ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø

ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø cookie policy

We use cookies on reading.ac.uk to improve your experience, monitor site performance and tailor content to you

Read our cookie policy to find out how to manage your cookie settings

Dr Athena Leoussi

Athena S Leoussi portrait

Specialism

Comparative European History; Nationalism; Citizenship; Legacy of Ancient Greek culture

Alumni Officer for the Languages and Cultures Department

Office

Miller 103

Building location

Miller building

Areas of interest

My main scholarly interests lie in three overlapping fields: nationalism studies, art history, and the European Classical tradition. Within these broad fields, I am particularly interested in the history, theories and problems of nationalism and national identity; European cultural history, with special emphasis on cultural exchange and contact; visions of the human body in the context of the modern idea of race and anti-semitism; the representation of national identity in art and architecture; and the role of the classical tradition in the development of modern conceptions of humanity, nationality, and democracy.

I have published several volumes and articles in my areas of interest (see my Publications, below). My research has received funding from the Greek State, the Hellenic Foundation, the Irving Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, USA, and the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP) of the ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø, that gives undergraduate students opportunities to acquire research skills by working with academics on their research projects.

Through my interest in the European Classical Tradition, I worked for several years with the British Museum, organising events to promote public understanding of the significance of the ideas, principles, and art of the ancient Greek world for modern life and the development of modern art. I also initiated and curated, with the late Dr Ian Jenkins, Senior Curator at the British Museum, the exhibition, ' (2015), and was scientific advisor for its sequel, Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece (2018). Both of these blockbuster exhibitions were radically innovative. They placed at centre stage the British Museum’s Parthenon Sculptures, hitherto held in obscurity and neglect by debates over their ownership, and showed their dramatic impact on modern art.

I am currently writing a book on European Parliaments.

Postgraduate supervision

I have supervised and acted as External Examiner for doctoral research on ethnicity, race, nationalism, the classical tradition, and the representation of national identity in art and architecture. I welcome applications for postgraduate research on any of these themes.

Curre