Josef John Nicholson
Exploring Consumption in Comparative Perspective: The Ancient North Aegean
Biography
Josef graduated with a First-Class degree in Ancient History and an MA in Classics and Ancient History from the University of Liverpool. Supervised by Dr Zosia Halina Archibald since he was an undergraduate, he has a special interest in ancient economies and consumption practices more broadly. During his MA, Josef worked as a research assistant advising on the efficacy of the Liverpool Schools Classics Project. His PhD project is supervised by Dr Archibald, Dr Matthew Fitzjohn, and Dr Andrew S. Roe-Crines.
Research interests
Josef’s PhD research addresses changes in consumer habits in the 5th to 3rd centuries BC. It is his argument that whilst north-south divides existed in the Aegean world during the classical period, the conquests of Alexander III of Macedon in the 320s BC created a new level of connectivity where consumption practices that were hitherto eschewed came to be embraced. The regions of Macedonia and Thrace set trends in the Aegean world that were felt in various ways.
A large part of Josef’s research is focused on the consumption of wine in northern Aegean societies, which is mirrored through the vast array of amphora evidence. This arguably excessive consumption is compared with the differences in consumption habits in other contexts, such as the disparity between consuming habits in northern and southern England. Peripheral regions in differing societies often have contradicting consumption habits that are in antagonism to their big cultural hubs.