Social Psychology and the Ancient World : Methods and Applications

Social Psychology and the Ancient World: Methods and Applications fosters an interdisciplinary dialogue between classics and social psychology. Classicists use modern social-psychological insights to interpret ancient texts, while social psychologists engage with classical case studies to refine their own conceptual frameworks. This dialogue unfolds through an innovative structure: thematic sections introduced by social psychologists are paired with wide-ranging case studies by classicists, covering topics such as the psychology of tragic characters, comedic group dynamics, and the cognitive processes at play in oracles and deification. The volume offers methodological guidance for reconstructing the social psychology of past societies, addressing questions like: How did ancient Greeks understand character? How did laughter shape social cohesion? What role did emotional contagion play in narratives? How did ancient societies accommodate religious innovation? And above all: how do we know, and how can we properly investigate such questions?

Luuk Huitink, PhD 2013, is Associate Professor of Ancient Greek at the University of Amsterdam. His research combines cognitive, linguistic and narratological approaches to Greek literature. He is, among other things, co-editor of Experience, Narrative and Criticism in Ancient Greece (OUP 2020).

Vlad Glăveanu, PhD (2012), is Full Professor of Psychology in the School of Psychology at Dublin City University and Adjunct Professor in the Centre for the Science of Learning and Technology at Bergen University. He is an expert in creativity, culture, wonder, collaboration, and possibility studies.

Ineke Sluiter, FBA, PhD 1990, is Distinguished Professor of Greek at Leiden University. Her latest publications include ‘Situated Cognition: Sophocles, Milgram, and the Disobedient Hero’ (with Bob Corthals), in: Felix Budelmann & Ineke Sluiter (eds.) Minds on Stage. Greek Tragedy and Cognition. OUP 2023.

Contributors are: Karen Bassi, Douglas Cairns, Paula Castro, Eveline Crone, Max van Duijn, Evert van Emde Boas, Vlad Glăveanu, Alexandra Hardwick, Luuk Huitink, Sandra Jovchelovitch, Jacqueline Klooster, David Konstan, Xenia Makri, Thomas R. Martin, Sheila Murnaghan, Anne-Sophie Noel, Ralph M. Rosen, Gordon Sammut, Ineke Sluiter, Michiel van Veldhuizen.