Dr Ralph Anderson
Senior teaching fellow in ancient history
Director of Teaching, Exams Officer, Subhonours Adviser
Phone: 01334 462619
Room: C29
Research Interests
My main research interests are in the lived experience of religion in ancient Greece, that is, how the religious views and practices of the Greeks were integrated into and impacted upon their daily lives and their practical understanding of the world around them and their place within it. By that I mean not only (or even mainly) their understanding of the natural world but also their understanding of the social world, what it means to be one person among many, all of whom have their own hopes, fears, desires and plans. Because of this, I am also interested in Greek divination and magic.
Current research projects
I am currently working on a couple of articles on Greek divination. Major projects include the publication of the proceedings of a conference on Belief and its Alternatives in Greek and Roman Religion which I organised in St Andrews in July 2010 and the revision of my PhD dissertation as a monograph for CUP provisionally entitled Dwelling with Divinity: Person, Place and Perception in Athenian Religion.
Publications
Theseus and Theseia
Anderson, R. T.
2011
In:
The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Ancient History
.
Wiley-Blackwell
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary
Odysseus
Anderson, R. T.
2011
In:
The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Ancient History
.
Wiley-Blackwell
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary
Kill or cure: Athenian judicial curses and the body in fear
Anderson, R. T.
2002
In:
Practitioners, Practices and Patients: New Approaches to Medical Archaeology and Anthropology.
Baker, P. A. & Carr, G. (eds.).
Oxbow Books
,
p. 221-237.
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Other contribution
'To the victor the spoils: the cunning of Themistocles'
Anderson, R. T.
2009
Omnibus, 58,
p. 14-16.
3 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to specialist publication
›
Article
M. A. Flower,
The Seer in Ancient Greece
(book review)
Anderson, R. T.
28-Nov-2011
In :
Journal of Hellenic Studies
.
131
,
p. 230.
230 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Book/Film/Article review
R. C. T. Parker,
Polytheism and Society at Athens
(book review)
Anderson, R. T.
2010
In :
Ancient West and East
.
9
,
p. 357-359.
3 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Book/Film/Article review
Breaking out of the Footnotes (Review of J. B. Connolly,
Portrait of a Priestess: Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece
)
Anderson, R. T.
May-2007
In :
Times Higher Education Supplement
.
18 May 2007
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Book/Film/Article review
A. Purvis,
Singular Dedications: Founders and Innovators of Private Cults in Classical Greece
(book review)
Anderson, R. T.
2006
In :
Journal of Hellenic Studies
.
126
,
p. 184.
1 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Book/Film/Article review
For further information on publications, please view my profile on the university's research portal.
Teaching
Subhonours
I teach in a range of subhonours Ancient History modules, including AN1001 ‘Greek History to Alexander the Great’, AN1002 ‘Rome from Foundation to Empire’ and AN2003 ‘Mediterranean Communities’ which I currently co-ordinate. I also lecture from time to time in the Classical Studies module CL1004 ‘Myth and Community in Ancient Greek Literature and Culture.’
Honours
I currently teach Honours modules on Greek religion (CL4433) and responses to death and dying in Greek culture (CL4429). I will also be introducing new modules on magic in the Greco-Roman world (CL4419, from 2011-12) and Herodotus (from 2012-13).
Taught Postgraduate
I contribute seminars to the MLitt core modules in Ancient History and Classical Studies on approaches to ancient religions, Classics in the museum and Classics on film. I also offer a taught module on Greek religion.
Academic career
I graduated from Downing College, Cambridge in 1997 with a degree in Classics, left for a year and then moved up the road slightly to Trinity Hall, where I did my MPhil and PhD between 1998 and 2003. I then worked briefly for the Cambridge School Classics Project before coming to St Andrews in 2004. Since arriving in St Andrews I have been variously a Teaching Fellow, Temporary Lecturer and now Senior Teaching Fellow.