Judith Mossman was Pro-Vice Chancellor for Arts and Humanities and

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Classics at the Centre for Arts, Memory, and Communities at

Coventry University Coventry University is a Public university, public research university in Coventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be linked to the Coventry School of Art and Design, Coventry School of Design in 1843. It was known as Lancheste ...

until summer 2024. She was the President of the

Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic studies, Hellenic Studies, known as the Hellenic Society, was founded in 1879 to advance the study of Greek language, Greek literature, literature, Greek history, history, Greek art, art and Classical ar ...

(2017–20). She is now Professor Emerita at Coventry University and Chair of Council of the

Classical Association The Classical Association (CA) is an educational organisation which aims to promote and widen access to the study of Classics, classical subjects in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1903, the Classical Association supports and advances classical ...

Career

Mossman was educated at

Woldingham School Woldingham School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent Boarding school, boarding and day school for girls, located in the former Marden Park of outside the village of Woldingham, Surrey, in South East England. It is a Roman ...

, before reading

Classics 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 ...

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

. She received a D.Phil from Oxford University for a thesis entitled ''Euripides' Hecuba: A Re-evaluation, With Special Reference to Dramatic Technique''. She held a Junior Research Fellowship at Christ Church and taught at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

before moving to the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

in 2004. Mossman was appointed to Coventry University in 2017. She was a governor of

from 1990 to 1993. In 2017 Mossman was elected president of the

, having previously been chair of the Joint Association of Classical Teachers (JACT) Classical Civilisation Committee. Having held the latter role, in 2011 she wrote to the Parliamentary

Education Select Committee The Education Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Education and any asso ...

, urging that Classical Civilisations be included among the humanities subjects deemed acceptable for the

English Baccalaureate The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a school performance indicator in England linked to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results. It measures students' attainment by calculating an average score from specified subject grades. ...

. Mossman specialises in Greek literature in the fifth century BC and the second–third centuries CE. Her work on Euripides'

Hecuba Hecuba (; also Hecabe; , ) was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War. Description Hecuba was described by the chronicler John Malalas, Malalas in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "dark, good eyes ...

has been praised for its "integrity" and "balance", and described as "stimulating and thought-provoking." She is a passionate advocate for the arts. In November 2019, Mossman delivered the Nineteenth Dorothy Buchan Memorial Lecture in Ancient History at the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

. Her title was "At Home in Chaironeia: Domestic Detail in Plutarch". She gave the keynote presentation at the Women's Classical Committee Annual General Meeting, 24 April 2020. Her title was "Grass roots, Green shoots...is everything in the garden lovely?" Mossman has contributed to media outlets including the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's Radio Four programme In Our Time, presented by

Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg (born 6 October 1939) is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is the editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010, 2012–2023), and the presenter of the BBC Radio 4 documentary series ...

. In 2024, Mossman was an expert on an episode about

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

's Parallel Lives, alongside

Paul Cartledge Paul Anthony Cartledge (born 24 March 1947)"CARTLEDGE, Prof. Paul Anthony", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010online edition/ref> is a British ancient historian and academic. From 2008 to 2014 he was the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek ...

and Andrew Erskine. Mossman was the third woman to hold the position of president of the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, succeeding Professor P. E. Easterling (1996–1999) and Professor Dorothy Tarrant (1954–1956). She is currently vice-president of the Society. In 2024, Mossman succeeded Douglas Cairns as Chair of Council of the

Selected publication

* 2001. "Women's speech in Greek tragedy: the case of Electra and Clytemnestra in Euripides' Electra", ''Classical Quarterly'', 51(2), 374–384. * 2005. "Women's Voices". In: Gregory, J (ed.), ''A Companion to Greek Tragedy Oxford''. Blackwell. 352–65. * 2005. "Taxis ou barbaros: Greek and Roman in Plutarch's Pyrrhus", ''Classical Quarterly'', 55 (2), 498–517. * 2007. 'Plutarch and English Biography', ''Hermathena'', no. 183 (2007) 75-100 * 2011. ''Euripides, Medea'' (Classical texts). Aris and Phillips. * 2012. "Women's Voices in Sophocles". In: Markantonatos, A. (ed.) ''The Brill Companion to Sophocles''. Brill. 491–506. * 2016. "Shakespeare and the Classics", ''Omnibus'' 72, 1–3.

References

External links

Why Study Plutarch with Judith Mossman
* Coventry University Staff Profile Page: https://pureportal.coventry.ac.uk/en/persons/judith-mossman * Pro-Vice Chancellor for Arts Profile Page: https://www.coventry.ac.uk/the-university/about-coventry-university/governance/vice-chancellors-office/judith-mossman/
Website for the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mossman, Judith Living people Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Academics of the University of Nottingham British classical scholars Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) British women classical scholars Academics of Coventry University British women non-fiction writers