Ray Lahiri

I study ancient Greek and Roman historical writing. My ongoing first book project, revising my doctoral dissertation, theorizes ancient historiography as a distinctive form of political thought concerned with the violent production and reproduction of the political body in time. Authors treated include Herodotus, Polybius, Livy, Josephus, Tacitus, and Procopius.

In addition to my work on historiography, other ongoing interests include the problem of style, counterfactuals, exemplarity in Roman culture, the literary history of Africa in the Roman Empire, the history of ancient Persia and Iranic languages, and global and comparative approaches to premodern cultures.

In my leisure time, I enjoy playing the guitar and devotedly following the misadventures of Arsenal Football Club.