UCL FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Venue: Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge 

Time: Sunday 16 July 12.00pm - 6.00pm / Monday 17 July 9.00am - 5.00pm

This colloquium, generously sponsored by the Faculty Institute of Graduate Studies (UCL) and the universities of Princeton, Cambridge and Oxford, arises from a collaborative network of scholars at UCL, Princeton, Oxford and Cambridge.

The general topic of the network is “Post-Classicisms” and it aims to re-evaluate the benefits of so-called reception theory for the study of antiquity (a core research area of the UCL Greek and Latin department).

We wish to explore to what degree the traditions of reading ancient texts, objects and ideas are to be seen as formative rather than merely secondary to the act of interpretation: to take a single and simplified example, can Sophocles’ Antigone be read without Hegel’s influential reading, or is Hegel’s perspective always mediating, directly or indirectly, a modern engagement with antiquity? To what degree is the value of classical material inherent and integral, or constructed over time and place?

Second, we aim to investigate how much cultural history is a crucial aspect of reception: how can we move away from the idea of the great (wo)man reading the great text of the past in solitary and intellectual engagement? What happens when the scene of reception includes dramatic performance, audiences of art works, different classes, genders and nationalities, as well as the masterpieces of the Grand Tradition?

Third we share a belief that classical antiquity should include not merely Greece and Rome but also at least Hebrew, Aramaic, Persian, Indian cultures – and that the interactions between these fields, and understanding scholarly attempts to separate them from each other, should be an integral part of our field.

There are two parts to each of the meetings of this network.

One part is a colloquium that involves the core group of established academics and invited respondents in a two-day discussion of pre-circulated position papers.

The second part, to which this application is directed, is focused on a graduate student colloquium. Its aim to help younger scholars to investigate major issues of “post-classicism” in a collaborative, interdisciplinary and explorative forum.

To this end, we bring together graduate students and early career academics from the four constituent institutions for two days of discussion.

The format is a pre-circulated paper of around twenty minutes length, briefly introduced, with a formal response (10 minutes) by another early career scholar, followed by at least half an hour’s discussion, including participation from some of the core group of senior academics. 

If you are interested in attending this colloquium please contact Adam Lecznar.

Participants:

Constanze Güthenke (Princeton)
Simon Goldhill (Cambridge)
Brooke Holmes (Princeton)
Miriam Leonard (UCL)
Tim Whitmarsh (Oxford)

Rosa Andújar (UCL)
Emma Cole (UCL)
Adam Lecznar (UCL)
Hamutal Minkowich (UCL)
Luke Richardson (UCL)
Benjamin Temblett (UCL)