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Staff Profiles

Dr John Holton

Director of Education (HCA), Senior Lecturer in Ancient History

  • Address: School of History, Classics and Archaeology
    Newcastle University
    Armstrong Building
    Queen Victoria Road
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 7RU
    United Kingdom

    Armstrong 1.34
Background

Biography

I am originally from Bradford, West Yorkshire, though my family moved to Devon at an age when I was adaptable enough to lose my northern accent. I attended a state comprehensive school before going to Swansea University on a contextual offer, where I obtained BA (first class) and MA (distinction) in Ancient History. I was then awarded the inaugural A.G. Leventis scholarship in Hellenic Studies for my PhD in Classics at the University of Edinburgh, where I wrote a thesis on early Hellenistic kingship under Prof. Andrew Erskine. I have held a permanent lectureship in Newcastle since 2015, and became Senior Lecturer in 2022. I am a first-generation university entrant from a working-class background, which is an important part of my identity as an academic and informs my deep commitment to education for students from diverse social, economic, and cultural backgrounds.

 

Recent roles and responsibilities

I have a history of leadership and management in educational matters, as well as an extensive record of committee and group work as both leader and collaborator. I have wide experience in digital education, assessment and feedback, quality assurance, and benchmarking in particular. My primary reponsibility since January 2021 has been as Director of Education for the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, where I have strategic leadership of an education portfolio with approximately 1,000 students. Since January 2024 I have also been Newcastle University's Academic Lead for Digital Assessment, where I chair the cross-unit Digital Assessment Group, support digital education across the institution, help drive and influence policy, and contribute to delivering the university's Education for Life strategy.


A snapshot of my recent work includes the following positions: 

  • Director of Education, School of History, Classics and Archaeology
  • Academic Lead for Digital Assessment and Chair of the Digital Assessment Group, Newcastle University
  • Member of School Executive Board, School of History, Classics and Archaeology
  • Chair of the School Employability Group, School of History, Classics and Archaeology
  • Academic Lead for Canvas and Chair of the Canvas Management Group, Newcastle University
  • Member of the Digital Education Sub-Committee, Newcastle University
  • Member of Faculty Education Committee, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
  • External examiner for ancient Greek history, Swansea University
  • Advisory Group Member for Subject Benchmark Statement (Classics & Ancient History), Quality Assurance Agency
  • Associate Member, Association for Learning Technology
  • Governor, Emmanuel College, Gateshead
  • Senior Fellow, AdvanceHE [Higher Education Academy]

 

Outreach and engagement

I put significant energy and time into widening access to the discipline of Classics and Ancient History, particularly among the state school sector in the UK. In the past few years I have collaborated with colleagues in Newcastle University but also externally (e.g. Classical Association and Classics for All), in the process delivering CPD for teachers and curriculum support for schools, creating new resources, teaching at summer schools for lifelong learners, and leading widening participation initiatives. One recent example is my involvement in the Classical Association's development of free, open access A-Level Sourcebooks for ancient history topics (see more here: https://classicalassociation.org/a-level-sourcebooks/)

I am very happy to deliver talks and provide guidance and support on a range of topics in ancient history, further education, and higher education, including employability/careers, digital education, and academic transition. Please feel free to get in touch.

 

Research and scholarship expertise

In my historical research, I often focus on Hellenistic history and intellectual history, specifically empires, monarchy, ideology, and historiography. My most recent article (2021) focuses on Thomas Hobbes’ engagement with the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, but my major project is two sole-authored volumes on Hellenistic kingship and Alexander's Successors, which are under contract by Bloomsbury for completion in 23/24. 

On the pedagogy side, I have strong expertise in Digital Education, skills-based learning, employability, interdisciplinarity (including diversification of provision), and assessment and feedback. I recently led projects in major areas of student experience and teaching and learning, including redeveloping UG and PGT marking criteria in the School, designing a new HCA Canvas community interface, and developing models of continuous and formative assessments. I designed and introduced Newcastle's innovative Global Ancient Histories module (now compulsory for V110 Ancient History, and widely available for enrolment in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences). I have also sat on the programme committees for the University’s Learning and Teaching Conference and the Association for Learning Technology's annual conference. You can also see a couple of my recent write-ups of my practice in the university's Case Studies of Effective Practice:

Teaching

Educational projects


I have worked widely on enhancing education and student experience at Newcastle, both in my own practice and in my unit, faculty, and institution. As part of this, I have led or contributed to the following projects:


  • Converting Ancient Languages Modules to Blended Learning Delivery : digital project with Learning and Teaching Development Service, March 2023—September 2024 [paused in 2023]
  • Creating an HCA student community on Canvas : digital project with Learning and Teaching Development Service, March—September 2023.
  • Developing inclusive and supportive marking criteria through co-creation with students : HCA project with 3 x student interns as co-leads, Nov 2022—May 2023.
  • Modelling formative and continuous assessment practices in HCA : HCA project with 2 x student interns, summer 2022.
  • Embedding technology-enhanced learning practices in a diverse school context : digital project with Learning and Teaching Development Service, 2021—2022 [paused in 2022].


Feedback, Guidance, and Consultation hours, 2023/2024


  • Mondays, 2.00-3.00 (Armstrong 1.34)
  • Tuesdays, 11.00-12.00 (Armstrong 1.34)
  • Thursdays, 1.00-12.00 (Armstrong 1.34)


Current teaching, 2023/2024



Previous teaching, 2015-2023


As module leader


  • HCA1008: Global Ancient Histories
  • CAH3010: The Life and Afterlife of Alexander the Great
  • CAG1011/1012: Intermediate Greek Language and Literature 1 & 2
  • CAC8000: Research Skills and Development
  • CAC8110: Ancient Cultures in Context
  • CAC8011: The Writing of History
  • CAH8020: Masterclass in Ancient History
  • CAC8106/8107: Independent Research Project 1 & 2
  • CAC8090: Dissertation for MA Classics and Ancient History
  • HCA8000: Independent Study with Language (ancient or modern)


As contributing lecturer


  • CAC1015: How Should I Live? An Introduction to Ancient Philosophy
  • CAC3000/CAH3000: Dissertation (Classical Studies & Ancient History)
  • CAG2002: Special Study in Greek
  • CAH1012: West Meets East: Greek History and Society, 776-200 BC
  • CAH2020: Greek and Roman Religions
  • CLA2002: Special Study in Latin
  • SHS1000: HCA Academic Mentoring Stage 1
Research

Current activity


Historical research


  1. I am currently completing a two monographs on Alexander's Successors and the creation of Hellenistic kingship, which examine the ideological development of kingship in the tumultuous period after Alexander the Great's death. Poetry, inscriptions, and coins feature heavily in the evidence base for this project, studying which has created a whole series of ramifications to be explored in future research.
  2. I am currently researching and writing a chapter about class conflict and regime change in connection with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the prolonged civil strife among the Macedonian armies in Babylon that followed.
  3. I am currently researching and writing a chapter about framework of dynastic power in Ptolemaic Egypt with specific reference to the last Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra (VII) and her reception.
  4. A secondary focus of my research is on the intellectual world of Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian writing a world-history in the first century BC. Areas of particular interest are Diodorus' early modern reception, his literary and generic backgrounds, and his place in modern European historiography. One article has appeared in 2021 - ‘Thomas Hobbes, Diodorus Siculus, and Early Humanity’ (Hobbes Studies 34.2, 172-200) - and more will come in the near future.


Pedagogy and scholarship


  1. I am currently writing an article based on my recently completed project of re-developing marking criteria in an interdisciplinary unit with approximately 1,000 students.
  2. I am currently writing an article reflecting on my experience of introducing, and then leading for three years (2020-2023), the innovative ancient history module HCA1008: Global Ancient Histories.


Postgraduate supervision and examination


I welcome potential PhD students wishing to work on any of the above areas, but also in the field of Hellenistic culture and history more broadly. I am also very willing to examine research degrees, which I have done within the UK and internationally. My recent PhD supervisions include:


  1. ‘Royal Ideology and the Hunt: Cultural interaction between Europe and Asia in the reign of Alexander the Great’ (completion in 2019)
  2. ‘The Exiles of the Sullan Regime and the Elites of the Empire: Interaction, Discourse, Politics, and Integration in the 70s BC’ (completion in 2022)
  3. 'Olympian Shackles: An examination of the relationship between Greek Mythology, Identity and Material Culture in Hellenistic Greece' (completion due in 2024) 
Publications