Innovation in Democratic Athens - Professor Armand D'Angour (Oxford)
Note: Venue is different this week. This event will take place in room 213, Building 5 (Richards Building), UQ St Lucia. View map.
Was political innovation important in democratic Athens? What did it mean, and how was it pursued? While it is recognised that the Greeks were conspicuously innovative across numerous disciplines, such as literature, medicine, and sculpture, politics is rarely thought of as a domain for innovation. In a period beset with war and social turmoil, however, political innovations were sought and implemented, though they were often presented as a return to ancestral tradition. The broader context of Athenian innovationism can illuminate some of the practical and philosophical approaches to socio-political innovation in the course of the fifth century BC.
About Classics and Ancient History Seminars
The seminars of UQ's Discipline of Classics and Ancient History are held on Fridays at 4 pm.
Their format is in person and live on online.
The physical venue for all seminars is room E302 of the historic Forgan-Smith Building (building no. 1) on UQ's St Lucia campus in Brisbane.
For the online link please contact the seminar convenor Associate Professor David M. Pritchard (d.pritchard@uq.edu.au).
Seminars 2-3 and 6-7 will be recorded for subsequent publication as open-access podcasts.
Professor Maria Wyke (Seminar 2) is the 2026 Visiting Professor of UQ's Centre for Western Civilisation.
Dr Roslyne Bell comes to Brisbane as a guest of UQ's Friends of Antiquity. She will be delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Ancient History Day on Saturday 21 March.
