Andrew Gillett

Biography

Andrew Gillett is Associate Professor of Ancient History and a member of the Ancient Cultures Research Centre. He researches and teaches in the field of Late Antiquity, with specific interests in the late Roman empire and early medieval western Europe, fourth to seventh centuries. He has a BA (Hons 1) in History from the University of Queensland (1986; Australian Social History and Modern European History), and MA and PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto, Centre for Medieval Studies (1989, 1994). He has taught at the University of Toronto, the University of Melbourne, and at Macquarie. At Macquarie, he has previously held a Macquarie University Research Fellowship (1996-1998), an ARC Postdoctoral Fellowship (1999-2002), and an Australian Research Council Queen Elisabeth II Research Fellowship (2004-2010). He was Associate Dean-Research for the former Division of Humanities 2007-2008 and member of the University Grants Committee, and Head of Department 2012. His field of research and teaching is Late Antiquity, the intersection between the Ancient World (of classical Greece, Rome, and Iran/Persia) and the Medieval/early Modern period (of western Europe, Byzantium, and Islam), with emphasis on western Europe from the fourth to the seventh centuries. He is particularly interested in the role of communication in public life, and how the period has been constructed in modern historical thought. His two current research projects concern: Communication and Media in the Post-Imperial World, which examines how 'diplomatic' communications operated throughout the late Roman empire, the early medieval West, and Byzantium, with particular focus on the evidence of dossiers of diplomatic letters compiled in the sixth and seventh centuries Understanding the Barbarian in Late Antiquity, which examines the traditions of classical ethnography in Late Antiquity, their influence on late antique texts, and how they have shaped modern constructs of the period.

Research Interest

Communication and Media in the Post-Imperial World, which examines how 'diplomatic' communications operated throughout the late Roman empire, the early medieval West, and Byzantium, with particular focus on the evidence of dossiers of diplomatic letters compiled in the sixth and seventh centuries Understanding the Barbarian in Late Antiquity, which examines the traditions of classical ethnography in Late Antiquity, their influence on late antique texts, and how they have shaped modern constructs of the period.