Stephanie Kirsch

Stephanie Kirsch serves as a Research Associate in the Department of Ancient History at the University of Bonn since April 2017, with prior research appointments at Leibniz University Hannover (2013-2017). Her academic profile centers on comparative analyses of social structures in classical antiquity, particularly examining education systems, socialization processes, and violence in Athenian and Roman contexts.

Academic Background:

• PhD candidate at University of Bonn (2011-present) in trinational doctoral college Strasbourg-Bonn-Bern (FISA/MIAG)
• Magister in Ancient History, Classical Archaeology & Ethnology (University of Bonn, 2005-2011)
• ERASMUS Master's year in Ancient History (Université Strasbourg, 2008-2009)

Research Focus: Kirsch investigates violence as socialization mechanism in ancient child-rearing practices, animal symbolism in classical narratives, and epigraphic evidence of educational systems. Her dissertation compares Athenian and Roman approaches to violence in social formation, while her teaching explores family structures in Greek-Roman Egypt and rhetorical traditions in imperial literature. She employs interdisciplinary methodologies bridging historical analysis, literary criticism, and material culture studies.

Publication Trends: Her recent scholarship (2016-2019) reveals consistent focus on power dynamics in antiquity, particularly examining violence-economy intersections and elite crisis response. Key contributions analyze child violence in Roman literary criticism, war rhetoric in imperial declamations, and textile economies as social indicators. Her editorial work on "Elite and Crisis" demonstrates collaborative leadership in advancing comparative frameworks for ancient societal studies.

Academic Engagement: Kirsch actively contributes to scholarly discourse through conference organization (e.g., 3rd Early Career Colloquium on Violence and Economy) and research stays funded by FISA/MIAG. Her teaching portfolio includes innovative seminars on laughter in Roman culture and textile archaeology, reflecting her commitment to integrating material evidence with textual analysis in pedagogy.