Dr Laura Losito

Tutor

Classics

laura.losito@swansea.ac.uk

Office - 102
First Floor
James Callaghan
Singleton Campus

About

My research focuses on ancient epistolography, with particular emphasis on Ciceronian epistolography. I explore the literary artistry, political rhetoric, and editorial construction of Cicero's letters, examining how ancient letter collections were consciously shaped into coherent narratives. While I cherish the traditional tools of philological analysis - the patient unraveling of manuscript traditions, the forensic examination of textual variants - I remain thoughtfully curious about how digital tools might offer new lenses for viewing these ancient texts.

My AHRC-funded PhD (Durham University) produced an experimental commentary on Cicero’s Ad Familiares Book 5 (forthcoming), challenging the traditional view of the collection as a haphazard compilation. Instead, I argue for its deliberate structure, demonstrating how the ancient editor crafted a meaningful macro-narrative that offers deeper insights into Cicero’s political world. My work emphasizes the importance of preserving manuscript order to fully appreciate the letters’ rhetorical and historical significance.

I have developed these ideas in publications such as my 2024 article on Ad Quintum fratrem (The Classical Quarterly) and an invited contribution on intentional narratives in the Ad Familiares (forthcoming). My research has been presented at international conferences in Edinburgh, Coimbra, Bari, New Orleans, and Melbourne, supported by competitive funding from the AHRC through the Northern Bridge Consortium.

Beyond my own research, I contribute to scholarly dialogue as a peer reviewer (Journal of Epigraphic Studies) and through critical reviews of recent work on ancient letters (BMCR, Sehepunkte, Gnomon).

Career Highlights

Research

Papers

Losito, L. (2024) ‘The narratives of Cicero’s ad Quintum Fratrem: career, republic and the ad Atticum’, The Classical Quarterly. Published online 2024: 1-19. doi:10.1017/S0009838824000181
Cammoranesi, S. and Losito, L. (accepted for publication) ‘Without order or narrative? The case of Cicero’s Ad Familiares’, R. Gibson, R. Kirstein and A. Abele, Classical Continuum (Open-Access)

Reviews

Henning Ohst: Die Epistulae ad familiares des Kaisers Augustus. Studien zur Textgeschichte in der Antike, Edition und Kommentar, Berlin: de Gruyter 2023, in: sehepunkte 24 (2024), Nr. 2 [15.02.2024], URL: https://www.sehepunkte.de/2024/02/38704.html
Thomas Späth, Gesellschaft im Brief: Ciceros Korrespondenz und die Sozialgeschichte. Collegium Beatus Rhenanus, 9. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2021. Pp. 430. ISBN 9783515130950 (https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2023/2023.07.06/)

Award Highlights

Publications

Research Highlights

Losito, L. (2024). The Narratives of Cicero's Epistvlae Ad Qvintvm Fratrem: Career, Republic and the Epistvlae Ad Atticvm. The Classical Quarterly, 74(1), 105-123.
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0009838824000181, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68081

All Research

Journal Articles

Losito, L. (2024). The Narratives of Cicero's Epistvlae Ad Qvintvm Fratrem: Career, Republic and the Epistvlae Ad Atticvm. The Classical Quarterly, 74(1), 105-123.
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0009838824000181, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68081

Taught Modules

CLC102 Ovid's Metamorphoses: The Transformations of Mythology

Ovid¿s 'Metamorphoses' is one the greatest texts of classical antiquity and a foundation for the history of art and literature in the western world. Ovid was a brilliant, witty, and entertaining story-teller who modernised ancient myth in his 'Metamorphoses' to create a work of dazzling genius. It includes approximately 250 short mythological stories, from the creation of the world to the apotheosis of Julius Caesar. Each story concerns or contains transformation, and Ovid is typically ingenious in varying his treatment of this theme. The stories range all over the spectrum, from tragic to comic, from erotic to grotesque, from extreme violence to idyllic tranquillity, and from the king of the gods to the lowliest peasant: Ovid keeps his readers on their toes with stunning shifts of tone and a constant sense of fun. In this module we explore a wide variety of episodes and analyse Ovid¿s literary techniques and creativity.
CLC2012 Cicero: Man of Letters

This module examines the life and politics of the Late Roman Republic through the writings of Marcus Tullius Cicero (106¿43 BC), one of its most prolific and insightful figures. By engaging deeply with his letters and other works, students will gain a nuanced understanding of the political, cultural, and social dynamics of the period. The course begins with an introduction to Cicero¿s historical and biographical context before exploring the two facets of Cicero: his public persona as a statesman and his private life, including family relationships, friendships, property, and leisure. Through these writings, students will not only uncover the world of Cicero himself but also gain a broader perspective on the intellectual and social milieu of the Roman Republican elite.
CLC206 Reading Classical Civilisation

An introduction to some central themes and approaches in the study of Classical Civilisation.
CLC3012 Cicero: Man of Letters

This module examines the life and politics of the Late Roman Republic through the writings of Marcus Tullius Cicero (106¿43 BC), one of its most prolific and insightful figures. By engaging deeply with his letters and other works, students will gain a nuanced understanding of the political, cultural, and social dynamics of the period. The course begins with an introduction to Cicero¿s historical and biographical context before exploring the two facets of Cicero: his public persona as a statesman and his private life, including family relationships, friendships, property, and leisure. Through these writings, students will not only uncover the world of Cicero himself but also gain a broader perspective on the intellectual and social milieu of the Roman Republican elite.
CLD300 Classics, Ancient History, Egyptology Dissertation

Dissertation module for students doing single honours or joint honours degrees in Classics, Classical Civilisation, Ancient History or Egyptology. The aim is for students to do detailed research, to work on a project for several months and to produce a scholarly study of c. 8000-10000 words. The dissertation topic can be chosen freely, in consultation with a member of academic staff and subject to compatibility with a student's degree scheme and availability of supervisors and library material. This is a chance for students to pursue an area in which they are especially interested, and to deal with it in depth. Students may choose to do museum-based research. There are two preparatory pieces of assessment: an abstract, outline and bibliography, and an analysis of crucial source material and/or secondary literature. Work on the dissertation itself takes up most of the two semesters. Students are expected to do research independently, but there is a series of lectures in the first semester to provide advice on research and scholarly writing, Every student will be assigned a supervisor who will be organising group sessions with his/her supervisees and who will also be available for one-to-one supervision sessions.
CLL326 Further Latin 2

For students who have completed Intermediate Latin 1 & 2 in Year 1 or Year 2 or who have experience of learning Latin, at the level appropriate for entry into Further Latin. Consolidates and extends Latin language skills through the study of one or more texts, normally verse, in the original language.
CLL329 Advanced Latin 3

Two hours of reading one or more Latin texts, normally prose; directed independent reading of a related Latin text. For students who have completed Advanced Latin 1 & 2 in Year 2. Practicing ancient Latin language and interpretative skills at an advanced level through the study of one or more texts, normally prose, in the original language.
CLL330 Advanced Latin 4

For students who have completed Advanced Latin 1 & 2 in Year 2. Practicing ancient Latin language and interpretative skills at an advanced level through the study of one or more texts, normally verse, in the original language.

Dr Laura Losito

Email address

About

Career Highlights

Publications

Research Highlights

All Research

Journal Articles

Taught Modules

CLC102 Ovid's Metamorphoses: The Transformations of Mythology

CLC2012 Cicero: Man of Letters

CLC206 Reading Classical Civilisation

CLC3012 Cicero: Man of Letters

CLD300 Classics, Ancient History, Egyptology Dissertation

CLL326 Further Latin 2

CLL329 Advanced Latin 3

CLL330 Advanced Latin 4