Getting back to the roots of Western civilisation
Dr Antony Pollock, now a Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for Classical Studies.
With a former career in Australia’s national security community, a research degree in Classical Studies sounds like quite a change in direction for Dr Antony Pollock, who graduated from ANU in December 2014.
The way he thinks about it though, it’s not such a big leap.
“One of the advantages of a Classical education is that it shows you that there’s nothing really new,” he says.
“Having that historical context, knowing that people have always struggled with the same problems, makes everything seem less daunting.”
After completing a graduate diploma in Classical Studies, Dr Pollock decided to take the leap into a PhD.
“I had always been interested in ancient history since school, and I wanted go deep into the subject and touch the roots of Western civilisation,” he says.
Dr Pollock’s thesis, The Emergence of the Roman Politically Interventionist Legion: an Integrated Theory, investigated the Roman Republic during the Middle to Late Republics, uncovering the reasons why military legions started getting involved in politics at this time.
The typical explanation is that they felt they weren’t getting enough spoils of war, but Dr Pollock’s research dug deeper, looking at original Latin sources to find out more about the experience and perspective of the common soldier.
He freely admits that getting through his PhD was not easy, and it took him a total of seven years, mostly studying part-time and working full-time, to complete his work.
Key to his success, he says, were the inspiring and knowledgeable staff at the ANU Centre for Classical Studies, in particular Dr Peter Londey and Professor Elizabeth Minchin.
Dr Pollock gave a speech at the CASS graduation ceremony in December 2014, with some inspiring words for his fellow graduating students:
“True self-confidence is built upon striving for something worthwhile, yet really hard. Something that commands the totality of your effort and attention and succeeding at it. Doing what some say you cannot do. The degree you get today is proof that you have endured, persevered, and won through.”
Dr Pollock has now taken up a position as Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Classical Studies.