Ralph Mathisen is Professor of History, Classics, and Medieval Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a specialist in the ancient world with a particular interest in the society, culture, and religion of Late Antiquity. His teaching experience includes Western Civilization and topics in the Ancient Near East, Greece, Rome, Byzantium, coinage, and Roman law. He has written more than seventy scholarly articles and has written or edited 10 books, the most recent of which is PEOPLE, PERSONAL EXPRESSION, AND SOCIAL RELATIONS IN LATE ANTIQUITY. He is also the editor of the JOURNAL OF LATE ANTIQUITY and OXFORD STUDIES IN LATE ANTIQUITY. He enjoys traveling, running, and… ballroom dancing.