معرفی
Justine McConnell is a Reader in Comparative Literature and Classical Reception at King’s College London, based in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities within the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures. She holds a BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge, an MPhil in English Literature from the University of Bristol, and a PhD from Royal Holloway, University of London. Her research focuses on Caribbean and African diaspora literature, ancient Greek literature, and their interconnections, particularly exploring myth syncretism and classical literature as a tool of resistance. She also examines performance receptions of Graeco-Roman epic across media like theatre and film.
McConnell’s scholarly contributions include monographs such as Black Odysseys (2013), Performing Epic or Telling Tales (2020, co-authored with Fiona Macintosh), and Derek Walcott and the Creation of a Classical Caribbean (2023). She co-edited volumes on topics like ancient slavery, Greek drama in the Americas, and global mythic fiction. Her work bridges classical studies with postcolonial and performance studies.
Her articles analyze postcolonial reinterpretations of classical myths, such as Toni Morrison’s Sula and Junot Díaz’s works, alongside explorations of Caribbean drama and avant-garde epic performances. She actively engages with the arts through theatre collaborations, poetry curation, and BBC radio documentaries. Key awards include the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (University of Oxford).
McConnell supervises research in classical reception, diaspora literatures, and performance studies. She is co-editor of the Routledge series Classics and the Postcolonial and participates in interdisciplinary initiatives like the Empires and Decolonizations Research Hub at King’s.
