Catherine Rowett

Cllr
Catherine Rowett
Catherine Rowett, Cambridge, 2019
Norfolk County Councillor
for West Depwade division
In office
13 July 2023 – 7 May 2026
Preceded byBarry Duffin
Succeeded byMargaret Thomas
Member of the European Parliament
for East of England
In office
2 July 2019 – 31 January 2020
Preceded byAlex Mayer
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born (1956-12-29) 29 December 1956 (age 69)
Yeovil, Somerset, England
PartyGreen Party of England and Wales
EducationKing's College, Cambridge
Websitecatherinerowett.org
Academic background
Christopher Stead
Academic work
DisciplinePhilosophy
Institutions
Notable works
  • Rethinking Early Greek Philosophy: Hippolytus of Rome and the Presocratics
  • Knowledge and Truth in Plato: Stepping Past the Shadow of Socrates

Catherine Joanna Rowett (born 29 December 1956, previously publishing as Catherine Osborne from 1979 to 2011) is a British academic and former Member of the European Parliament representing the Green Party of England and Wales. She is Professor Emerita of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia. She is known in particular for her work on Greek Philosophy, especially the Pre-Socratic philosophers. She was a Green Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England from 2019 until 31 January 2020, when the United Kingdom left the European Union.

Academic career

Rowett read Classics at the King's College, Cambridge, where she was also awarded her PhD with a dissertation on Hippolytus of Rome and Pre-Socratic philosophers. The dissertation was published as Rethinking Early Greek Philosophy: Hippolytus of Rome and the Presocratics by Cornell University Press in 1987.

Rowett became a Junior Research Fellow of New Hall, Cambridge in 1984. In 1987, she took up a Senior Research Fellowship at St Anne's College, Oxford while also a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow. From 1990 Rowett was a lecturer in philosophy at Swansea University. On leaving Swansea in 2000, Rowett became Reader in Greek Culture at the University of Liverpool and then 2003 she moved to the University of East Anglia as a lecturer in philosophy. Rowett became Reader in 2006, Professor of Philosophy in 2008 and Professor Emerita in 2023. She was the Head of the School of Philosophy (later incorporated into the current School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies) from 2005 to 2008. During her time as an MEP she was on unpaid leave from her University duties.

Rowett was awarded a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship from 2007 to 2009 for her work on knowledge and truth in Plato, which formed the foundation of her work published as Knowledge and Truth in Plato: Stepping Past the Shadow of Socrates by Oxford University Press in 2018.

Political career

Rowett stood as a Green Party candidate for the constituency of South Norfolk in the 2015 and 2017 general elections.

She was selected as the lead Green Party candidate for the East of England in the 2019 European Parliament election and was elected with her Green Party list receiving 12.7% of the votes cast. The party topped the poll in Norwich with 26% of the votes cast in the city. Her seat was dissolved on 31 January 2020, following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.

On 13 July 2023, Rowett was elected as a Green Party councillor on Norfolk County Council when she won the West Depwade by-election. From 2024 to 2026 she was leader of the Green Group. She stood down as councillor in May 2026.

Personal life

From 1979 to 2014 she was married to Robin Osborne and together they have two daughters.

Selected publications

As Catherine Rowett

As Catherine Osborne

See also Catherine Rowett on Researchgate

References

  1. 1 2 "Catherine Rowett - Research Database, The University of East Anglia". people.uea.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  2. 1 2 "The UK's European elections 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  3. ↑ Furley, David (1991). "Review of Rethinking Early Greek Philosophy: Hippolytus of Rome and the Presocratics". The Philosophical Review. 100 (1): 157–160. doi:10.2307/2185530. JSTOR 2185530.
  4. ↑ "Catherine Rowett". University of East Anglia. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "The Leverhulme Trust: Awards Made in 2007" (PDF). 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  6. ↑ Knowledge and Truth in Plato: Stepping Past the Shadow of Socrates. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. 26 June 2018. ISBN 9780199693658.
  7. ↑ "Parliamentary candidate 2017". South Norfolk Greens. 25 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  8. ↑ Grimmer, Dan. "WATCH: Who is standing in the General Election 2017 in South Norfolk and why do they think you should vote for them?". Diss Mercury. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  9. ↑ "Catherine Rowett heads Green Party's push to elect an MEP in May". Eastern Green Party. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  10. ↑ Clarke, Seán; Gutiérrez, Pablo; Hulley-Jones, Frank (27 May 2019). "European election latest results 2019: across the UK". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  11. ↑ "European Parliamentary Elections 23 May 2019 − Results of the Norwich count". Norwich City Council. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  12. ↑ Miles, Graeme (2007). "Review of: Dumb Beasts and Dead Philosophers. Humanity and the Humane in Ancient Philosophy and Literature". Bryn Mawr Classical Review. ISSN 1055-7660.
  13. ↑ Price, A. W. (1997). "Review of Eros Unveiled. Plato and the God of Love". International Journal of the Classical Tradition. 4 (1): 118–121. JSTOR 30222329.
  14. ↑ Schofield, Malcolm (1988). "Rethinking Early Greek Philosophy: Hippolytus of Rome and the Presocratics. Catherine Osborne". Isis. 79 (3): 537–538. doi:10.1086/354829. ISSN 0021-1753.