Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Minchin
Over the years, ANU has given me so much. Once it was in my power to do so, as a member of staff and now of the Emeritus faculty, I have been more than willing to give something back.
Bringing the classics to life at ANU has been a lifelong passion for Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Minchin.
Elizabeth has been a part of the ANU community since receiving her undergraduate degree in 1978. She has held many roles as a teacher, researcher, postgraduate supervisor, mentor and leading figure in outreach to the University and Canberra communities.
She is a prominent authority in the application of cognitive theory to the Homeric studies. Her first book - Homer and the Resources of Memory: Some Applications of Cognitive Theory to the Illiad and the Odyssey - continues to be a respected publication in the field.
Because of her interest in the relationship between the literature of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds and later periods and societies, including contemporary Australia, her research includes reception studies and, in particular, the longer history of the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Dardanelles.
For her teaching, Elizabeth has been awarded the ANU Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and a Carrick Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. With colleagues she has organised annual trips overseas for Classics students, to Western Turkey, Greece, and Southern Italy and Sicily.
Elizabeth has played a major role in ensuring the teaching of Classics has continued and flourished at ANU, culminating in the recent establishment of the program as the ANU Centre for Classical Studies.
As Curator of the ANU Classics Museum, Elizabeth has actively promoted the museum as a community resource, as well as a teaching centre. She has introduced new technologies to the museum, including 3D scanning of artefacts; she has mentored a group of volunteer museum guides and for many years has been an advisor to the Friends of the Classics Museum.
