Rate My Professor Sean McConnell

Sean McConnell is an Associate Professor in the Classics Programme at the University of Otago, where he serves as Honours Coordinator, Postgraduate Coordinator, and Undergraduate Academic Subject Adviser. He earned his BA (Hons) in 2005 from the University of Otago, an MPhil in 2007 from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in 2010 from the University of Cambridge. His career at Otago has progressed from lecturer to his current associate professorship, focusing on ancient philosophy and intellectual history, particularly the adaptation of Greek philosophical traditions in Roman socio-political contexts.

McConnell's research interests center on Roman intellectual culture, Roman philosophy, and Roman political thought and history, with a specialization in Cicero's philosophical thought and literary works including De senectute and De amicitia. He is currently working on developments in Cicero's political philosophy around the time of Caesar's assassination, exploring the relations of these dialogues to De re publica. Other areas include Epicurean social and political thought on topics such as parental love, kingship, civil strife, education, virtues of greatness, pity in justice, and gender; Plato and the Platonic tradition; ancient biography; epistolography; philosophical translation; and Latin philosophical vocabulary. He supervises research in Cicero, classical philosophy, Lucretius, and Plato. Key publications feature his monograph Philosophical Life in Cicero's Letters (Cambridge University Press, 2014); the co-edited volume Power and Persuasion in Cicero's Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2023), with his chapter 'Old Men in Cicero's Political Philosophy'; 'Cicero and the Cynics' in Cicero's De Officiis: A Critical Guide (2023); 'Friends and Obligations: Cicero's De Amicitia and a Problem in Roman Political Culture' (De Gruyter, 2025); 'The Model of Voting in Cicero's Best State' (Polis, 2023); 'Lucretius and Civil Strife' (2012); and 'Epicureans on Kingship' (2010). In 2020, McConnell received the Division of Humanities Teaching Award at the University of Otago for teaching excellence. He contributes to public lectures through the Classical Association of Otago.