Mapping Platonic Scholarship in Scopus

Link to the Presentation

This paper presents an exploratory analysis of the global distribution and publication trends in Platonic scholarship
It is based on open-access metadata retrieved mainly (but not exclusively!) through the Scopus API (Application Programming Interface = a connection between computer programs)
Scopus is a comprehensive abstract and citation database launched by Elsevier in 2004 to provide researchers and institutions with a tool to access scientific literature, track citations, and assess research impact across disciplines.

While Scopus is one of the most extensive citation databases available, it is not neutral or exhaustive — especially when it comes to humanities disciplines like philosophy.
The database prioritizes English-language publications and journals indexed after 2004, leading to the underrepresentation of non-English, historical, and specialized venues for Platonic scholarship.
Many important works in classical philology or philosophy may appear in sources not indexed by Scopus, or may be published in books, edited volumes, or older journals excluded from its coverage.

Scopus offers a useful proxy for identifying broad patterns in the contemporary dissemination of Platonic research.
It helps to quantify global trends in academic publishing and to visualize key features of Platonic scholarship.
Scopus also facilitates a macroscopic, data-driven approach to the field of Plato studies.

This research draws on about 7,500 publications indexed in Scopus that include Plato as a subject (based on title or key words).
It was collected using programmatic tools in R — specifically the {rscopus}, {rcrossref}, {openalexR} packages and LLM via {ellmer}.
Dataset includes data on authorship, national affiliation and information on publishers, including their location.

creator	title	publicationName	publisher	year	issn	volume	issue	page_range	cited_by_count	aggregation_type	subtype	affiliation_name	affiliation_city	affiliation_country	publisher_country
Notomi N.	Image-making in Republic X and the Sophist: Pla...	Mnemosyne, Supplements	Brill	2011	01698958	328	NA	299-326	12	Book Series	ch	NA	NA	NA	Netherlands
Arruzza C.	Philosophical dogs and tyrannical wolves in Pla...	Studies in Moral Philosophy	Brill	2016	22112014	10	NA	41-66	2	Book Series	ch	The New School	New York	United States	Netherlands
Cornelli G.	Why Plato could not simply embrace Democracy? M...	Revista Archai	Coimbra University Press	2024	21794960	NA	34	NA	1	Journal	ar	Universidade de Brasília	Brasilia	Brazil	Portugal
Wei L.	Plato's attempts at defining sophistry	Frontiers of Philosophy in China	Brill	2013	16733436	8	4	566-584	1	Journal	ar	Renmin University of China	Beijing	China	Netherlands
Balla C.	Intended ambiguity in Plato's Phaedo	Strategies of Ambiguity in Ancient Literature	De Gruyter	2021	NA	NA	NA	29-42	0	Book	ch	University of Crete	Rethymnon	Greece	Germany
Mársico C.	"I want to die many times if this is true" (Pla...	Revista Archai	Coimbra University Press	2021	21794960	NA	31	NA	0	Journal	re	Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Portugal

In recent years, there has been a noticeable rise in the number of authors listing affiliations with the Global South and Russia, moving beyond the traditional dominance of Europe and the USA.
In terms of visibility and citation impact, these affiliations still lag behind traditional centers such as Oxford and Harvard; however, this trend is gradually changing.

Over the past decade, newly established Russian journals – Platonic Investigations (founded 2014) and ΣΧΟΛΗ (founded 2007) – have actively pursued Scopus indexing policies, successfully entering international databases.
This strategic approach has resulted in a substantial increase in indexed publications on Plato studies, positioning these journals as significant contributors to the global discourse on ancient philosophy within the Scopus ecosystem.
While these Russian journals have yet to match the citation metrics of established Western publications like Phronesis or Classical Quarterly, there is demonstrable growth in citation patterns, particularly within domestic scholarly networks, indicating an emerging influence in international Platonic scholarship.