Professor James Romm Reviews The Muse of History in the Chronicle of Higher Education
James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics James Romm published a review of Oswyn Murray’s The Muse of History in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Muse of History is an academic monograph about the study of ancient Greece that also includes personal stories reflecting on Murray’s long career as a historian. Romm finds that The Muse of History is a record of how we use the idea of ancient Greece as a “hall of mirrors” to understand the modern world, as well as a demonstration of Murray’s important contributions to his field.
Romm admires Murray’s “sleuthing into scholarship’s hidden corners” to create a catalog of overlooked scholars of Greek history; for example, the author’s discovery of an unfinished 1837 manuscript “attest[s] to his tireless, rigorous research.” Collectively, Romm finds that The Muse of History is “a multifaceted book” that “offers something of value to readers, whether they are students of history or, as we all are, its prisoners.”
Post Date: 09-17-2024
Romm admires Murray’s “sleuthing into scholarship’s hidden corners” to create a catalog of overlooked scholars of Greek history; for example, the author’s discovery of an unfinished 1837 manuscript “attest[s] to his tireless, rigorous research.” Collectively, Romm finds that The Muse of History is “a multifaceted book” that “offers something of value to readers, whether they are students of history or, as we all are, its prisoners.”
Post Date: 09-17-2024