Ancient History Seminar with Josephine Quinn

Dr Annelies Cazemier

On Wednesday 5th November 2025, Professor Josephine Quinn spoke to our Departmental research seminar about her book, How the World Made the West. It has received rave reviews and was described by William Dalrymple (among others) as ‘one of the most fascinating and important works of global history to appear for many years’. Josephine Quinn is Professor in Ancient History at the University of Cambridge. She works on Mediterranean history and archaeology in a global context.

Ancient History at Southampton is growing from strength to strength. Next year we will celebrate the tenth anniversary of our Ancient History programmes. You can imagine, therefore, how enthusiastic we were for Josephine Quinn to come and speak to us. Her book is about the connectivity and diversity of the ancient world, which aligns very well with how we approach Ancient History at Southampton. But don’t just take our word for it! We have gathered some responses from colleagues in other departments as well as from our very own students.

Professor Josephine Quinn set the scene for her book, highlighting how Ancient History is much bigger than the Classical world, and that civilizational thinking has clouded our understanding of the formation of ‘the west’. She argues that the western world is a product of exchange and connections. Her book paints on a vast chronological canvas – 4,000 years of history – and puts the spotlight on a wide range of ancient societies, beyond Greeks and Romans. In the talk, Josephine Quinn discussed some examples of change brought about through exchange, in particular the introduction of the alphabet and the development of the numerical system we still use today. The paper was followed by a lively discussion.

Professor Sonia Zakrzewski (Archaeology) posted on her BlueSky social media account that she really enjoyed the research seminar: ‘Food for thought. But then archaeology is BIG on sex, trade, and war!’. Professor Tim Bergfelder (Film) said how he loves Josephine Quinn’s book and devoured it over the summer: ‘She demonstrates brilliantly how the ancient world already thrived on international cultural connections and exchange, and how modern concepts of nationhood and cultural singularity misrepresent how the “West” was formed’.

It was wonderful to see quite a few students in the audience for Josephine Quinn’s talk as well, taking great interest in her ideas and inspiration for their own studies.

Maria-José Osorio Marulanda (BA Ancient History, year 2) said she found the discussion of ‘civilisational thinking’, ‘the rest and the West’, and ‘a new world’ thought-provoking. She comments: ‘It was fascinating to consider how the West has shaped such a one-sided view of ancient history and civilisations, something that feels very relevant to my Ancient History course, where many sources and discussions tend to centre on Greek and Roman perspectives. The talk really made me reflect on how these civilisations interacted with others and were influenced by these exchanges in culture and language’. Maria since bought the book and looks forward to seeing how it challenges the way we think and talk about civilisations today.

Ryan Cosier (BA Ancient History, year 3) described the talk as ‘illuminating on a subject of extremely grand scale’. He comments: ‘What struck me as very fascinating was the inclusion of old maps from the enlightenment period that attempted to categorise and rank all the areas and peoples of the world by many classifications, from religion to “savage” natures. By using these problematic maps Quinn allowed us to see why a new approach to the study of civilisation is quite necessary and indeed contributes greatly to the current scholarship and historiography.’

Joanna Readwin (BA Ancient History and History, year 3) also found the seminar enlightening. It made her contemplate how the idea of cancelling civilisation can be applied to history as a discipline. She comments: ‘I hope to apply this idea to my dissertation about Anglo-Saxon England and how their perspective of their history can contribute to the debate surrounding the development of national or cultural identity and whether it is useful to judge them as a nation state. I will take away a newfound perspective and caution when looking at larger ideas of “civilisation” and “culture”, as well as external vs. internal developments that prompt change.’ Joanna ‘particularly enjoyed the controversial views of the Age of Exploration being a time of intolerance and cultural closing down, as traditionally it has been seen as the reverse’.

The history seminar with Josephine Quinn provided lots of food for thought. It is stimulating to see how it got everyone talking, both staff and students, within and beyond the History department, and along the corridors of Avenue Campus in the weeks following the event.