Emma Dench (born 1963) is an Englishancient historian,classicist, andacademic administrator. She has beenMcLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History atHarvard University since 2014, and Dean of itsGraduate School of Arts and Sciences since 2018. Her previous positions include Professor of Ancient History atBirkbeck, University of London, and Professor of Classics and of History at Harvard.

Dench was born in 1963 inYork,Yorkshire, England, and grew up nearStratford-upon-Avon,Warwickshire.^[1] Her father wasJeffery Dench, aShakespearean actor, and her mother, Betty, was aspeech therapist. Her paternal aunt isJudi Dench, an award-winning film actress.^[2] Emma appeared in the1968 film version ofA Midsummer Night's Dream as Peaseblossom alongside her aunt, who playedTitania.^[2]

Dench studiedclassics atWadham College, Oxford:^[1] she achieved afirst inHonour Moderations in 1984, and graduated from theUniversity of Oxford with adouble first classBachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1987.^[1][3] As per tradition, her BA was promoted to aMaster of Arts (MA Oxon) degree in 1989.^[3] She then undertookpostgraduate research inancient history atSt Hugh's College, Oxford.^[1] She held the Craven Fellowship at Oxford from 1989 to 1991, and was Rome Scholar at theBritish School at Rome from 1991 to 1992.^[3] She completed herDoctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 1993;^[1] herthesis was titledPeoples of the Central Appennines in Roman Ideology to c. 80 B.C..^[4]

Dench began her academic career with just an undergraduate degree. From 1987 to 1988, between graduating with her bachelor's degree and starting her doctorate, she taughtclassics atHobart and William Smith Colleges in New York, United States.^[2][3]

In 1992, Dench joined thefaculty ofBirkbeck College,University of London.^[2] She was alecturer inancient history between 1992 and 1998, and then, having been promoted, was asenior lecturer between 1998 and 2004.^[3] In 2002/2003 academic year, she was a member of the School of Historical Studies at theInstitute for Advanced Study,Princeton, New Jersey.^[1] She was appointed aReader in 2004, andProfessor of Ancient History in 2005.^[3] In the 2005/2006 academic year, she was avisiting professor of the classics and of history atHarvard University.^[1] From 2007 to 2009, she maintained a link with Birkbeck as aresearch professor.^[3]

On 1 January 2007, Dench moved to the United States to join the faculty ofHarvard University.^[3] From 2007 to 2015, she was Professor of Classics and of History.^[3] She was also a Harvard College Professor between 2010 and 2015; it is atitle of honour awarded for "outstanding contributions to undergraduate teaching, mentoring and advising".^[1][5] For the 2015/2016 academic year, she was avisiting professor ofbusiness administration atHarvard Business School.^[6] In November 2015, she was appointedMcLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History.^[7] In 2017, she was named InterimDean of theGraduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) for the 2017/2018 academic year, and was appointed GSAS Dean on 1 July 2018 (since 2023, the GSAS is known as Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences).^[8][9]

Dench holds a number of appointments outside of her university faculty positions. She is on the executive committee for Harvard University of theCenter for Hellenic Studies inWashington, D.C.^[10] She held aLoeb Classical Library Foundation Fellowship between 2011 and 2012.^[1] From 2013 to 2015, she was a member of the Program Committee of theAmerican Philological Association.^[3] She delivered the Grey Lectures, titled "Agreeing to differ: consensus, culture and politics in the Roman empire", at theUniversity of Cambridge in May 2016.^[1][11]

Dench is a British citizen and apermanent resident of the United States.^[3]

Dench is married to Jonathan Bowker, an artist. Together they have a son, Jacob.^[2]

• Dench, Emma (1995).From Barbarians to New Men: Greek, Roman, and Modern Perceptions of Peoples from the Central Apennines. Oxford: Clarendon Press.ISBN 978-0198150213.
• Dench, Emma (2005).Romulus' Asylum: Roman Identities from the Age of Alexander to the Age of Hadrian. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0198150510.
• Dench, Emma (2018).Empire and Political Cultures in the Roman World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0521810722.

• Emma Dench on Harvard History Department Page
• Emma Dench on Personal Profile at Harvard

• 1963 births
• Living people
• Academics from York
• Academics of Birkbeck, University of London
• Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford
• Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford
• British academic administrators
• English classical scholars
• British expatriate academics in the United States
• Dench family
• Harvard University Department of History faculty
• Historians of ancient Rome
• Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars
• British women classical scholars

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