5.5 - Jennifer Gerrish, Ph. D. talks Roman History

Dr. Jennifer Gerrish, Classics professor at the College of Charleston (Go Cougs!), stopped by to talk about one of my favorite topics, Ancient Rome. During our almost hour long conversation, we learn about Dr. Gerrish's Ancient Rome origin story, cover the problems inherent in studying Antiquity and spend a lot of time going over the political genius, yet completely destructive force, that was Julius Caesar. SPOILER ALERT - he gets assassinated. Dr. Gerrish provides the greatest characterization of Caesar I've ever come across. You'll love it. We also spend a fair amount of time talking about why governments fall and what appears to be the unchanging pattern of human nature. If you want to learn more about Roman history and read some of Dr. Gerrish's writings, check out the below - Dr. Gerrish's books: Sallust's Histories and Triumviral Historiography: Confronting the End (routledge.com) Julius Caesar: The Gallic War Books V-VI - Paperback - Jennifer Gerrish - Oxford University Press (oup.com) Recommended reading list: Spqr Mary Beard - AbeBooks A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome: Southon, Emma: 9781419753053: Amazon.com: Books I'd also check out Emma Southon's book on Aggripina because she is a fascinating character and that era of the Empire is always worth your time. I know this isn't the typical stuff we cover at Bull City Coordinators, but this was an informative discussion with an intelligent guest. Dr. Gerrish and I are hoping to do another interview after this coming school semester ends. And, hey, why not do more after that? Rome is always a great topic. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter. As always, Go Duke!