Clifford Ando

Clifford Ando’s research focuses on the histories of religion, law and government in the ancient world. His first book centered on the history of political culture in the provinces of the Roman empire, and he continues to write and advise on topics related to the provincial administration, the relationship between imperial power and local cultural change, and the form and structure of ancient empires. He has also written extensively on ancient religion. Significant themes were the connection of religion to empire and imperial government, especially in relation to pluralism and tolerance; and problems of representation in the use of objects in ritual. His current projects include a study of Latin as a language of the law and a study of legal theory in contexts of weak state power.

He is also general editor of Roman Statutes: Renewing Roman Law, a collaborative project that will produce a new edition, translation and commentary on all epigraphically-preserved Roman laws. The project is supported by grants from the The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the Neubauer Collegium, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Women's Board of the University of Chicago.

• "Politics and Economies." In Clifford Ando, Thomas Habinek†, and Giulia Sissa, eds., A Cultural History of Ideas in Classical Antiquity. London: Bloomsbury, 2022. 63-82
• With Lucas Herchenroeder, "History." In Clifford Ando, Thomas Habinek†, and Giulia Sissa, eds., A Cultural History of Ideas in Classical Antiquity. London: Bloomsbury, 2022. 149-163
• "BMCR: A view under the hood." Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2022.11.26
• "Census, censor, citizenship: republican subjectivity in advance of monarchy." In Jakub Filonik, Christine Plastow and Rachel Zelnick-Abramovitz, eds., Citizenship in antiquity: civic communities in the ancient Mediterranean. London: Routledge, 2023. 616-626
• "The rise of the indigenous jurists." Law and History Review (2023): 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0738248023000135
• "Empire, status and the law." American Journal of Legal History 63.2 (2023), 66–81. Preprint: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajlh/njad019
• "A kind of magic: The work and legacy of Christopher Faraone." In Radcliffe Edmonds, Carolina López Ruiz, and Sofía Torallas Tovar, eds., Magic and Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean: Studies in Honor of Christopher Faraone. New York: Routledge, 2024. 357–66
• "Petition and response, order and obey: contemporary models of Roman government," Journal of Epigraphic Studies 7 (2024), 129–44
• "Fiscality and territoriality in Roman legislation, in Greek." In Andrea Raggi, ed., Il lessico greco dell'amministrazione romana. Casi di studio e prolemathiche. Pisa: Pisa University Press, 2024. 65–81
• "Deeds undone. The real, the imaginary and the equitable in Roman law." Robert Kirstein and Sebastian Schmidt-Hofner, eds. Recht als Erzählung. Narratologie und Recht von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Colloquia Raurica, 18. Basel: Schwabe, 2025. 177-94
• "All amazing, all unequal." The Chicago Maroon 21 December 2023
• "(West Virginia) Chicago is happening to you. The fight for the modern university." The Chicago Maroon 14 January 2024
• "So much excellence!" The Chicago Maroon 22 February 2024
• "Europe's micromanager." Review of Peter Sarris, Justinian. Emperor, soldier, saint (London: Basic Books, 2023). Times Literary Supplement 2 February 2024 (here)
• With Anthony Kaldellis. Review of Eleanor Dickey, Latin loanwords in ancient Greek: a lexicon and analysis(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023). BMCR 2024.05.15
• "The University of Chicago is at a crossroads. Can it learn from its past mistakes?" Crain's Chicago Business July 19 2024
• "What are They Scared of? The data and the trade-offs that the President and Trustees don’t want you to see." The Chicago Maroon 22 October 2024
• "University Leaders and Their Plans: A Pathology." The Chicago Maroon 8 January 2025
• "The University of Chicago is crucial to Chicago. But unsustainable spending threatens its prestige." The Chicago Tribune 9 March 2025
• "The lines we will not cross." The Chicago Maroon 27 March 2025
• "The faculty speak." The Chicago Maroon 7 April 2025
• "What does the University of Chicago's silence say?" The Chicago Maroon 26 April 2025