- Serena Connolly
- Department Chair; Professor of Classics
- Ph.D., Yale
- Research Interests:
Serena Connolly teaches Roman history and Latin literature. Her research has characterized by her use of a wide range of texts from across the Roman world to understand Roman social and political history, including that of poorly-attested groups such as non-elites, women and slaves. More recently, she has turned to the history of science and technology and its intersection with Roman politics. She is the author of Lives Behind the Laws: The World of the Codex Hermogenianus (2010), in which she explored Roman emperors’ responses to the legal problems of their ordinary subjects, as well as a number of related articles. She has also published Wisdom from Rome: Reading Roman Society and European Education in the Distichs of Cato (2022). The Distichs are a collection of Roman wisdom and advice that was one of the most read and best-known ancient Latin texts for over 1000 years. Her new book Learned Emperors: Science, Technology, and Power at the Roman Imperial Court (forthcoming, 2025) examines the intersections of science, technology, and the practice of power to propose a fresh notion of what a Roman emperor was—or professed to be. Early modern European rulers employed intellectualism, specifically an interest in science and technology, as part of their personas. This book reveals that Roman emperors anticipated them by over a millennium and embraced intellectualism as a feature of the imperial persona. Professor Connolly regularly teaches courses on Roman republican and imperial history, ancient science and technology, and Latin literature.
- Office Location:
AB 6187, CAC
- Email:
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- Curriculum Vitae
