James Townshend, PhD

I am an Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at Loyola University Chicago, but I am originally from Auckland, New Zealand. I did my undergraduate studies at the University of Auckland, completing a LLB (Hons) in Public Law and a BA in Latin and Classical Studies. I then completed an MA (Hons) with first class honours in Latin.

 

After a very brief flirtation with practising law, I moved to the Boston area and enrolled in the doctoral program in Classical Philology at Harvard University. I received my PhD in March 2018. Prior to joining the faculty at Loyola University Chicago, I spent two years as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics at the University of Miami in Florida.

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I work primarily on Latin Literature of the Late Republic and Early Empire and its reception. My current book project explores the grotesque in antiquity -- not so much as a phenomenon but as an aesthetic idea. I'm interested in the way Greek and Latin authors talk about the grotesque, even though the word "grotesque" doesn't exist until the very end of the fifteenth century.

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I also work on ancient law and I am planning a large-scale work exploring the role of witnesses in Roman Law. In addition, I am working on the reception of the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds in Japan.