Ray Starr
Theodora Stone Sutton Professor of Ancient Greek and Roman Studies & Professor of Classical Studies
Focuses on Roman literature and culture; law; the sociology of Roman literature and education; political communication; media studies; and Augustus.
I've published on various subjects, including Virgil and the commentaries on his work in late antiquity; the sociology of Roman literature, especially the circulation; reading and teaching of literary texts in antiquity; and the emperor Augustus, especially his monumental Res gestae divi August (The Achievements of the Divine Augustus). My current research focuses on readers and their texts in antiquity, from the circulation of authors' works in bookstores and private networks of friends to readers' experience with texts in various forms, including papyrus rolls and inscriptions on stone, a reflection of my involvement in Book Studies at Wellesley.
I've taught throughout the Classical Studies curriculum, focusing on Latin at all levels (elementary, intermediate, and advanced) and (in translation) on Roman law and Roman culture and society. Recent courses include Roman Law, Daily Life in the Ancient World, Roman Historical Mythology, Vergil and Augustus, Reading Latin Literature, and Roman Poems and Poetry Books.
In addition to scholarly research, I've also been deeply involved with high technology and classical studies as well as with the Classical Association of New England, a 700+ member association of collegiate and pre-collegiate faculty in New England, where I have served as president and have received the Barlow Beach Award for Distinguished Service.
My personal interests include kayaking, cooking, and behavioral economics.
Education
- B.A., University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- M.A., Princeton University
- Ph.D., Princeton University
Current and upcoming courses
Vergil wrote his epic poem the Aeneid as the origin story for Rome, as Aeneas escapes the fall of Troy and eventually reaches Italy, where he establishes what will lead to Rome. Vergil wrote this foundational story of Rome at a time of political upheaval and new beginnings, at the start of the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor, who won the civil wars that ended the Roman Republic. The epic responds to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, but also to Augustus and his new vision of Rome. We'll study the Aeneid as what became the Roman national epic and as an exploration of Roman values and what it meant to be Roman. Class sessions will focus on understanding both the Latin and broader questions of duty, love, patriotism, and responsibility though discussion, writing, recitation, Roman coins from Wellesley's collections, and even drawing.
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Ancient Rome’s economy was pre-industrial but highly developed and sophisticated. We will study fundamental large-scale questions such as the labor force with both free and slave labor, raw materials acquisition, start-up capital, transportation by land and sea, state involvement in the economy, banking, production methods, marketing, and retail trade. We will also study how individual businesses and trades operated, such as restaurants, furniture making, agriculture, pottery production, construction, stonework, lodging, sex work, handcrafts, textile and clothing production, dry-cleaning, and professional services (e.g., education). What modern models and approaches, including behavioral economics, help us understand ancient Roman businesses? Possible projects include case studies, consultations with modern craftspeople, and development of business plans.