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Dr Stuart McKie

Profile summary

  • Central Academic Staff
  • Lecturer in Classical Studies
  • Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
  • School of Arts & Humanities
  • Classical Studies
  • stuart.mckie

Web links

Professional biography

I did my PhD at the Open University from 2013-17 on the subject of curse tablets and social relationships in the Roman West. Since then, I have taught at the Universities of Manchester and Durham before rejoining the OU as an Associate Lecturer in 2021 and, in 2023, as a central academic. Before all of that, I studied at Leicester (BA, 2007-2010) and Reading (MA, 2011-2012).

Research interests

All my research stems from a fascination with the way religion (broadly defined) impacted on the physical and social lives of people in the Roman world. In particular, the projects I have engaged in all deal with the interactions between people, objects and the supernatural, and how these interactions generated religious knowledge and experience. My most recently completed projects, completing the work I started with my doctoral research, examined curse tablets, and the creative, social and personal aspects of their creation and use.

I am working on several innovative research projects at the moment:

  • Bodies, magic and cyborgs - analysing the boundaries between human/technology, natural/man-made with a focus on amulets and body-modification as part of magical practices.
  • Power and religion in Roman Britain - using modern post-humanist theoretical approaches to overhaul our understandings of religious and political hierarchies in the province.

Teaching interests

I am currently on the module teams for:

  • A111 (Discovering the Arts and Humanities).
  • A276 (Classical Latin).
  • A229 (Exploring the Classical World).

As an Associate Lecturer I teach on A229 as well as A340 (The Roman Empire).

Impact and engagement

I am passionate about widening participation and access to the study of the ancient world. I have delivered school talks and public lectures on a variety of topics within Roman History and Archaeology, especially on religion, magic, culture and society.

Please get in touch if you are interested in discussing a possible talk at your school or organization.