Overview
William A. Johnson works broadly in the cultural history of Greece and Rome, with particular interest in ancient books, readers, and reading, and with a general interest in how literary pursuits intersect with cultural context in antiquity.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Professor of Classical Studies
·
2010 - Present
Classical Studies,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Recent Publications
Papyrus Bookrolls with Jewish and Christian Content
Journal Article Journal of Biblical Literature · 2026 This close study of 40 extant fragments of papyrus bookrolls with Jewish and Christian content focuses on details like format and scribal habits that might suggest distinct scribal communities. The study isolates three groups. (1) Nine BCE-era Septuagint p ... CiteDescriptive Catalogue of Papyrus Bookrolls with Jewish and Christian Content V1 Harvard Dataverse
Dataset · November 3, 2025 Supplementary dataset to the article, "Papyrus Bookrolls with Jewish and Christian Content," Journal of Biblical Studies (forthcoming, 2026). ... Full text Link to item CiteFrom Bookroll to Codex
Chapter · 2025 Featured Publication The first part of this overview of ancient books in the Graeco-Roman world focuses on the details of scribal production for papyrus rolls containing ancient literary texts (‘bookrolls’), so as to give a clear view of the regularities of format and conventi ... CiteRecent Grants
Supporting the Arts in Trinity College
Institutional SupportPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Mary Duke Biddle Foundation · 2024 - 2024Supporting the Arts at Duke
Institutional SupportPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Mary Duke Biddle Foundation · 2023 - 2023View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
Yale University ·
1992
Ph.D.