{"id":258,"date":"2025-11-11T13:02:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T13:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newman.ac.uk\/staff\/?post_type=staff&p=258"},"modified":"2026-03-04T14:10:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:10:34","slug":"juliette-harrisson","status":"publish","type":"staff","link":"https:\/\/newman.ac.uk\/staff\/staff\/juliette-harrisson\/","title":{"rendered":"Juliette Harrisson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Juliette<\/figure>
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Juliette Harrisson<\/h1>\n\n\n

Senior Lecturer in History, Co-Programme Lead for History<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

History<\/a>, <\/span>Research Degree Supervisor<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n
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Biography<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Juliette Harrisson specialises in the reception of ancient Greece and Rome in modern popular culture, and in myth, religion and folklore in the ancient Roman world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is currently working on a project on ancient Greece and Rome in Terry Pratchett\u2019s Discworld with Martin Lindner, University of G\u00f6ttingen, and on an edited volume, Playful Classics, with Martin Lindner and Luis Unceta G\u00f3mez, University of Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She holds a BA (Hons) in Ancient History from the University of Birmingham, an MA in Myth from the University of Bristol (funded by the AHRC), and a PhD in Classics from the University of Birmingham (also funded by the AHRC). She has taught at the University of Birmingham, the Open University and the University of Liverpool and has been at the History department at Newman for 12 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has edited or co-edited two volumes, Imagining the Afterlife in the Ancient World (Routledge 2019) and Memory and Urban Religion in the Ancient World (Bloomsbury, 2012). Her monograph, Dreams and Dreaming in the Ancient World: Cultural Memory and Imagination was published by Bloomsbury in 2013. She has co-organised three successful international conferences (\u2018Imagines VII \u2013 Playful Classics\u2019, University of G\u00f6ttingen, 2021, \u2018Imagining the Afterlife in the Ancient World\u2019, Newman University and the University of Birmingham, 2016, and \u2018Cultural Memory and religion in the ancient city\u2019, University of Birmingham, 2010).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is a member of the Classical Association and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Historical Fictions. She is External Examiner for History for Wrexham Glyndwr University. She is currently supervising two PhD students at Newman, working on the Greek New Testament, and on Near Death Experiences in the ancient world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Profile<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Research Interests<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Juliette\u2019s primary research interests lie in the reception of the ancient world in modern popular culture, and in myth, folklore and religion in the Roman world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is currently working on a project on the reception of the ancient world in the works of Terry Pratchett with Martin Lindner, University of G\u00f6ttingen, and on an edited volume on Playful Classics with Martin Lindner and Luis Unceta G\u00f2mez, University of Madrid (forthcoming from Bloomsbury in 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is also working on ancient ghost stories, and shares this research on her podcast Creepy Classics. She is currently supervising two PhD students, one working on the Greek New Testament, and the other on Near Death Experiences in the ancient world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Juliette is co-Programme Lead for History at Newman. She teaches all classes relating to the ancient world, contributing to team taught modules at Levels 4 and 5, and teaching a specialist module on ancient myth and religion at Level 6. She supervises dissertations in ancient history, history in popular culture, and creative writing. She also teaches on the Applied Writing and Drama programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Administrative Responsibilities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Juliette is co-Programme Lead for History. She sits on the Mitigating Circumstances Board and the Minor Amendments Panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Membership of Professional Organisations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Member of the Classical Association and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Other Activities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1st supervisor for PhD student Gregory Shushan, PhD in Theology and Philosphy, title \u2018To Die and Rise Again: Near-Death Experiences in Classical Antiquity\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3rd supervisor for PhD student Pere Cane Gombau, Phd in Theology, title \u2018The Greek Text of John in Codex Bezae: A Linguistic Analysis and Study of the Jewish Context\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conferences<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Echoes of Antiquity via intermediary texts in Terry Pratchett\u2019s Discworld\u2019, keynote speech given at the conference Echoes of Antiquity, held in Warsaw, Poland, 15-16 June 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018What is historical fiction? Good-Bye Lenin!<\/em> and HBO\/Sky\u2019s Chernobyl<\/em>\u2019 given at the Historical Fictions Research Network annual conference, held in Salzburg, Austria, 21-22 February 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Gondor: A Western Byzantium\u2019 given at Tolkien 2019, held in Birmingham, England, 7-11 August 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Greek and Roman warfare in Terry Pratchett\u2019s Discworld\u2019 given at the Historical Fictions Research Network annual conference, held in Manchester, England, 22-23 February 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Ghost stories as embedded historical narratives\u2019, to be given at the Historical Fictions Research Network Conference, to be held at the Premier Inn, Trentham Gardens, 24-25 February 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The concept of nostos<\/em> in Star Trek: Voyager<\/em> and the reimagined Battlestar Galactica<\/em>\u2019, to be given at the Classical Association Annual Conference, to be held at the University of Leicester, 6-9 April 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u201dIt\u2019s this wretched country\u201d\u2019: Screen portrayals of Roman Britain\u2019 (with Tony Keen), given at the Historical Fictions Research Network Conference, held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, 24 \u2013 25 February 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The afterlife in popular culture\u2019, given at the conference \u2018Imagining the Afterlife in the Ancient World\u2019, held at Newman University with the University of Birmingham, 21 \u2013 23 June 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I, Claudius<\/em>\u2019 Augustus in text and on screen\u2019 at the conference \u2018Commemorating Augustus\u2019, at the University of Leeds, 18 \u2013 20 August 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Sex, power and the idea of the \u2018beloved\u2019 in Robin Hobb\u2019s Tawny Man Trilogy\u2019 at \u2018Diversity in Speculative Fiction\u2019, an academic conference held as part of Loncon 3, 14-18 August 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Narratives of occupation in The Eagle<\/em>\u2019 at the Classical Association Annual Conference, held at the University of Nottingham, 13 \u2013 16 April 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Oracles in Vampire Fiction: Greek Oracles in Angel: The Series<\/em> and The Southern Vampire Mysteries\u2019 at the conference \u2018Swords, Sorcery, Sandals and Space\u2019 held at the University of Liverpool, 29 June \u2013 1 July 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Dreams and Prophecy in The Roman Mysteries\u2019 at the Classical Association Annual Conference, held at the University of Reading, 3 \u2013 6 April 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u201cRoman\u201d Imagery in Gladiatorial Contests in Speculative Fiction\u2019 at the conference \u2018The Influence of Greek and Latin Antiquity in Contemporary Science-Fiction & Fantasy Works\u2019, held at the  Universit\u00e9 de Rouen and the Ecole Pratique des Hautes \u00c9tudes, 7-9 June 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The Virgin\u2019s Dilemma\u2019 at the Classical Association Annual Conference, held at the University of Exeter, 11-14 April 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Isis and Venus in Egypt and Beyond\u2019 at the conference \u2018Venus as Muse. Figurations of the Creative\u2019, held at the University of Cologne, 18-20 January 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Using Ultra-Violence to Mark the Ancient World as Self or Other\u2019 at the conference \u2018Cinema and Antiquity: 2000-2010\u2019 at the University of Liverpool, 12-14 July 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Culturally Remembering the Mycenaeans in the Homeric Poems\u2019 at the Classical Association Annual Conference at Durham University, 15-18 April 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Cultural Memory and Isis in the Greco-Roman World\u2019 at the colloquium \u2018Cultural Memory and Religion in the Ancient City\u2019 at the University of Birmingham, 5-6 July 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Latinitas Populi<\/em>: Latin in Popular Culture\u2019 at the Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Ancient Literature at the University of Birmingham, 14-15 November 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The Domestication of Greek Mythology in the Chronicles of Narnia\u2019 at the conference \u2018Asterisks and Obelisks: Greece and Rome in Children\u2019s Literature\u2019, at the University of Wales, Lampeter, 6-10 July 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Philo and Josephus on dreams: The interplay of identities\u2019 given at the Classical Association Annual Conference (held jointly with the Classical Association of Scotland), at the University of Glasgow, 3-6 April 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Incubation in the Ancient World: The development of a ritual\u2019 at the conference \u2018Medicine in the Ancient Mediterranean World\u2019 at the University of Cyprus, 27-29 September 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Articles in Peer-Rev<\/strong>iewed Journals<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

(2019) \u2018Fantastical History: Dreams in The Roman Mysteries\u2019, in Journal of Historical Fictions,<\/em> Vol 2, No. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2010) \u2018The Domestication of Classical Mythology in the Chronicles of Narnia\u2019, in New Voices in Classical Reception Research<\/em> 5, http:\/\/www2.open.ac.uk\/ClassicalStudies\/GreekPlays\/newvoices\/Issue5\/Harrisson.p<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2010) \u2018Dico, dico dico: Latin in Popular Culture\u2019 in Rosetta<\/em> Volume 8.5,Supplementary Edition: AMPAL 2009 Proceedings, 34-46, http:\/\/www.rosetta.bham.ac.uk\/issue8supp\/harrisson_latin.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Books<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

(2013) Dreams and Dreaming in the Roman Empire: Cultural Memory and Imagination<\/em>. London: Bloomsbury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edited books<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

(2018) Imagining the Afterlife in the Ancient World<\/em>. London: Routledge, with M. Bommas and P. Roy (2012) Memory and Urban Religion in the Ancient World<\/em>. London and New York: Bloomsbury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapters in books<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

(Forthcoming) \u2018Coda: The Interaction of Play and Other Receptions\u2019 in M. Lindner, J. Harrisson and L. Unceta G\u00f3mez (eds) Playful Classics: Classical Reception as a Creative Process.<\/em> London: Bloomsbury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2021) \u2018\u201dEscape and Consolation\u201d: Gondor as the Ancient Mediterranean and Rohan as the Germanic World in The Lord of the Rings\u2019 in H. Williams (ed.), Tolkien and the Classical World<\/em>, Zollikofen: Walking Tree Publishers, 329-348.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2019) with M. Lindner \u2018Phantom Empires \u2013 Imperial Rome in Terry Pratchett\u2019s Discworld<\/em>\u2019 in L. Unceta G\u00f3mez (ed.), En los m\u00e1rgenes de Roma. Apropiaciones y reinterpretaciones de la Antig\u00fcedad romana en la cultura de masas contempor\u00e1nea.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2019) \u2018Literary underworlds, folklore and belief: Ghosts and the Gates of Sleep in Propertius 4.7\u2019, in J. Harrisson (ed.), Imagining the Afterlife in the Ancient World<\/em>. Abingdon: Routledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2017) \u2018Masterpiece Theatre: I, Claudius<\/em> and ancient Rome as televised period drama\u2019 in A. Pomeroy (ed.), A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen.<\/em> Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 271-292.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2016) \u2018\u201cI am no martyr upon cross\u201d: Gannicus\u2019 life and heroic death\u2019 in A. Augoustakis (ed.), Reimagining Spartacus (STARZ).<\/em> Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 52-68.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2015) \u2018Antony and Atia: Tragic romance in Rome<\/em>\u2019, in M. Cyrino (ed.), Rome Season Two: Trial and Triumph<\/em>. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 155-168.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2014) \u2018The Development of the Practice of Incubation in the Ancient World\u2019 in Medicine and Healing in the Ancient Mediterranean World<\/em>, D. Michaelides (ed.), Oxford: Oxbow Books, 284-290.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2014) \u2018Les combats de gladiateurs dans la fiction speculative: Star Trek<\/em> et Hunger Games<\/em>\u2019, in M. Bost-Fi\u00e9vet and S. Provini (eds.), L\u2019Antiquit\u00e9 gr\u00e9co-latine dans l\u2019imaginaire contemporain: Fantasy, Science-Fiction, Fantastique<\/em>. Paris: Classiques Garnier, 321-338.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2012) \u2018Cultural Memory and Isis in the Greco-Roman world\u2019, in Memory and Urban Religion in the Ancient World<\/em>, M. Bommas, J. Harrisson and P. Roy (eds.). London and New York: Bloomsbury, 213-236.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2011) \u2018Jewish Memory and Identity in the First Century AD: Philo and Josephus on dreams\u2019, in M. Bommas (ed.), Cultural Memory and Identity in Ancient Societies<\/em> (Volume One of the series Cultural Memory and History in Antiquity<\/em>), London and New York: Continuum Press, 61-78.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Non-refereed journal articles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

(2016) \u2018Shipping in Plato\u2019s Symposium\u2019<\/em> in \u201cThe Classical Canon and\/as Transformative Work,\u201d edited by Ika Willis, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures,<\/em> no. 21. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.3983\/twc.2016.0690<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harrisson, J. (2009\/10) \u2018Did the Greeks imagine that the dead contacted the living through dreams?\u2019 in Journal of Hellenic Religion<\/em> 3, http:\/\/www.journalofhellenicreligion.markoulakispublications.org.uk\/volumes\/did-the-greeksimagine-that-the-dead-contacted-the-living-through-dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports and reviews<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

(2018) Review: Padilla 2016, Classical Myth in Four Films of Alfred Hitchcock<\/em>, in Journal of Hellenic Studies<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2018) Review: Slater (ed) 2017, Voice and Voices in Antiquity: Orality and Literacy in the Ancient World, vol. 11<\/em>, in Pacific Coast Philology<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2016) Review: Rogers and Eldon Stevens (eds) 2015, Classical Traditions in Science Fiction<\/em>, in Pacific Coast Philology<\/em>, 51 (1), pp. 112-116.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2015) Review: Bricault and Versluys (eds.) 2014, Power, Politics and <\/em>the Cults of Isis<\/em>, in The Classical Review<\/em>, 66 (1), pp. 184-186.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2012) Review: James 2011, Ovid\u2019s Myth of Pygmalion on Screen<\/em>, in The Classical <\/em>Review<\/em>, 63 (1), pp. 277-279.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2009) Review article: Calame 2009, Greek Mythology: Poetics, Pragmatics and Fiction and Woodard (ed.) 2007,\u00a0The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology<\/em>, in Rosetta 7,\u00a0https:\/\/rosetta.bham.ac.uk\/issues\/issue-7-2009-rosetta\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2009) Review: Harris 2009, Dreams and Experience in Classical Antiquity in\u00a0Rosetta<\/em>\u00a07,\u00a0https:\/\/rosetta.bham.ac.uk\/issues\/issue-7-2009-rosetta\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2008) Review: Taylor 2007, Classics and the Bible in Rosetta<\/em> 4, http:\/\/www.rosetta.bham.ac.uk\/Issue_04\/Harrisson.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2007) \u2018Teaching Myth\u2019 in Rosetta<\/em> 3, http:\/\/www.rosetta.bham.ac.uk\/Issue_03\/Harrisson.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Contact form<\/h2>\n\n\n