouTuber and currently works for Murray Edwards College at the University of Cambridge.

Justin Vyvyan-Jones followed his love for language and story from village state schools through to studying BA Classics (IIA) and German at St Hugh's College. Firmly rooted in the West Country, and proud of his roots in village primaries, rural state-comp, and state sixth-form college, he's seen how valuable committed teaching and effective outreach are to transforming young people's prospects, and how easy it is for negative stereotypes to deter them from giving Oxford a shot. Having thrown himself into the rich student life at Oxford, he's now gearing up for a year abroad in Germany, where he's been offered a placement translating medieval texts into English. Justin firmly believes in being an ambassador for inclusivity and accessibility in Oxford and beyond.

Alexander Moore is currently a DPhil Ancient History student at Lady Margaret Hall. Originating from Burton-on-Trent in the Midlands, he completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Liverpool and Masters at the University of Birmingham before starting his DPhil at Oxford in 2020. His research focuses on the reported political, social, and military influence of Julius Caesar's veterans during the various and successive civil conflicts of the Late Roman Republic. He is eager to encourage anyone to engage with, and benefit from, the study of the ancient world.    

Eleanor Newman has been studying Classics related subjects since 2016 when she started her undergraduate degree at the University of Nottingham. She is currently studying for a DPhil in Classical Archaeology, which will focus on the intersection of race and gender in Hellenistic terracottas in an attempt to counteract the modern whitewashing of life in the ancient Mediterranean. In her spare time, Ellie can be found in her hometown of Nuneaton baking, pub quizzing, and hanging out with her pets.

Roberta Thomson is an experienced communications leader with a background in finance who has worked in London, New York, Dallas and Silicon Valley. She currently leads Facebook's Product Communications team, which tells the story of how Facebook’s products improve people’s lives. For five years previously she led Facebook’s Corporate Communications team, including financial and media relations, creative, internal and data communications. Previously Roberta spent over seven years at critical issues and corporate relations agency Brunswick Group, where she advised on media relations, crisis and issues management, and over $150bn of M&A transactions. Roberta started her professional life as a chartered accountant with Deloitte in London, where she worked with clients across sectors on both statutory audits and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Prior to that she read Classics at Oxford, and spent her teenage years singing in a rock band.

Cristina Chui is a Classics (Course IA) undergraduate at Merton College, originally from Newcastle upon Tyne. She is passionate about making Classics accessible and enjoyable and has striven to do this in her capacity as a Student Ambassador for her college and by setting up two social media ventures: Cristina’s Classics Corner and Merton Classics Access. In her spare time, she does photography and volunteering, or you can find her watching lots of Korean dramas!   

Professor Llewelyn Morgan was an undergraduate almost too long ago to remember, but around 1986 to 1990, after growing up in St Helens, Merseyside. He works mainly on Roman poetry and is looking forward to visiting more schools and colleges to explain why Classics is by far the most interesting degree available.

Amy Thompson read Classics at St. Anne's College between 2015 and 2019, during which time she picked up Greek from scratch before completing a BPhil in Philosophy. Outside of Classics, she can usually be found in a theatre – preferably backstage with a clipboard in hand, though sometimes also in the audience.