W.V. Harris

William Harris is an ancient historian who was to a considerable extent inspired to become a scholar by the archaeologist and architectural historian John Ward-Perkins. In recent times he has mainly written about economic history and about problems that have a natural-science component—environmental history and the history of mental health. He serves as director of the Center for the Ancient Mediterranean at Columbia University. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and a corresponding fellow of the British Academy.