Matthew Sears

Research interests

• Ancient Greek and Roman History
• Greek and Latin Historiography
• Ancient Warfare and Society

Current projects

• Sparta and the Commemoration of War, a book under contract with Cambridge University Press

Biography

Matthew A. Sears joined the department in 2013, after teaching for two years at Wabash College in Indiana. He has also been the Gertrude Smith Professor at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, leading its Summer Session. He received his BA (honours in Classics, minor in History) from UNB in 2004 and his PhD (in Classics) from Cornell University in 2011. Sears publishes broadly on ancient politics, society and culture, with special interests in war and society and military commemoration. In addition to his academic publications, his work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Globe & Mail and Maclean's.

At UNB he teaches a wide range of courses, including all levels of Greek and Latin language and a variety of courses in translation. Sears is particularly fond of teaching in the UNB Arts Travel Study Program in Greece and looks forward to introducing a new generation of UNB students to the delights of the Mediterranean, including serious academic topics, of course, but also some of the best food and drink around.

Teaching

Courses in 2021-2022

• Greek 2205: Intermediate Greek
• Classics 3003: Ancient History: The Greeks from the Trojan War to Alexander the Great
• Greek 3205/3253: Ancient Greek Reading: Homer's Iliad
• Classics 1403: The Ancient Greeks: Gods, Heroes, Politicians and Poets
• Classics 3513: The Trojan War: Myth and History

Other courses regularly taught

• Classics 3033: Ancient History: The Romans from Republic to Empire
• Classics 3063: Ancient Greek Warfare
• Classics 3623: Remembering War in Ancient Greece (taught on location in Greece)

Selected publications

Books

Understanding Greek Warfare. Routledge, 2019.

Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece: A Guide to their History, Topography and Archaeology (co-author with C. Jacob Butera). Pen & Sword, 2019.

Athens, Thrace and the Shaping of Athenian Leadership. Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Articles

“Brasidas and the Un-Spartan Spartan.” The Classical Journal 116.2 (2020) 173-198.

“The Tyrant as Liberator: The Treasury of Brasidas and the Acanthians at Delphi.” Classical Philology 114.2 (2019) 265-278.

“Mother Canada and Mourning Athena: From Classical Athens to Vimy Ridge.” Arion 25.3 (2018) 43-66.

“The Camps of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, 42 B.C.” (co-author with C. Jacob Butera). Hesperia 86.2 (2017) 359-377.

“Alexander’s Cavalry Charge at Chaeronea, 338 BCE” (co-author with Carolyn Willekes). Journal of Military History 80.4 (2016) 1017-1035.

“Thucydides, Rousseau and Forced Freedom: Brasidas’ Speech at Acanthus.” Phoenix 69.3/4 (2015) 242-267.

“Alexander and Ada Reconsidered.” Classical Philology 109.3 (2014) 211-221.

“The Topography of the Pylos Campaign and Thucydides’ Literary Themes.” Hesperia 80.1 (2011) 157-168.

“Warrior Ants: Elite Troops in the Iliad.” Classical World 103.2 (2010) 139-155.

“A Note on Mardonius’ Emissaries.” Mouseion 9.1 (2009) 21-28.