- Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1991
Cynthia Bannon
Professor, Classical Studies
Director of Elementary Latin, Classical Studies
Adjunct Professor, History
Professor, Classical Studies
Director of Elementary Latin, Classical Studies
Adjunct Professor, History
My current research investigates water rights in the Roman world from legal, cultural, and historical perspectives. In my article, "Fresh Water in Roman Law: Rights and Policy" I lay the theoretical groundwork for a broad study of local water communities a local water communities in the Roman empire of the first three centuries. I am also writing a book on the Roman origins of common property law, Finding a Commons in Roman law, that anticipates an audience that inculdes lawyers working in contemporary environmental rights. A related project, a Casebook on Roman Water Law, makes the Roman sources accessible for teaching. All three new book projectes build on my second book, expanding the scope to chart practices across the empire and identifying region-specific solutions informed by local culture. I enjoy teaching Latin at all levels as well as courses in translation, especially Roman law. I have served on doctoral dissertation and exam committees for students in Classical Studies and other fields, and have benefited from these opportunities to learn more about the Classics and its place in broader humanities traditions.