Joseph A. Howley

About the Author

Joseph A. Howley is an Associate Professor of Classics at Columbia University, where he specializes in Latin literature and the cultural history of reading in the ancient world. His research explores the intersections of power, literacy, and social dynamics in the Roman Mediterranean, drawing on a wide range of texts from the late Republic to the early Empire. In his acclaimed book, Writing, Enslavement, and Power in the Roman Mediterranean, 100 BCE–300 CE (Cultures of Reading in the Ancient Mediterranean), Howley examines how writing practices reinforced hierarchies of enslavement and authority, offering fresh insights into the material and ideological dimensions of ancient texts. A dedicated teacher and scholar, he bridges classical antiquity with contemporary issues of inequality and knowledge production, making the ancient world accessible and relevant to modern audiences.