Sven Günther is a full professor of Classics at the Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations (IHAC), Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China, where he is also vice-director. His research centers on Greco-Roman socio-economic history, numismatics, and reception history, and he has published widely in these and related fields. Starting his academic career with studies in Ancient History, Medieval & Modern History, and Public Law and a doctoral dissertation on ancient Roman taxation at the University of Mainz, he has always followed the Humboldtian ideal of close linkage between teaching and research which is reflected in his numerous projects crossing traditional boundaries between disciplines, fields, and institutions. Teaching and research positions took him to schools and universities within Germany, to the German School Tokyo-Yokohama, and finally to Changchun and IHAC. There, he is responsible for all international affairs of the institute that comprises not only Classics, i.e. Greek and Roman studies, but also Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Egyptology, and Byzantine Studies. Among several other editorial responsibilities, he is editor-in-chief of IHAC’s double-blind peer-reviewed Journal of Ancient Civilizations which he has succeeded to list in several world-renowned citation indices.
Professor Günther is strongly committed to the idea of global(izing) Classics and Ancient Studies which is a cultural heritage of, and for, the world. To help students and young researchers to fulfill their academic dreams is what he is constantly working for. Hence, he is most happy to join Fulbright University Vietnam as a fellow and to support the development of its program with the interdisciplinary project “Augustus in Saigon”.
