Oliver Thomas
Associate Professor in Classics, Faculty of Arts
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Biography
I studied Classics at Oxford University as both an undergraduate and a postgraduate student. In 2008-11 I held a research fellowship at Christ Church, Oxford, and in 2011-14 I was a lecturer at Cambridge University. I joined the University of Nottingham as a lecturer in February 2014.
When not immersed in ancient Greek literature, I can often be found on either a piano stool or a badminton court, or mentoring secondary school students in tricky bits of maths.
Expertise Summary
My previous research has focused on ancient Greek literature and religion, particularly tragedy, hymns and epic. My preferred method has been to take particular texts and apply an eclectic range of methodologies to their interpretation, from traditional philology to cognitive research on discourse-processing. I am currently working on two main projects, one on the reception of the Iliad within antiquity, and the other on the problem-solving techniques of the mathematician Diophantus.
Teaching Summary
I enjoy teaching a wide range of topics across Greek and Latin language and literature, so that I can keep thinking about some of the many interests I have in the ancient world. Particular favourites… read more
Research Summary
I have recently completed an edition and commentary on the Homeric Hymn to Hermes for Cambridge University Press, and previously co-authored a commentary on Aeschylus' Agamemnon (Oxford 2011). My… read more
I enjoy teaching a wide range of topics across Greek and Latin language and literature, so that I can keep thinking about some of the many interests I have in the ancient world. Particular favourites include Homer and tragedy.
My previous and upcoming teaching includes Interpreting Ancient Literature, Women in the Greek World, Homeric Epic, Reading the Iliad in Antiquity, Introduction to Ancient Greek Medicine, and Greek Tragedy and its Reception on the Modern Stage. I regularly teach Advanced Greek, including texts such as Thucydides book 2, Lucian, Euripides' Cyclops, Longus' Daphnis and Chloe; most recently we explored a range of ancient paradoxographical writers (think ghost stories and curious animals...). For Studying Classical Scholarship I have run a worksheet on Jean-Pierre Vernant's influence on the study of Greek mythology, and for Extended Source Study one on Limenius' Paean and Prosodion for the Athenians to perform at Delphi in the 2nd century BCE.
I next expect to be on research leave in Spring 2020.
Current Research
I have recently completed an edition and commentary on the Homeric Hymn to Hermes for Cambridge University Press, and previously co-authored a commentary on Aeschylus' Agamemnon (Oxford 2011). My current main projects focus on the scholia to the Iliad, and (separately) on how the problem-solving of Diophantus of Alexandria can be incorporated within a contemporary school maths curriculum.
I am happy to discuss potential PhD applications on any topics relating to ancient Greek literature and scientific texts, particularly to do with editions and commentaries. I will next be on research leave in Spring 2022.