Josephine Quinn, author portrait
© Fran Monks

Josephine Quinn

Josephine Quinn taught Ancient History at Oxford from 2003 to 2024. In January 2025 she became the first woman to hold the Chair in Ancient History at Cambridge. She has degrees from Oxford and UC Berkeley; has taught in America, Italy, and the UK; and co-directed the Tunisian-British archaeological excavations at Utica. She is a regular contributor to the London Review of Books and The New York Review of Books, as well as to radio and television programs. She is the author of the award-winning In Search of the Phoenicians.
How the World Made the West

Books

How the World Made the West

Books for Women’s History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month in March, we are sharing books by women who have shaped history and have fought for their communities. Our list includes books about women who fought for racial justice, abortion rights, equality in the workplace, and ranges in topics from women in politics and prominent women in history to

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FROM THE PAGE: An excerpt from Josephine Quinn’s How the World Made the West

An award-winning Oxford history professor “makes a forceful argument and tells a story with great verve” (The Wall Street Journal)—that the West is, and always has been, truly global.   Chapter One A Single Sail Byblos, c. 2000 BCE It is just after dawn on a warm morning about 4,000 years ago. We are at

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