Classics in Britain
Scholarship, Education, and Publishing 1800-2000
Classical Presences Series

This unique volume summarizes and reflects the work of a leading voice in the history of Classics in Britain, bringing together both previously published articles, now newly revised, and never before published work. Topics range from the school classroom to the politics of universities, and from the social uses of classical knowledge to the publishing of textbooks: although the volume as a whole maintains a particular focus on the role of books and journals in the reception of Classics, the chapters also draw on anecdotal and documentary sources to offer a vivid exploration of the more obscure corners of the world of nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholars, teachers, and pupils. The book is divided into three parts, the first of which illustrates the utility of comparative analysis of institutions, focusing on Oxford and Cambridge in particular; the second looks at the transformative role of printing and publishing, and at the history of the Hellenic Society (1879) and the Classical Association (1903), in relation to the changing place of Classics in British society. The third focuses on pedagogy, examining textbooks and classroom activity and stressing the dialectical nature of reception, as evidenced by the resistance of pupils to their teachers' lessons. Engaging and insightful in isolation, together they offer an expansive and unparalleled overview of the history and sociology of classical education and scholarship between 1800 and 2000.

Christopher Stray is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Swansea University and the holder of qualifications in Classics, sociology, and education. After spending time teaching in schools, he has devoted himself to research and publication on the history of Classics in schools and universities, working extensively in archives of British, Irish, Greek, and American institutions. He co-founded the Textbook Colloquium in 1988 with Ian Michael and has authored and (co-)edited several works on classical and other textbooks, though he is best known for his major study, Classics Transformed: Schools, Universities, and Society in England, 1830-1960 (OUP, 1998). He is currently working on studies of the Hellenists E. R. Dodds and Kenneth Dover, and on Liddell and Scott's Greek lexicon, as well as writing chapters on Classics and education for the forthcoming history of Trinity College, Cambridge.