Research
Stoicism is a central research topic for Dr John Sellars (Philosophy) and Dr Liz Gloyn (Classics). Sellars has written multiple books on Stoicism, one of which has been described by reviewers as "excellent", "outstanding", and "the best introduction to the subject". Gloyn works primary on Seneca; her monograph The Ethics of the Family in Seneca was published by Cambridge University Press in 2017, and was described as "a significant achievement".
Sellars has recently completed a monograph on Marcus Aurelius (Routledge, 2021), which has been described as “by far the best book-length account”, and is currently editing The Cambridge Companion to Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. Gloyn has recently published on fathers, emperors and leadership in Stoicism, and is currently working on a major project exploring the ethics of the family in Seneca's tragic drama. Together, they are currently editing a volume on Musonius Rufus that will be published by Brill.
Alongside colleagues in Psychology and Business, they have recently set up a new Centre for the Study and Application of Stoicism.
Impact
Sellars is also one of the founder members of Modern Stoicism, the organization behind Stoic Week, and both Sellars and Gloyn have given public talks about how Stoicism might be useful to people today. Sellars is also involved in the creation of The Aurelius Foundation, which held its inaugural event in March 2020. His short, popular introduction, Lessons in Stoicism (Penguin, 2019), has been or is being translated into a dozen languages.
Since 2018, Seneca and his attitude to relationships has been part of the syllabus for the OCR A-level in Classical Civilization. Gloyn has worked extensively with the subject community of teachers to support them in delivering this content, through a series of targeted blog posts, school talks and engagement with CPD activities.
Events
Royal Holloway Workshop in Stoicism
We run a biennial series of workshops on topics in Stoicism for researchers to share their current work. We issue a call for papers each time and welcome submissions from people at any stage in their academic career.
2023: Stoic Physics
Our third workshop on Stoicism will take place on Friday 5 May 2023 at Senate House in Bloomsbury.
Schedule
10.00-10.30 – Arrival
10.30-11.30 – Arianna Piazzalunga (Torino/Geneva): ‘The Relationship between Principles and Elements in the Early Stoa’
11.30-12.30 – Cris Zarzar (Cambridge) and Carlo Rossi (Santiago): ‘Peculiar Qualities, Numerical Identity, and the Stoic Solution to the Growing Argument’
12.30-1.00 – Lunch
1.00-2.00 – Anastasiia Starovoitova (California): ‘From Unity to Separation: Cosmic Cycle as a Perspective on the Development of Society in Seneca’
2.00-3.00 – Gabriele Flamigni (Sorbonne): ‘How Does Nature Allot to each its Due? Marcus Aurelius on a Question of “Theodicy”’
3.00-3.30 – Tea/Coffee
3.30-4.30 – Ricardo Salles (Mexico): ‘Why is the Recurring Cosmos in the Stoic Theory of Everlasting Recurrence Always Identical?’
Organized by Liz Gloyn (Liz.Gloyn@rhul.ac.uk) and John Sellars (john.sellars@rhul.ac.uk). Although registration is not essential, if you plan to attend please let the organizers know via email.
This event takes place under the auspices of the Centre for the Study and Application of Stoicism at Royal Holloway and in association with the London Centre for Ancient Philosophy. [Philevents: Stoic Physics workshop]
2021: Ethics in the Early Stoa
Our second workshop was held online on 30 April 2021. The speakers were Max Bergamo, Gabriele Flamigni, Robert Heller, William Stephens, and Daniel Vazquez. [Philevents: Ethics in the Early Stoa]
2019: Musonius Rufus
Our first workshop took place on 12 April 2019 at Bedford Square. The speakers were Jean-Baptiste Gourinat (Paris), Georgia Tsouni (Basel), René Brouwer (Utrecht), Kurt Lampe (Bristol), and William Stephens (Creighton). [Philevents: Musonius Rufus workshop]
