Associate Professor of Classics

Overview

Stephen Kidd specializes in Greek literature of the classical and imperial periods. He is especially interested in questions that fall between literary studies and philosophy. 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”). His second book, Play and Aesthetics in Ancient Greece (Cambridge, 2019), explores the ancient Greek concept of play (paidia) and its relationship to literature, theater, visual arts, and music. His most recent book, Lucian on Reading, Performing, and the Difference (Routledge, 2025) asks what happens to us when we read. Since we cannot perform for the world we are viewing, what is left of us?

Brown Affiliations

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