Stephanie West FBA

Fellow in Classics, 1990-2005, Emerita Fellow 2005-

Since I took charge of classics at Hertford as a College lecturer in 1966, I’ve been well placed to observe the steady integration of women in almost every aspect of college life. At the same time the place of classics in our educational system has changed enormously, a sharp decline in language teaching in schools being accompanied by a broadening of interest in the study of the ancient world. Whereas when I started teaching here the study of classical literature was restricted to the first five terms of the undergraduate course, in the 1970s it was extended to the whole four years of Literae humaniores. The constant evolution of the syllabus along with the increasing importance of graduate studies, though labour-intensive, was undeniably stimulating, and what I have published outside my specialties, Homer and Herodotus, has often been inspired by tutorial discussion. Fellowship of the British Academy in 1990 came as a delightful surprise, as did my election as a Foreign Member of its Polish counterpart, PAU, in 2012. Retirement provides the opportunity to develop half-formed ideas and leads me to reflect on my good fortune in my working life, above all in my husband’s support.