Penelope Goodman

Dr. Penelope Goodman is an Associate Professor in Classics at the University of Leeds, affiliated with the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies. She holds a first degree from the University of Bristol (1994-1997), followed by an M.St. and D.Phil. from the University of Oxford (1997-2001). Prior to joining Leeds in 2006, she taught at Oxford, Warwick, Reading, and Queen's University Belfast. Her research focuses on Roman urbanism and the reception of Emperor Augustus, with a monograph The Roman City and its Periphery: from Rome to Gaul (2007) and edited volume Afterlives of Augustus: AD 14–2014 (2018). She directs the Leverhulme-funded project on Augustus's bimillennial commemorations and serves as Director of Research and Innovation for her school. Her work bridges archaeology, history, and cultural studies, examining urban boundaries, spatial organization, and Augustus’s evolving legacy in political and cultural contexts.

Her research interests include Roman suburban development, urban planning, and the ideological uses of Augustus’s memory from antiquity to modernity. Notable projects include analyzing the Fascist regime’s co-optation of Augustus’s image (2023) and exploring how posthumous commemorations reflect contemporary political agendas. She actively supervises PhD students in Roman urbanism and politics, with current advisee Karen Fox. Goodman’s interdisciplinary contributions span archaeological analysis, historical reception studies, and pedagogical initiatives to bridge school and university classics education.

Key awards include a Leverhulme Research Fellowship (2016–2020). Her work appears in top journals like Journal of Roman Studies and Papers of the British School at Rome, alongside edited collections on Roman urbanism and imperial cults. She organizes international conferences, such as the 2014 bimillennium of Augustus’s death, and collaborates with institutions like the British School at Rome and the École Française de Rome.