Classics research

Research in classics and ancient history at Birkbeck has particular strengths in ancient political and ethical thought, citizenship and migration, Greek and Latin prose literature and the reception of Greek and Roman antiquity in later periods.

Birkbeck is known for its collaborative approach to research, so specialists in the study of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds benefit hugely from collaboration with colleagues in philosophy, art history, archaeology and the history of later periods, to bring new insights on ancient societies. They also benefit from Birkbeck's close proximity to the British Museum’s extraordinary collection of Greek and Roman antiquities and to the world-leading library resources of the Institute of Classical Studies.

Birkbeck was ranked in the top eight universities in the UK for its History, Classics and Archaeology research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

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Key Research Centres

Raphael Samuel History Centre

London-based, we are devoted to encouraging the widest possible participation in historical study and debate.

Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism

We are a centre of innovative research and teaching and contribute to discussion and public policy formation on antisemitism and intolerance.

Centre for the Study of Internationalism

We examine and make sense of internationalism in its various guises and welcome researchers at all stages of their career who share this interest.

Birkbeck Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Mental Health

Our work aims to enable a better understanding of the experiences, treatment and prevention of mental distress; the social, political and philosophical debates surrounding it; and its representations in literature and culture.

Affiliated and external research centres

Institute of Classical Studies

We have close links with this national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research in Classics and related disciplines, hosted at Senate House.

Centre for Medical Humanities

We explore the emergent fields of medical humanities and intercultural medicine to explore and develop the lived experience of clinicians in the everyday complexities of real-life clinical settings.

Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities

We aim to stimulate research, public debate and collaboration among academics and intellectuals on important public issues of our time.

Medieval and Early Modern Worlds

The centre of Medieval and Early Modern Worlds creates a rich research community committed to the study of medieval and early modern cultures.

Institute of Historical Research

We have close links with this centre, based in the University of London's Senate House, an important resource and meeting place for researchers from across the globe.

Wiener Library

The Wiener Library is one of the world's leading and most extensive archives on the Holocaust and the Nazi era.

Areas of research expertise

All academic staff are active researchers in the subject. View their areas of research here

Staff research

Research projects

We have a vibrant culture of organising and leading medium and large team-research projects, including postdocs and PhDs. Here is a selection of our current and recent team projects.

In addition to the projects prominently highlighted, we also have past and current projects without a digital presence, including: CBT in Britain: The State, Welfare and the Individual since 1948; Connecting Three Worlds: Socialism, Medicine and Global Health after World War II; and Making and Remaking the Jewish East End: Space, Language and Time.

Demand Centre

Our research takes a distinctive approach to end use energy demand, recognising that energy is not used for its own sake but as part of accomplishing social practices at home, at work and in moving around.

Hidden Persuaders

Our project examines ‘brainwashing’ in the Cold War and the roles played by psychologists, psychiatrists and psychoanalysts.

Queer Beyond London

We are researching the histories of sexual identities and communities in Leeds, Plymouth, Brighton and Manchester since 1965.

Sexual Harms and Medical Encounters (SHaME)

This research looks at the connections between sexual violence, medicine, and psychiatry, across four thematic research streams.

Trafficking, Smuggling and Illicit Migration in Historical and Gendered Perspective

This AHRC-funded research project seeks to bring together global, national and local historical perspectives, and to place trafficking in the context of migration, labour, and gender.

Material Cultures of Energy

This project examines how energy has transformed daily life in the twentieth century.

How Anabaptist traditions have survived the modern world

Research considers the history of 500 years of non-conformist religious groups and how they have thrived in both secular and non-secular environments.

The Power of Petitioning in Seventeenth-Century England

This is a collaborative research project funded by the AHRC.

The Reluctant Internationalists

This project (2013-2017) studied international organisations and movements in twentieth-century Europe through the lens of public health, medicine and medical science.