Victoria Rimell

Victoria Rimell is Professor of Latin and Director of Research in the Department of Classics at the University of Warwick, Faculty of Arts. She previously served as Associate Professor at Sapienza University of Rome and held research fellowships at University College Oxford and Cambridge. She joined Warwick in 2016 and was promoted to Professor in 2018. She also holds administrative roles including Deputy Head of Department and Coordinator of the joint degrees in Classics and English.

Education:

• MA, King's College Cambridge
• MPhil, King's College Cambridge
• PhD, King’s College London
• MSc, University of Warwick

Her research bridges Latin literature and Roman culture with modern philosophical and political thought, focusing on authors such as Seneca, Ovid, Martial, Petronius, and Horace from the first century BCE to the second century CE. She explores themes of space, enclosure, vulnerability, mourning, and identity, often engaging with critical theory, gender studies, and classical receptions. Her work frequently draws interdisciplinary connections to modern art, literature, and philosophy.

The recent publications highlight a strong trajectory in Senecan studies, particularly on consolation, grief, and ethical self-fashioning, alongside continued engagement with Ovid, Martial, and Horace. The works reflect a deep integration of classical texts with contemporary theoretical frameworks, including psychoanalysis, feminist theory, and spatial theory. Topics such as the ‘labour of empire,’ ‘creative self-reproach,’ and ‘care of the other’ underscore her focus on emotional and ethical dimensions in Roman literature.

Scientific Awards and Recognition:

• Member, Academia Europaea (2020)
• Leverhulme Trust Research Grant for 'Care of the Other: Senecan Consolation and the Work of Mourning'

Victoria Rimell actively supervises PhD students on topics ranging from humanitas to adulatio and the disabled body in Martial. She has secured external research funding and serves on editorial boards for Classical Philology, MD, and The Journal of Roman Studies. She also contributes to interdisciplinary research through the Centre for Research in Philosophy, Literature, and the Arts. She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate modules on Latin literary texts, Roman laughter, vulnerable bodies, and ancient literature and thought.

She leads a research group and collaborative projects on imperial space, the ancient novel, and Vergil and the Feminine (co-edited with Dr Elena Giusti). Her current Leverhulme-funded project continues to expand the dialogue between classical texts and modern ethical theory.