Personal Summary

Scott Lawin Arcenas is an ancient historian who specializes in Greek political and economic history c. 600-300 BCE. His current book project examines the nature, frequency, and intensity of political violence in the c. 1,100 city-states inhabited by the ancient Greeks. It also introduces new methods and new tools to overcome three of the most significant obstacles that face attempts to study Greek history on a panhellenic scale: the scarcity, ambiguity, and deep biases of the evidentiary record. Professor Arcenas is also working on a variety of other research projects: an examination, based on a multi-year die study, of Flavian minting practices (forthcoming in Papers of the British School at Rome); a study of epistemic uncertainty in narrative histories of archaic and classical Greek city-states; and a digital platform for publication and review of ancient historical data.

At the University of Montana, Professor Arcenas teaches courses on Greek history, Roman history, Latin, and Greek. Before arriving at UM, he taught at Stanford University, Dartmouth College, and George Mason University. 

Education

PhD, Classics, Stanford University, 2018
MPhil, Classics, University of Cambridge, 2011
AB, Classics, Princeton University, 2009

Teaching Experience

Stanford University, teaching assistant and graduate instructor, 2013-16
Dartmouth College, lecturer, 2018-19
George Mason University, assistant professor, 2019-20
University of Montana, assistant professor, 2020-present

Field of Study

European History; Political, Economic, and Social History of the Ancient Mediterranean; Digital History; Ancient Historiography; Greek and Latin Literature

Selected Publications

2023   “Establishing a dynasty in ideology and practice: The aedes Vestae aurei of Vespasian,” Papers of the British School at Rome 91: 1-58. Co-authored with George C. Watson. 

2021   “Mare ORBIS: A Network Model for Maritime Transportation in the Roman World,” Mediterranean Historical Review 36.2: 1-30.

2020  “The Silence of Thucydides,” TAPA 150.2: 299-332.

2019  “Teaching Ancient Geography with Modern Tools,” in B. Natoli and S. Hunt (eds.)Teaching Classics with Technology. Bloomsbury Academic, New York: 165-180.