Online Virtual Roundtable
Women as Authors of Latin Literature
The RELICS research network is delighted to invite you to attend the virtual roundtable on “Women as Authors of Latin Literature”
Speaker Lineup:
Jane Stevenson (Oxford): ‘Hiding in Plain Sight?’
Johanna Luggin (Innsbruck): 'Agency and Impact: Useful Concepts for the Study of Women Writers?'
Patrick Burns (New York): ‘Initial Steps toward a Linguistic Dataset of Latin Texts Written by Women’
Giacomo Evangelisti and Chiara Bellavegli (Rome): ‘Centre MedioEvA: Ideas for a New Literary Canon’
Skye Shirley (London): 'Women's Latin Writing: Appreciating Abundance'
Anne Larsen and Stephen Maiullo (Holland, MI): 'Women Latin Writers and the Canon: The Case of Anna Maria van Schurman'
Registration via email (relics@ugent.be)
Call for Discussion
Online: Zoom
Date: 19 December 2024
Time: 11:00 am (London time)
Hosts: Frisbee Sheffield (University of Cambridge), Ahuvia Kahane (Trinity College Dublin)
Classics in Africa Initiative:
“A recent visit to Trinity College, Dublin, has highlighted the difficulties of Classics Departments in Africa, who are operating under great constraints, with limited resources, cuts, departmental mergers, etc. We (Classicists) write a good deal about ‘decolonizing classics’ and would like to try to offer some practical help:
“The idea is to bring together Classics partners from Africa - Ibadan (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Western Cape (South Africa), Malawi, Uganda - and from multiple European institutions. We would like to propose a specific Classics in Africa grant to support the following:
African visiting scholarships
Student exchanges
Language teaching via Zoom
Conferences
“This idea is still only in its nascent stages, but please do let us know if you are interested in collaborating with us on this project, or if you have any ideas we might take into consideration in the formulation of a proposal.
“We hope you can join us at this time. If you cannot, please let us know and we’ll find a way of arranging another meeting by Zoom at a mutually convenient time.”
To join the Zoom meeting, please use the link below:
Call for Papers
Date: 11 March 2025
Application Deadline: 13 January 2025
Hosts: Alex Tadel (University of Warwick), Simon Smets (KU Leuven)
Roundtable on Gender in Latin Studies
“In the past two years, the research group RELICS organised online roundtable discussions on the future of Latin studies and education. Excellent impulse talks and vivid discussions made the events a success, which is why we have decided to continue the effort. We continue to focus on topics which last years’ discussions highlighted as particularly relevant for the field. This year, we will look at women as authors of Latin literature from various points of view.
“In recent years the study of women authors has grown in importance in Latin studies. This invites us to rethink the field’s boundaries and traditions. We seek perspectives on women, past and present, who used Latin to express themselves. Some view modern feminist theories as vital to the field, while others question their applicability. Does integrating today’s feminist and gender theories risk overlooking the unique contexts of historical texts? Another point of interest is the role of social class and other identity markers in shaping women’s representations.
“Questions of representation and canon formation remain at the heart of these debates: which texts are privileged, and how do we teach these texts? Finally, we seek input on regional variations in approaches to gender in Latin studies. How do perspectives from different countries interact, and is it possible to trace broader regional approaches shaped by distinct cultural and scholarly traditions? We invite scholars of all career stages to share their ideas on gender in Latin studies with us.
“We plan to hold the event on 11 March 2025 over Zoom. The exact time will be decided on the basis of participants’ time zones and will be communicated later. For now, we invite concrete expressions of interest: short thoughts that you would consider worth discussing or more elaborate proposals for a substantial contribution to the discussion. From this, we will select speakers to give impulse talks of five minutes that will serve as a basis for the ensuing discussion.”
Proposals and any remaining questions should be sent by 13 January to relics@ugent.be.
Previous Events
CASA (Classical Association of South Africa) Essay Competition
DEADLINE: 15 November 2024
The CASA Essay competition (formerly the B.X. de Wet Essay) is held under the auspices of Akroterion: Journal of the Classics in South Africa, housed in the Department of Ancient Studies, University of Stellenbosch. The intention of the competition is to encourage promising undergraduate and Honours students in Africa to pursue their interest in Classics. Essays on any aspect of Greek or Latin language or literature, or classical history or civilization may be submitted.
Classics and/in Africa
DEADLINE: 8 November 2024
DATE: 3-4 July 2025
The research group Classics at the Crossroads: Partnership, Mobility, and Exchange Between Ghana, Nigeria, and Canada is pleased to announce the call for papers for a conference on Classics and/in Africa at King’s College London, July 3-4, 2025.
“Sokrates Anoyi: Lawrence Henry Yaw Ofosu-Appiah’s Translation of Plato’s Apology into Twi”
DATE: 10 June 2024
While Classical reception studies on the African continent has focused largely on ancient Greek drama and art, there’s been some recent interest in the reception of ancient philosophy in the philosophical thought of African writers. These attempts have considered the contexts of colonialism, and the challenge Pan-Africanism presents for the study of Classics in general. However, research on the translation of ancient philosophical works into local languages has not been explored. This presentation attempts to fill this gap by exploring the significance of the translation of Plato’s Apology into Twi by Lawrence H. Ofosu-Appiah, as a way of decolonizing and making Classical texts accessible, and against the backdrop of the politics of knowledge production in the two decades following Ghana’s independence from colonial rule.
‘Out of the Shadows of the Empire’: Institute of Classical Studies’ and Classical Reception Studies Network’s Classical Reception Seminar Series
DATE: 22 April - 10 June 2024
This seminar explores how classical receptions from the global south emerged from, in reaction to, and in spite of classics’ historic intimacy with the imperial project, considering the diverse ways in which subaltern writers and creators subversively redeployed Graeco-Roman culture to critique these systems of empire and Euro-American cultural dominance and deconstruct the colonial apparatus.
Classics Beyond Borders Conference.
DATE: 18-20 September 2024
The Classical Association of Ghana, in collaboration with the Department of Philosophy and Classics, University of Ghana, the Department of Classics and Philosophy, University of Cape Coast, and the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge, is pleased to announce the call for papers for its 3rd International Classics Conference in Ghana (ICCG) on the theme: Classics Beyond Borders.
‘How to trick the enemy: The role of trickery, deceit and communication security in ancient military manuals.’
DATE: 8 May 2024
The University of Johannesburg’s Department of Languages, Cultural Studies, and Applied Linguistics (LanCSAL) invites you to a seminar entitled ‘How to trick the enemy: The role of trickery, deceit and communication security in ancient military manuals’. The seminar will be given by Dr. Martine Diepenbroek, who is a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Classical Cultures at the University of Johannesburg.
Bodies and Voices in the Theory and Practice of Greek and Roman Performance and its Reception.
DEADLINE: 19 April 2024
“This Symposium focuses on the reception of Greek and Roman tragedy, comedy, satyr play, epic, lyric, and other texts in performance, exploring their afterlives through re-workings by writers and practitioners across all genres and periods. This year’s theme seeks to explore the relationship between bodies and voices, broadly conceived, asking what the interaction between them might mean in the context of the reception of the ancient past.”
Exploring Forced Migration and Exile Through Ancient Greek Stories.
DATE: 13 March 2024
“In this online workshop we will be exploring:
Modern dramatic performances of ancient ‘Aithiopian’ figures from Greek myth
The power of storytelling: oral and literary traditional
Gender and marginality
Perilous journeys: modern Ethiopian-Eritrean experiences of migration”
'The Spartan Scytale and Developments in Ancient and Modern Cryptography' by Dr. Martine Diepenbroek.
“Dr Diepenbroek’s first monograph, based on her PhD thesis, offers a comprehensive review and reassessment of the classical sources describing the cryptographic Spartan device known as the scytale. Challenging the view promoted by modern historians of cryptography which look at the scytale as a simple and impractical ‘stick’, Diepenbroek argues for the scytale’s deserved status as a vehicle for secret communication in the ancient world.”
Other:
1. Deadline 15 August 2023
African Classics Network workshop, 20-22 November 2023, and CASA, 22-25 November, Stellenbosch and Cape Town, South Africa
African scholars can apply for funding to attend this workshop, hosted by Dr Samantha Masters (Stellenbosch) and Prof Stephen Harrison (Oxford).
2. September 2023
Reimagining Tragedy across Africa and the Global South, conference, 26-27 September, Oxford, UK
The APGRD (University of Oxford) and ReTAGS (University of Cape Town) are co-hosting a hybrid conference, co-organised by Professor Fiona Macintosh (Oxford) and Dr Justine McConnell (KCL), on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 September, in the Classics Centre in Oxford (and online). Visit the APGRD website for more details.
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