Profile
My work largely concerns the Roman and early medieval worlds, especially the cultural, institutional, and religious history of the late-antique Mediterranean and Near East (third-seventh centuries CE). Within these broad parameters, my work frequently investigates concepts of obligation and power, especially in the interactions between rulers, subjects, and other sources of authority. I also have an abiding interest in the use of documentary sources, such as church conciliar acts, inscribed laws, and papyrus records. These themes are all represented in my AHRC-funded PhD research into the swearing of oaths. I have a variety of articles and book chapters due to be published over the next two years relating to this work, as well as a monograph I am currently in the process of preparing. Alongside this research, I am starting a new project on rites of passage in the late-antique Mediterranean across a range of contexts. My initial focus will be on monastic conversion rituals and their relationship to the membership ceremonies used to enter other theoretically enclosed communities, in particular the armed forces, economic and professional associations (collegia), mystery cults, schools, and conspiracies.