Peter White

Peter White holds the Herman C. Bernick Family Professorship in Classics and the College at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1968. With a PhD from Harvard (1972), his research focuses on Roman oratory, comedy, satire, and Augustine's Confessions. He has authored/co-edited influential works like Cicero in Letters (2010) and Augustine Confessions Books V-IX (2019). His teaching spans Greek/Latin authors from Herodotus to Boethius, with extensive involvement in the Humanities Core program.

Research highlights include studies on Roman social networks, book dedications, and poetry contests. Awards include the Charles J. Goodwin Award (1995) and Quantrell Award (1990). He has held NEH and ACLS fellowships, chaired the Classics Department, and led NEH-funded teacher training programs.

His 50+ articles span Cicero's epistolary practices, Augustan literary culture, and senatorial epistolography. Recent work explores Cicero's political mirage in tirocinium fori (2023). White's career reflects deep engagement with ancient texts' social, political, and cultural contexts, bridging philology and historical analysis.