Ass. Prof. Dr. Anna Usacheva

SNSF Consolidator Project Leader

Institut for Historical Theology

E-Mail
anna.usacheva@unibe.ch
Büro
D407
Postadresse
Universität Bern
Institut für Historische Theologie
Länggassstrasse 51
CH-3012 Bern

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Anna Usacheva is an Associate Professor and SNSF Consolidator Grantee for the project “Ageing and Old Age in the 4th–6th Century Roman Empire: Religious, Legal, Social, and Physical Dimensions” (RomAge). She is a Classical Philologist and Historian specializing in Late Antiquity.

Dr. Anna Usacheva has published extensively on a wide range of topics, including Platonic studies; genres of Early Christian literature; epistemology, linguistics, and logic in the teachings of Origen and the Cappadocian Fathers; their reception of Platonic, Aristotelian, and Stoic philosophy; the work of Nemesius of Emesa; authorial publishing in Late Antiquity; and the prosopography of educational travel between Roman Osrhoene and Sasanian Armenia.

 

 

 

 

Previous Positions
2023 - 2024
 Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Lille, HALMA CenterEX-PATRIA Project — Individual subproject: “Ecclesiastic Prosopography of the Armenian and Persian Frontiers of the Roman Empire”
2020 - 2023
 Vice Leader and Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Helsinki, Academy of Finland Project “Authorial Publishing in the Early Medieval World” — Individual subproject: “Public Personae and Publishing Strategies in the Fifth-Century Roman Empire”
2018 - 2020

Postdoctoral Researcher, Core Fellow, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies Project: “Physiology of Human Intelligence in the Philosophical, Medical, and Theological Contexts of Late Antiquity”
2017

Postdoctoral Researcher, Danish Institute in Rome (Carlsberg Foundation) & Vatican LibraryProject: “Reading and Writing Techniques of Byzantine Scholars”
2015 - 2017

Postdoctoral Researcher, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, University of Aarhus Project: “Logic, Language, and Epistemology in the Teachings of Origen and the Cappadocian Fathers”
2012 - 2015

Lecturer in Late Antique Literature and Philosophy, St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University (Moscow)
2012 - 2015

Lecturer in Ancient Greek and Latin, SS Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute (Moscow)
2012 - 2015

Chief Editor, Academic Publishing House “Dmitry Pozharsky University Press” (Moscow)
2007 - 2012

Executive Assistant, Academic Publishing House “Museum Graecolatinum” (Moscow)
2007 - 2012

Teacher of Ancient Greek and Latin, Classical Gymnasium (Moscow)
2007 -2011

PhD Candidate, Lomonosov Moscow State University

Work & research focus

  • Genres of Early Christian Literature; reception of classical progymnasmata and literary decorum.
  • Epistemology, linguistics, and logic in the works of Origen and Gregory Nazianzen; reception of Aristotelian, Platonic, and Stoic philosophical traditions.
  • De natura hominis by Nemesius of Emesa: Christian adaptation of classical embryological teachings and Nemesius’ reception of Origen.
  • Social dimensions of publishing in Late Antiquity: ecclesiastical censorship, the “ecclesiastical cursus publicus,” clergy as a new intellectual elite, and publishing as a strategy for social mobility.
  • Prosopography of educational networks between the Roman Empire and the Sasanian world, with a focus on connections across Roman Osrhoene and Sasanian Armenia.
  • Ageing and Old Age in the 4th–6th century Roman Empire from social, religious, legal, medical, and visual-cultural perspectives—emphasizing gender studies and regional diversity across the empire. (See the RomAge project website for more information.)

 

Academic functions

  • SNF Grantee for the Project “Ageing and Old Age in the 4th–6th Century Roman Empire: Religious, Legal, Social, and Physical Dimensions” (RomAge)
  • Member of the International Scientific Editorial Board of the Series “Contexts of Ancient and Medieval Anthropology” (De Gruyter Brill).

Publications

Selection of publications. A complete list of publications can be found at the end as well as open-access publications here.    

SCIENTIFIC BOOKS (MONOGRAPHS)

  1. Usacheva, A., Knowledge, Language and Intellection from Origen to Gregory Nazianzen. A Selective Survey, (Early Christianity in the Context of Antiquity, ed. by A.-Ch. Jacobsen, Ch. Shepardson, J. Ulrich). Peter Lang: Frankfurt am Main, 2017, 214 pp. (ISSN 1862-197X ISBN 978-3-631-73109-3, DOI 10.3726/b11833).
  2. Usacheva, A., Public Personae and Publishing Strategies in the 5th century Roman Empire (in preparation, submission scheduled for December 2025). Routledge.

PEER-REVIEWED SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES

1. Usacheva, A., The Origen of Nemesius: the Reception of Origen in the Fifth-century, in: Origeniana Tetriadecima (BELT 338), Peeters Publishers, Leuven, 675-693, expected in 2024.

2. Usacheva, A., E. Mataix Ferrándiz, A Foreword, in: A. Usacheva, E. Mataix Ferrándiz (eds.), Mediterranean Flows: People, Objects and Ideas in Motion. Brill, 2023, 148-180 (ISBN 978-3-506-79513-7).

3. Usacheva, A., Educational and Ritual Aspects of Reading and Publishing Practices from the Greek Philosophical Schools to Latin Monasticism, in: A. Usacheva, E. Mataix Ferrándiz (eds.), Mediterranean Flows: People, Objects and Ideas in Motion. Brill, 2023, 148-180 (ISBN 978-3-506-79513-7).

4. Usacheva, A., Agonistic Mimêsis and Genre Bending in Gregory Nazianzen’s Orations against the Emperor Julian, in: Bollettino della Badia Greca di Grottaferrata, III Serie, vol. 17 (2020), 167-195. (ISSN 0005-3783).

5. Usacheva, A., A Foreword, in: A. Usacheva, J. Ulrich, S. Bhayro (eds.), The Unity of Body and Soul in Patristic and Byzantine Thought. (Contexts of Ancient and Medieval Anthropology 1), Brill, 2020, vii- xiv. (ISBN 978-3-506-70339-2).

6. Usacheva, A., Christian Ensoulment Theories within Dualist Psychological Discourse, in: A. Usacheva, J. Ulrich, S. Bhayro (eds.), The Unity of Body and Soul in Patristic and Byzantine Thought. (Contexts of Ancient and Medieval Anthropology 1), Brill, 2020, 144-170. (ISBN 978-3-506-70339-2).

7. Usacheva, A., An Introduction, in: A.-Ch. Jacobsen, A. Usacheva (eds.), Christian Discourse in Late Antiquity. Hermeneutical, institutional and textual perspectives. Brill, 2020, vii-xiv. (ISBN 978-3-506- 70346-0).

8. Usacheva, A., The Contact Theories of Epistemology in Aristotle, Apostle Paul and Gregory Nazianzen: “then shall I know, even as also I am known” (1Cor 13:12), in: A.-Ch. Jacobsen, A. Usacheva (eds.), Christian Discourse in Late Antiquity. Hermeneutical, institutional and textual perspectives. Brill, 2020, 125- 145. (ISBN 978-3-506-70346-0).

9. Usacheva, A., Dire le Sacré chez Origène: Language Theory of Origen and the Voces Magicae Concept in the Context of Late Antiquity, in: A-A. Morello, V. Michel-Fauré, M. Jacquemier (eds.), Dire le sacré: spiritualités et représentations (musique, arts visuels, littérature, philosophie, théologie. C&P Adver Effigies, Rome, 2021, 65-81. (EAN: 9788855241250).

10. Usacheva, A., A Fluidity of Canon and Structuring Theological Knowledge in the Works of Origen, in: J. Cahana, K. MacKendrick (eds.), Beyond We and Them: Decolonizing Greco-Roman and Biblical Antiquities, (Aarhus Studies in Mediterranean Antiquity). Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2019, 117-131. (ISBN 9788771844436).

11. Usacheva, A., Who Knows His Aristotle Better? Apropos of the Philosophical Polemics of Gregory Nazianzen against the Eunomians, in: G. Bady, D. Cuny (eds.), Les polémiques religieuses du 1er au IVe siècle de notre ère (Théologie historique, vol. 128), Les Éditions Beauchesne, Paris, 2018, 407-421. (ISBN: 9782701022772).

12. Usacheva, A., The Body of Nous: Gregory Nazianzen’s Concept of the Human Mind in the Context of Peripatetic Philosophy, in: V. Petroff (ed.), The Legacies of Aristotle as Constitutive Element of European Rationality. Proceedings of the Moscow International Conference on Aristotle. RAS Institute of Philosophy, October 17–19, 2016. Moscow: Aquilo Press, 2017, 223–249. (ISBN 9785906578297).

13. Usacheva, A., Grammar of Theology: Logical Argumentation from Origen to the Cappadocian Fathers, in: P. Szczur (ed.), Vox Patrum 37/68. John Paul II University of Lublin Press, 2017, 95–105. ISSN: 0860- 9411.

14. Usacheva, A., A Foreword, in: Dire Dieu. Les Principes Méthodologique de L’Écriture sur Dieu en Patristique, (Collection Théologie historique 124). Les Éditions Beauchesne, Paris, 2017, 9–18. (ISBN: 9782701022123).

15. Usacheva, A., Theological manual by Gregory of Nazianzus: genre, style and methodological design of the orations 27, 28, in: B. Pouderon, A. Usacheva (eds.), Dire Dieu. Les Principes Méthodologique de L’Écriture sur Dieu en Patristique, (Collection Théologie historique 124). Les Éditions Beauchesne, Paris, 2017, 211–227. (ISBN: 9782701022123).

16. Usacheva, A., The Exegetical Requirements in Origen’s Late works: Mystical and Intellectual Aspects of Perfection According to Origen and his Followers, in: A-Ch. Jacobsen (ed.), Origeniana Undecima. Peeters, 2016, 871–885. (ISBN: 978-90-429-3307-1).

17. Usacheva, A., Socratics’ as the addresses of Isocrates’ epideictic speeches (Against the Sophists, Encomium of Helen, Busiris), in: F. De Luise & A. Stavru (eds.), Socratica III. Studies on Socrates, the Socratics, and Ancient Socratic Literature, (International Socrates Studies, Bd. 1). Sankt Augustin, Academia Verlag, 2013, 183–190.

18. Usacheva, A., The dating of Plato’s Phaedrus, in: J. Dillon (ed.), Hermathena 189 (Winter 2010). Trinity College Press, Dublin, 53–70. ISSN: 00180750 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/42950992).

19. Usacheva, A., The term πανήγυρις in the Holy Bible and Christian literature of the IV century and the development of Christian panegyric genre, in: M. Vinzent (ed.), Studia Patristica LXII. Peeters, 2013, 57– 69. (ISBN: 978-90-429-2995-1).

20. Usacheva, A., Apropos of the Conscious Divide and Compositional Unity of Gregory Nazianzen’s Invectives Against Julian the Emperor, in: St. Tikhon’s University Review. Theology. Philosophy. Religious Studies 3 (35). Moscow, 2011, 22–29 (http://periodical.pstgu.ru/ru/pdf/article/1405; ISSN (print) 1991640X; ISSN (online) 24094692; DOI 10.15382/sturI). (In Russian).

21. Usacheva, A., Logos steliteutikos – a new genre? A provenance of neologism ‘steliteutikos’ and its usage as terminus technicus, in: Theological Bulletin. Moscow Theological Academy: Sergiev Posad, 2010, 502– 514. (In Russian).

22. Usacheva, A., Apropos the date of Gregory Nazianzen’s invectives against Julian the Emperor (Orationes IV-V Contra Julianum Imperatorem), in: Proceedings of the XX Annual Theological Conference of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University (PSTGU). Moscow, 2009, 226–232. (In Russian).

REVIEWS

1. Usacheva, A., A Review of “Nemesius of Emesa on Human Nature: A Cosmopolitan Anthropology from Roman Syria. By David Lloyd Dusenbury. Oxford Early Christian Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021. xv + 230 pp. $90.00, hardcover,” in: Church History , Volume 92 , Issue 4 , December 2023 , pp. 945 – 947, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009640723003207.

2. Usacheva, A., A Review of “Simelidis, Ch., Selected Poems of Gregory of Nazianzus: I.2.17; II. 1.10, 19, 32: A Critical Edition with Introduction and Commentary (Hypomnemata 177), Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2009, 284 pp.,” in: St. Tikhon’s University Review. Theology. Philosophy. Religious Studies 4(28), Moscow, 2009, 57–60 (ISSN (print) 1991640X; ISSN (online) 24094692; DOI 10.15382/sturI; http://periodical.pstgu.ru/ru/pdf/article/962). (In Russian).

3. Usacheva, A., A Review of “The Origins of the Platonic System Platonisms of the Early Empire and their Philosophical Contexts, (Collection d’Études Classiques, 23), M. Bonazzi , J. Opsomer (eds.). Peeters, 2009, 227 pp.,” in: St. Tikhon’s University Review. Theology. Philosophy. Religious Studies 3 (31), Moscow, 2010, 141–146 (ISSN (print) 1991640X; ISSN (online) 24094692; DOI 10.15382/sturI; http://periodical.pstgu.ru/ru/pdf/article/1190). (In Russian).

4. Usacheva, A., A Review of “Perceptions of the second sophistic and its times — Regards sur la seconde sophistique et son époque / T. Schmidt, P. Fleury, ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010. 304 pp.,” in: St. Tikhon’s University Review. Theology. Philosophy. Religious Studies 6(38), Moscow, 2011, 144-148 (ISSN (print) 1991640X; ISSN (online) 24094692; DOI 10.15382/sturI; http://periodical.pstgu.ru/ru/pdf/article/1616). (In Russian).

5. Usacheva, A., A Review of: “Somos, Róbert, Logic and Argumentation in Origen. Münster: Aschendorff Verlag 2015. 238 S. = Adamantiana, 7. ISBN 978-3-402-13717-8”, in: Theologische Literaturzeitung 141 (Jan 2016), col. 1373–1375.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA ENTRY

Usacheva, A., Nemesius of Emesa, in: C.M. Furey, B. Matz, S.L. McKenzie, Th. Römer, J. Schröter, B.D. Walfish, E. Ziolkowski (eds.), Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR), Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin, 2021. (https://doi.org/10.1515/ebr, ISSN: 2193-2840).

DOCTORAL THESES

Usacheva, A., Gregorii Nazianzeni Orationes IV, V contra Julianum Imperatorem: Interpretation of Genre in the Context of Late Antiquity, Moscow 2011 (in Russian).

The self-printed copies of the dissertation are available at the main Russian academic libraries (the Russian State Library, Moscow State University Lomonosov Scientific Library); electronic publication is available at the website of the Russian State Library: http://aleph.rsl.ru/F/XGDAIM2N2A69NSGTUBQH3MPGKPBIJ66SA7KYBIL8PU9V6IPYXE- 00892?func=full-set-set&set_number=018541&set_entry=000015&format=999.

AUDIOVISUAL MATERIAL, ICT SOFTWARE

Audio-course for: Ancient Greek Language. Basic grammar course, in 3 books, with audio disc. Fr. Wolf, Y. Shichalin, N. Malinauskene (eds.), GLK, Moscow, 2017 (2005), 600 pp. ISBN 5-87245-098-2.