Associate Professor of Classics

Overview

Stephen Kidd specializes in Greek literature of the classical and imperial periods. His first book Nonsense and Meaning in Ancient Greek Comedy (Cambridge, 2014) asks why comedy, unlike other genres, gives rise to the perception that some part of it is not meaningful (“just silly”, “just funny”) despite the fact that new meanings continue to be discovered year after year. His second book, Play and Aesthetics in Ancient Greece (Cambridge, 2019), explores the ancient Greek concept of play (paidia)--especially in Plato and Aristotle--and its relationship to literature, theater, visual arts, and music. What does it mean to say that all art is “play”? Now he is writing a book about Lucian of Samosata called Living Life as Fiction. Lucian explores what we believe when we read, and what we believe as we go about our lives. But what do the two have to do with each other?

Brown Affiliations

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