Christopher Kelly (born 1964) is a British-Australian (born in London raised in Sydney)

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and historian, who specialises in the

later Roman Empire In historiography, the Late or Later Roman Empire, traditionally covering the period from 284 CE to 641 CE, was a time of significant transformation in Roman governance, society, and religion. Diocletian's reforms, including the establishment of t ...

and the

classical tradition The Western classical tradition is the reception of classical Greco-Roman antiquity by later cultures, especially the post-classical West, involving texts, imagery, objects, ideas, institutions, monuments, architecture, cultural artifacts, ritu ...

.Corpus Christi Colleg
faculty bio
He has been

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

, since 2018.

Biography

Kelly studied history and law at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

as an undergraduate. In 1984 he and David Celermeyer (individual winner of the public speaking competition) represented the University of Sydney as champions at the World Universities Debating Championship in Edinburgh. He came to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

in 1986, presided over the

Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the oldest ...

in Easter term 1988 and within 7 years had earned a doctorate. His doctoral thesis was titled "Corruption and bureaucracy in the later Roman Empire", and was submitted in 1993. Kelly is Professor of Classics and Ancient History in the

Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge The Faculty of Classics is one of the constituent departments of the University of Cambridge. It teaches the Classical Tripos. The Faculty is divided into five caucuses (i.e. areas of research and teaching); literature, ancient philosophy, ancien ...

. He is a previous chairman of the faculty. From 2006 to 2008, he held a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship. Kelly is married to Shawn Donnelley, an American philanthropist and great-great-granddaughter of R.R. Donnelley & Sons founder Richard Robert Donnelley. They met in Corpus Christi College in 2000 and married in Chicago in 2008. Donnelley founded and is President of Strategic Giving, a firm providing consultation on philanthropy; she has numerous ties to Cambridge including being elected as Guild f BenefactorsFellow, reserved for Corpus Christi College's most generous supporters. The couple continues to donate generously to the College. On 12 July 2017, he was elected Master of

. His term as Master began in Michaelmas 2018. His appointment follows his tenure as senior tutor in the early 2000s, when he was strongly criticised by some members of the student body for his policies, and the college JCR threatened to refuse to acknowledge his plans to assign rooms based on exam results.

Academic work

Kelly was editor of the ''Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society'' and ''Cambridge Classical Journal'' from 2000 to 2006. He is currently editor of the ''

Journal of Roman Studies The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies (The Roman Society) was founded in 1910 as the sister society to the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. The Society is the leading organisation in the United Kingdom for those interest ...

'' and President of the Cambridge Philological Society. Kelly's first major work was ''Ruling the Later Roman Empire'' (2006). In ''The End of Empire'' (2009), characterised as a "semi-popular work", he took a revisionist view of

Attila the Hun Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central and East ...

as a "thoughtful and effective political and military leader." Kelly contributed to ''

The Cambridge Ancient History ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' is a multi-volume work of ancient history from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press. The first series, consisting of 12 volumes, was planned in 1919 by Irish historian J. B. Bur ...

'' and to ''Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World'', edited by G. W. Bowersock, Peter Brown, and

Oleg Grabar Oleg Grabar (November 3, 1929 – January 8, 2011) was a French-born art historian and archeologist, who spent most of his career in the United States, as a leading figure in the field of Islamic art and architecture in the Western academ ...

. He is an occasional reviewer for publications such as ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

'',''London Review of Books'
contributor's note
/ref> ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years b ...

'', and ''

History Today ''History Today'' is a history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and publishes articles of tradit ...

.''

Selected works

* * * * As editor: * As editor: * As editor: * As editor:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Christopher Historians of ancient Rome 1964 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Presidents of the Cambridge Union University of Sydney alumni Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Masters of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge