Greg Woolf

@gregwoolf.bsky.social

3.5K followers 2.3K following 170 posts

Historian and archaeologist of the ancient world. New York and the East Neuk of Fife.

Videos

Gregory Duncan Woolf, is a British ancient historian, archaeologist, and academic. He specialises in the late Iron Age and the Roman Empire. Since July 2021, he has been Ronald J. Mellor Chair of Ancient History at University of California, Los Angeles. He previously taught at the University of Leicester and the University of Oxford, and was then Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews from 1998 to 2014. From 2015 to 2021, he was the Director of the Institute of Classical Studies, and Professor of Classics at the University of London. From January 2025 he assumed the role of Director at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) at New York University. .. more

History 58%

Art 10%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Greg Woolf

Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D. @blindscholar.bsky.social · 21d

If you're free this Thursday morning, I'll be giving a virtual lecture titled "The Real Lives of Blind Mesopotamians" as part of the 2025−2026 public lecture series hosted by the Bade Museum and Archaeological Research Facility at UC Berkeley. Come join the fun!

Oct 23,2025
9:30 am PDT
Disability in the Ancient Middle East and Mediterranean
Dr. Eric Harvey | Stanford University
"The Real Lives of Blind Mesopotamians"
Watch live on the
ARF YouTube channel:
http://bit.ly/arf-channel
Image Credit: Left: Figurine of musician (Trustees of the British Museu)
Right: POW being blinded after defeat in battle (Joan Aruz 2003)
ARCHAEOLOGICAL

Reposted by Joe R. Feagin, Joshua L. Rosenbloom, Greg Woolf , and 2 more Joe R. Feagin, Joshua L. Rosenbloom, Greg Woolf, Robert B. Reich, Lisa Diedrich

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 21d

That’s seven.

@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/uni...

Reposted by Juan Cole, Greg Woolf

Randi Weingarten 🖇️📚✊🇺🇸 @rweingarten.bsky.social · 23d

Dartmouth won’t trade academic freedom for favor from the Trump admin. Incredible. Yet another college rejects the Trump compact.
www.nhpr.org/2025-10-18/d...

Dartmouth rejects Trump’s compact, saying it won’t compromise its academic freedom

Dartmouth was one of nine colleges and universities asked to sign the White House’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” The compact offered schools preferential access to federal fu...

www.nhpr.org

Reposted by Greg Woolf, Janet Murray, Andrew Jacobs , and 1 more Greg Woolf, Janet Murray, Andrew Jacobs, Charles T. Mathewes

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 24d

The University of Virginia became the fifth school to rebuff a White House proposal to give universities preferential treatment if they uphold a set of government demands.

University of Virginia Won’t Join White House’s Compact for Colleges

It was the fifth school in a matter of days to refuse an offer of preferential funding treatment from the government, even as the White House has threatened schools that do not sign up.

nyti.ms

Reposted by Greg Woolf, Anne Norton, Christina Pagel

Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 25d

Penn and USC have also rejected the Compact!

That makes 4 - stronger together.

www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Penn, U. of Southern California Reject Trump Compact

The universities follow the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University in rejecting the Trump administration’s proposal that would require sweeping changes.

www.insidehighered.com

Greg Woolf @gregwoolf.bsky.social · 26d

Very good to see Brown University joining MIT in declining to sign up to the Adminstration's proposed "Compact for Academic Excellence" www.brown.edu/news/2025-10...

Brown University president declines invitation for Brown to join federal Compact

In a letter to the White House, President Christina H. Paxson wrote that Compact provisions restricting academic freedom and undermining autonomy would impede the University’s ability to fulfill its m...

www.brown.edu

Reposted by Michael A. Clemens, Jane E. Fountain, Greg Woolf , and 5 more Michael A. Clemens, Jane E. Fountain, Greg Woolf, Janet Murray, Julia Lynch, Anne Norton, Jason Lyall, Robert L. Tsai

Laprofmme @laprofmme.bsky.social · 29d

Courtesy of colleagues at Penn

A variation on Benjamin Franklin’s 1754 engraving in the Pennsylvania Gazette, published in Philadelphia, in an effort to foster cooperation among the various colonies against the tyrant king of Britain, with the American colonies replaced by the nine universities selected for special collaboration opportunities

Greg Woolf @gregwoolf.bsky.social · Oct 11

Great line up. Wish I could be there!

Greg Woolf @gregwoolf.bsky.social · Oct 8

Congratulations!

Reposted by Greg Woolf

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · Oct 3

Sorry to see schools placed in this situation but very glad Newsom is doing this. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Newsom threatens state funding for California universities that agree to Trump demands

Newsom said California universities that sign what he called the “RADICAL AGREEMENT” will lose state funds, including those for scholarships.

www.sfchronicle.com

Greg Woolf @gregwoolf.bsky.social · Sep 26

Hi Debby, great to see you over here!

Debby Sneed @debscavator.bsky.social · Sep 25

Maybe it's dorky, but I'll introduce myself. I'm a nondisabled university professor who specializes in disability in ancient Greece. I approach this all through the lens of disability studies and critical disability theory, and advocate for disabled students in Classics and Archaeology.

Reposted by Greg Woolf

Debby Sneed @debscavator.bsky.social · Sep 25

Reposted by Greg Woolf

Mountains of Greece @mountainsofgreece.bsky.social · Sep 13

Very excited to advertise the full programme and registration details for our Athens conference, 22-24 October 2025!

mountainsofgreece.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2025/09/13/c...

Conference programme

Mountains of Greece: Heritage Narratives from the Past for a Sustainable Future, Athens, 22-24 October 2025

mountainsofgreece.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Ben H. Ansell, Albert Weale , and 4 more Jonathan Portes, Ben H. Ansell, Albert Weale, Lyla Mehta, Greg Woolf, Ariadne Vromen, Michael H. Whitworth

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · Aug 30

Life’s getting a bit more crap here if you are a person from an ethnic minority 🧵

Greg Woolf @gregwoolf.bsky.social · Aug 30

f you want something a bit more niche there's a famous burial monument at Igel, now on the borders of three EU countries. Its reliefs are a key source for the textile industry that flourished there in Roman times. www.eifel.info/en/pois/igel...

Column of Igel near Trier (UNESCO World Heritage Site) | Holidays in the Eifel

www.eifel.info

Greg Woolf @gregwoolf.bsky.social · Aug 30

So much to see! Love the Landesmuseum although I haven't been for years. Constantine's basilica (if a bit rebuilt), the amphitheatre, bridge, two sets of amazing baths...and of course the Porta Nigra as on your pic!

Greg Woolf @gregwoolf.bsky.social · Aug 29

Also

www.amazon.com/Gods-Temples...

Gods, Temples and Ritual Practices: The Transformation of Religious Ideas and Values in Roman Gaul (Amsterdam Archeological Studies , Part 2)

Gods, Temples and Ritual Practices: The Transformation of Religious Ideas and Values in Roman Gaul (Amsterdam Archeological Studies , Part 2) [Derks, Ton] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Gods, Temples and Ritual Practices: The Transformation of Religious Ideas and Values in Roman Gaul (Amsterdam Archeological Studies , Part 2)

www.amazon.com

Greg Woolf @gregwoolf.bsky.social · Aug 29

I recommend www.amazon.com/RELIGION-EN-...

LA RELIGION EN GAULE ROMAINE: Piété et politique (Ier-IVe siècle apr. J.-C.)

LA RELIGION EN GAULE ROMAINE: Piété et politique (Ier-IVe siècle apr. J.-C.) [Van Andringa, William] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. LA RELIGION EN GAULE ROMAINE: Piété et politique (Ier-IVe siècle apr. J.-C.)

www.amazon.com

Greg Woolf @gregwoolf.bsky.social · Aug 16

There’s still the centennial of our World Cup win coming up in 2066

Reposted by Greg Woolf, Catherine Harper

Tuatha @tuatha.ie · Aug 15

In February 1896, two men ploughing a field unearthed one of the greatest prehistoric treasures ever found on the island of Ireland – the Broighter Hoard.

#Archaeology 🏺 #SpéirGhorm #Ireland

A small model of a boat with oars, all made out of gold. It is set against a dark green background

Reposted by Catherine Baker, Lesley A. Hall, Greg Woolf , and 4 more Catherine Baker, Lesley A. Hall, Greg Woolf, Patricia Owens, Holger Nehring, Catherine J. Frieman, Stuart J. Turnbull‐Dugarte

Sam Rutherford (he/him) @echomikeromeo.bsky.social · Aug 15

Updated my grad syllabus for the new year! The latest version of the weekly schedule and readings is now on the Teaching page of my website: samuelrutherford.com/teaching/

Reposted by Greg Woolf, Andrew Jacobs

Dr Hannah Čulík-Baird @opietasanimi.com · Aug 13

here's a recording of our lecture from earlier this year for UCLA's Global Antiquity symposium; a preview of our in-progress book project, "Cicero and the Rhetorics of Race" @mhanses.bsky.social

Reposted by Janet Boddy, Greg Woolf, Paul Nightingale

The British Academy @britishacademy.bsky.social · Jul 31

The British Academy is opening a call for evidence from individuals and organisations with expertise in the key public policy areas for social and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Find more information and details about how to respond here: www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/programmes/c...

SHAPE the Future: Call for evidence

The British Academy is opening a call for evidence as part of a new phase of the SHAPE the Future programme, which will seek to examine the progress made against the long-term societal impacts identif...

www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk

Reposted by Greg Woolf

Archaeologists Against Apartheid and Genocide @archagainstaparth.bsky.social · Jul 31

As we continue on to engage other archaeological institutions, we are posting this final statement on the WAC campaign. We, unlike the World Archaeological Congress organisation, will not move quietly on, while Palestinians continue to be starved and slaughtered by Israel.

AAAWACStatement.pdf

drive.google.com

Reposted by Greg Woolf

Advocating Classics Education @aceclassics.bsky.social · Jan 30

So @profarlenehh.bsky.social & are now in the Blue Sky, fresh from an exciting meeting to develop our prison education programme bringing the skills, competencies and cultural literacy that encountering the ancient Greeks, Romans & their neighbours offers to some of our most marginalised citizens.

Greg Woolf @gregwoolf.bsky.social · Jul 26

Thank you for writing this.

Reposted by Greg Woolf

Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · Jul 26

It's very telling what happens to the comment whenever I write on this subject. Every other week, the comments in my substack are witty, funny and kind. On this topic, they're bitter, vicious, demented.

open.substack.com/pub/iandunt/...

The trans rights stitch-up

How government plans to silence debate on the new rules

open.substack.com

Reposted by Greg Woolf, România

Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · Jul 21

heads up historians of the Roman period - very, very, short deadline on this *permanent* job to start this academic year at Uni of Nottingham
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNX393/a...
🗃️

Assistant Professor in Roman History at University of Nottingham

Discover an exciting academic career path as a Assistant Professor in Roman History at jobs.ac.uk. Don't miss out on this job opportunity - apply today!

www.jobs.ac.uk

Reposted by Greg Woolf

Chris Hinchliff MP @chrishinchliff.bsky.social · Jul 16

My statement on today's news. 👇

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Simon Hix, Ben H. Ansell , and 6 more Jonathan Portes, Simon Hix, Ben H. Ansell, Sascha O. Becker, Greg Woolf, Neil Lee, Holger Nehring, Katherine Brickell, Pepper D. Culpepper

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · Jul 15

‘England’s higher education system risks long-term decline unless ministers overhaul their “confused, if not incoherent” approach to universities’

FT interview with outgoing @britishacademy.bsky.social President Julia Black where she pulls no punches!

www.ft.com/content/3162...

Universities in England at risk of long-term decline, says British Academy

Outgoing president Dame Julia Black calls on ministers to overhaul their ‘confused’ approach to higher education

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