Professor Stephen Oakley

Stephen is a Life Fellow, elected in 1984. He retired from the University as the Kennedy Professor of Latin in 2026, and was previously one of our Professorial Fellows.

Biography

Stephen grew up in Dorset, and studying Latin grammar and the Roman and pre–Roman antiquities of Dorset first made him interested in the Ancient World. He studied Classics at Queens' College, Cambridge for both his undergraduate course and his PhD. He then became a Research Fellow at Emmanuel in 1984, before being elected to an Offical Fellowship in 1986, when he became Director of Studies in Classics; he was also a Tutor to our students in the 1990s. In 1998, Stephen moved to the University of Reading, where he was first Reader in Classics and then Professor of Latin. In 2007 he returned to Cambridge to become Kennedy Professor in the Faculty of Classics. 

Research

Stephen's current research is primarily into the transmission of Latin texts from the Roman Empire to printing via medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. Recent books are 'Studies in the Transmission of Latin texts' (Oxford University Press, vol. i 2020; vol. ii 2023). He also maintains an interest in Ancient Historiography: earlier in his career he published 'A commentary on Livy, books VI–X' with Oxford University Press (1997–2005, 4 vols). More recently, he has published book chapters on Livy, Tacitus, Velleius Paterculus, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus.