Dr David Butterfield, MA, MPhil, PhD. Praelector; Archivist; Director of Studies in Classics.
I am the Director of Studies for Classics students at Queens', who usually number 10-12 undergraduates. Given the breadth of subjects studied, the average Classics student has perhaps a dozen supervisors over their three years, which necessarily involves organising teaching across colleges. Queens' runs two course for Classics; the main course and the feeder 'Prelims' course (one year), for those who have not taken Latin at A-level or IB. This is an excellent way to encourage people to study Classics even when the opportunity to study the ancient languages was not available at school.
As well as my responsibility for Classics within Queens', I am the Praelector for College, acting as the official voice of the College at ceremonial events. This involves representing the College in Senate House during graduation, presenting new Fellows to the Fellowship and inducting scholars and exhibitionists into Queens'. I am also the College Archivist, managing and dealing with College records and objects dating from the 15th to 21st centuries.
My primary areas of research are Latin literature, particularly of the Late Republic (and especially Lucretius), textual criticism, codicology and the history of scholarship. I am currently preparing the new Oxford text of Lucretius. I also edit the 'Housman Society Journal'.
I am a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Classics. I lecture across all three years of the undergraduate course on Latin literature, as well as giving courses on manuscripts, textual criticism and ancient metre.
Squash and live music. When time and geography allow, I like to run on the Lakeland fells.
- Classics (Director of Studies)
- Official Fellow
- Director of Studies in Classics
- Archivist
