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Be Counted As We Near the Gateway Campaign Deadline
Our tireless Gateway Campaign Committee is leading the APA down the home stretch as we approach our July 31st deadline for completing our NEH Challenge Grant match. Nearly 1,000 APA members and others devoted to classical antiquity have contributed to the Gateway Campaign to date. We have a total of $2.2 million and the Endowment for Classics Research and Teaching has become a reality. We need another $400,000 if we are to keep every NEH dollar in the Endowment working to provide sophisticated and accessible tools for Classics scholars, develop future generations of inspired and diverse Classics teachers, and make high quality information about Classics available to the largest possible audience both inside and outside the scholarly community. Visit the Campaign News section of the APA web site for the most up-to-date information and learn how you can help us to fill our Campaign amphora.
CFP: Reception of the Homeric Hymns in Latin and Later Greek Literature
University of Waterloo, Ontario Canada, Aug. 8–11, 2013
The significance of early hexameter hymns and their narratives for Latin and later Greek literature has been appreciated occasionally in previous scholarship (A. Barchiesi 'Venus' Masterplot: Ovid and the Homeric Hymns' 1999 issued a call for future work on the Hymns' influence on Ovid, which has yet to be fully heeded; cf. also S. Hinds The Metamorphosis of Persephone 1987). But there has been no concentrated effort to bring together a fuller picture of the later layers of their reception. We invite proposals for papers on the reception of the Homeric Hymns (and related hexameter texts: e.g. cosmologies and philosophical texts) in Latin and later Greek literature. In Greek the focus will be on reception in Hellenistic, Imperial and Late Antique texts, with the exception of primary reception in Callimachus, Theocritus, and Apollonius, as their corpora have already been well treated in this respect. Reception will be defined broadly in the volume (linguistic or thematic allusion, intertextuality, adaptation of the form, performance, reception in visual arts etc.).
The first stage of this project will consist of a workshop held at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario Canada (Aug. 8-11, 2013). The workshop will include about 20 participants, each of whom will present the first draft of a paper in progress for discussion by the group. The second stage of the project will be the publication of these papers in a volume. Participants would therefore be asked to prepare their conference presentations as for publication, which can then be refined through discussion at the workshop. We would seek final versions of the papers, whose length should be approximately 8,000 – 10,000 words, by the end of December 2013.
If you are interested, please send an abstract (ca. 350 words) by email to either Andrew Faulkner (afaulkner@uwaterloo.ca) or Athanassios Vergados (athanassios.vergados@gmail.com) by August 20, 2012.
Confirmed speakers include:
Gianfranco Agosti (Università degli Studi di Udine)
Matthew Carter (University of Western Ontario)
James Clauss (University of Washington)
Jenny Strauss Clay (University of Virginia)
Andrew Faulkner (University of Waterloo)
Alison Keith (University of Toronto)
John F. Miller (University of Virginia)
Anne-France Morand (Université Laval)
Nicholas Richardson (University of Oxford)
Andreas Schwab (Universität Heidelberg)
Christos Simelidis (Aristotle University of Thessalonike)
Oliver Thomas (University of Cambridge)
R. M. Van den Berg (Universiteit Leiden)
Athanassios Vergados (University of Tennessee-Knoxville)
Dirk Held
Dirk tom Dieck Held, the Elizabeth S. Kruidenier ’48 Professor of Classics at Connecticut College in New London CT, died of a cerebral hemorrhage on March 21, 2012. He took his A.B. and Ph.D in Classics at Brown University.
Joining the faculty of Connecticut College in 1971, he held the Chair of the Classics Department for thirty-two years. Professor Held presented and/or published over one hundred learned papers on a wide variety of topics. He was widely known and respected for the quality of his scholarship and his dedication to the field.
Colleague Robert Proctor, Professor of Italian, remarked, “Dirk Held lived the liberal arts ideal. His scholarship was both profound and wide-ranging, from Plato’s understanding of love to Nietzsche and the reception of classical antiquity in the modern world. He was a modern exemplar of ancient Roman humanitas: culture, kindness, generosity, and wit.”
Some of his recent published works include:
- "From Ashurbanipal to Plato: Religion and Naturalism in Ancient Science," Language and the Scientific Imagination, Proceedings of the 11th International Conference of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas, Helsinki. (2010)
- "Eros, Beauty and the Divine in Plato," New England Classical Journal August 2009, pp. 155-168 (http://www.caneweb.org/necj/pdf/ErosBeautyDivine.pdf) (2009)
- "Europe, History, Postmodernism: Greece and the Problem of Aboriginality", Actas del VIII Congresso Cultura Europea. Navarra: Editorial Aranzadi. pp. 41-46. (2009)
- "Socratic Modes of Reason in Plato, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche" in Ann Ward, ed. Socrates: Reason or Unreason as the Foundation of European Identity (2007)
- "Antigone on the Neckar: Greek Tragedy and Enigmas of the Modern," New EnglandClassical Journal (2007)
Reviews written by Professor Held appeared in Ancient History Bulletin, Ancient Philosophy, Bryn Mawr Classical Review, Canadian Philosophical Reviews, Classical World, New England Classical Journal, and Review of Metaphysics.
Held's presentation of his work at national and international conferences was also extensive. Recent presentations include:
- "Memory, Culture and Hellenism," presented to the Inaugural Conference on Transcultural Memory, University of London, School of Advanced Studies. (2010)
- "Ocularity and Discursivity in Plato's Republic, Bk VII," presented to the Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy (2009)
Born on March 24, 1939, he was the son of the late Oskar Edouard Held and Ethel Crofton Hunt. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Elizabeth Candace Allen; daughters Elizabeth Jensen and Kristin Held; grandsons Nicholas Thomson and Martin Jensen; and his brother Robert Crofton Held. He was descended from Pierre S. DuPont and was buried in the family cemetery, DuPont de Nemours, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Candace Held
Update on the Threat to Hadrian’s Villa
President
Message from the President - May 2012
As our capital campaign draws to a close (we still need everyone to help: be sure you are counted!), the APA is in a better position both to survive the challenges of our times and to seize the opportunities. But we must continue to use our human and financial capital wisely as we do our best to assure that the Association knows and seeks to provide what members actually need and want, and promotes our field as effectively as possible within and without. Now is the time to take stock, review priorities, and plan for the future. And so in late March the Board of Directors, as planned (see the Executive Director’s Report for 2011), conducted a weekend retreat facilitated by Laura Lewis Mandeles, our development advisor. Attending were the Executive Director; the Financial Trustees; the President, President-Elect, and two past Presidents; the divisional Vice Presidents; three Directors at large; a former President of the American Classical League; and to advise about issues affecting “adcons” (adjunct or contingent faculty), a non-classicist from the New Faculty Majority. The retreat was productive and promising, and this letter is a good opportunity to fulfill one of its next steps: to communicate to membership about the results of the retreat.
We came away with a strategic-planning framework whose essence is a clear definition of the Association’s mission and purpose – tosustain and advance the field of Classics and the people involved in it – and an organizational visionthat encourages a more collaborative approach among the Divisions and the membership, and with external constituencies. We identified priorities and promising initiatives for further study, and in order to get moving we established, for a trial period of two years, a “Cabinet” that will spearhead and serve as a regular forum for refining and advancing the plan. The Cabinet consists of the President and President-Elect, the divisional Vice Presidents, and the Executive Director, and has scheduled its first meeting (by conference-call) for mid-May.
The title “Cabinet” does not imply a one-way or top-down process: the APA has always relied on its members for initiatives and guidance, and for the volunteer effort needed to achieve results otherwise impossible for an organization of our size. The planning framework calls for greater responsiveness to the membership and for enhanced communications, especially online and digital, to connect members and other constituencies on an ongoing, year-round basis and through the full spectrum of media: to build the Gateway that inspired our capital campaign. As planning goes forward, members can expect to be consulted for feedback and advice, and polled for information.
The main roles of the Association should be along the following broad guidelines. We should support and develop the people who will enliven teaching, learning, and scholarship now and in years to come. Through our meetings and programs we should facilitate multiple opportunities for connection within the field, especially around research and teaching, that strengthen intellectual exchange, encourage collaboration, and provide mutual support. We should build information paths that connect professionals in the field and the lay public to data and information about the state and value of Classics, to 21st century resources for research, and about materials for pedagogical development. Our communications infrastructure should create an environment of support for Classics through outreach to and collaboration with educators, students, parents and the general public, articulate the case for the Classics, and advocate pro-actively for Classics among educational decision makers.
Strategic initiatives include: (1) A sophisticated program of data collection, analysis, and dissemination. (2) A “year-round”, more inclusive and engaging annual meeting that features a variety of formats for presentation and discussion of scholarship and issues in the field; includes a significant component focused on pedagogy; and offers a well-publicized set of public engagement opportunities in the host city. The meeting should be preceded and followed by continuing engagement with those who will or who have participated. In addition, we should explore the potential for convening – virtually or in-person – field meetings that would reach membership unable to attend the annual meeting as well as those who do generally attend. The Chicago 2014 annual meeting should be the target for significant retooling along these lines. (3) Developing information-technology to increase accessible research tools and materials, capture and share data about the field, and offer learning opportunities for a variety of constituents. Our website should become the “go-to place” for people involved in or interested in Classics and should make full use of social media on all media platforms, so that users can find information, follow developments in the field, enjoy presentations and other learning opportunities, and connect with colleagues. (4) Developing the field’s “talent pipeline” through collaborations and other mechanisms that create a continuum of connection, support, and advocacy for K-12 to undergraduate, graduate studies and career development.
These initiatives may well require that the Board consider by-law and structural changes, e.g. mechanisms for broadening and diversifying our organizational leadership in terms of age, professional status (e.g. adjunct, tenure track), and type of institution. And of course the Board, Financial Trustees, and staff will explore the potential for new revenue streams both earned and contributed; reallocation of resources in light of new priorities; and efficiencies through technology to reduce expenses.
As these initiatives are pursued, members can expect to be more frequently consulted or polled for needs, opinions, suggestions, and expertise – and also to be surveyed: at a time when we cannot have too much information about the field of Classics and the people involved in it, we have too little. For professionals and lay people alike, the APA should be the go-to source for data and information about the state and value of Classics. We will be exploring how to create and maintain a sophisticated program of data collection, analysis, and dissemination. So please respond when survey instruments come your or your department’s way. Something that you can do right now is to supply information about your own field(s) of expertise on the APA Membership Form, so that we can complete our online directory.
Among the first issues that members will be asked to consider is whether it is time to change the Association’s name. The consensus of the retreat was that “philological” no longer defines all that our Association is about and is so obscure to all but practitioners as to impede our efforts to gain broader public visibility. We need to be found when people search online for information about classics and the classical world. American Classical Association and (preferred) Classical Association of North America were suggestions.
The enhancement of our Association along these lines is an exciting prospect. So stay tuned and stay engaged!
Jeff Henderson
CFP: Reading the Ancient Near East in Early Modern Europe
22-23 November 2012
University College Dublin and Marsh's Library
The significance of classical writing in early modern European culture hardly needs stating, and although the classical inheritance signalled by the periodising term ‘Renaissance’ has partially been obscured by the more proleptic terms of the ‘early modern’, scholars rightly continue to emphasise the contribution of particular classical authors, texts and models to European Renaissance writing and thought. The vast majority of the authors, texts and models currently studied, however, are those which take ancient Greece and/or Rome (or territories under their sometime control) as their primary focus or purview. Concurrently, assumptions of the fixity or autochthony of ‘Europe’ and the ‘European Renaissance’ have come under pressure from work that emphasises the cross-cultural exchanges, encounters and traffic between ‘Europe’ and ‘the East’ during the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. But in neglecting sixteenth and seventeenth-century European interests in classical writings on regions and states such as Persia, Assyria and Scythia, we are missing a vital piece of the puzzle. Misrepresenting the range and modulations of early modern classical interests, we allow the putative orientalising dichotomy of a ‘barbarian’ Eastern Other to ‘Europe’ to remain a silent, toxic presence in scholarship of the early modern period. Settings such as Lydia, Persia, Scythia, Assyria or Cimmeria were as much a part of the early modern imagination as Rome, Troy, Carthage, Delphi or Latium. In his Defence of Ryme, Samuel Daniel reminded English readers that ‘We must not thinke, but that there were Scipioes, Cæsars, Catoes and Pompeies, born elsewhere then at Rome, the rest of the world hath euer had them in the same degree of nature, though not of state. And it is our weakenesse that makes vs mistake, or misconceiue in these delineations of men the true figure of their worth.’
This conference aims to restore the visibility and significance of classical writings on the ancient Near East in early modern European literary culture, to complicate our understanding of the ‘Renaissance’ values that emerged out of the engagement with the classical legacy, and to bridge the gap between the theoretical models of the contemporary and classical engagements between Europe and the East in the early modern period.
Plenary speakers include Neil Rhodes (University of St Andrew’s), Edith Hall (King’s College, London) and Noreen Humble (University of Calgary).
The conference will also see the launch of ‘Reading East: Irish Sources and Resources’, a website introducing and cataloguing a selection of the early printed book holdings of Dublin’s extraordinarily rich research libraries, including Marsh’s Library, the Chester Beatty Library, the Edward Worth Library, and the UCD and Trinity College Libraries.
We welcome papers on any aspect of the early modern response to the Near Eastern interests of classical antiquity, and particularly papers that examine texts held at Dublin research libraries.
Topics may include, but are not confined to, to the following:
- The literary and political reception of authors such as Xenophon, Herodotus, Ctesias
- Antiquarian interest in the ancient Near East
- Classical writings in travel itineraries/writings
- Sources, analogues and exemplars
- Editions, translations and adaptations
- The ancient Near East and the ‘republic of letters’
- Ethnography and historiography of the ancient Near East
- Theories of the ‘barbarian’
- Representations of the ancient Near East and the New World
Please send abstracts of 300-400 words, together with a brief bio, to the organisers, Dr Jane Grogan (jane.grogan@ucd.ie) and Dr Marina Ansaldo (marina.ansaldo@ucd.ie) by 15 July 2012.
Both the conference and 'Reading East: Irish Sources and Resources' are supported by funding received from the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences.
CFP: Traveling Traditions: Pilgrimage across Time and Cultures
An Interdisciplinary Conference Sponsored by
the Institute for Pilgrimage Studies and
the International Consortium for Pilgrimage Studies
College of William and Mary
October 12-14, 2012
“Curiosity does, no less than devotion, pilgrims make.”—Abraham Cowley (English Poet 1618-1667)
The Institute of Pilgrimage Studies in conjunction with the International Consortium for Pilgrimage Studies invites abstracts for their first annual Symposium to be held October 12-14, 2012 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The topic of the conference is "Traveling Traditions: Pilgrimage across Time and Cultures." We encourage submission of papers involving research and creative activity on journey to a sacred center or travel for transformation from a broad range of disciplines and perspectives. Abstracts from religious studies, anthropology, language and literatures, art history, kinesiology, classical studies, history, sociology, theater and dance as well as others will be considered. Individual presentations will last ca. 15 minutes, with time for discussion in between papers.
Abstracts of ca. 500 words can be submitted on-line at http://www.wm.edu/pilgrimage/abstractsuntil the deadline of July 31, 2012. We encourage faculty, independent researchers, and both graduate and undergraduate students to submit abstracts. Faculty and independent researchers should submit a short c.v. along with their abstract; students should also submit a recommendation from a faculty mentor. Students can either propose to present papers or participate in a poster session. Notification of accepted abstracts and poster presentations will be sent out by September 1, 2012. Please check the Symposium website at http://www.wm.edu/pilgrimage/symposiumor contact Brennan Harris (mbharr@wm.edu), if you have any additional questions regarding the Symposium or abstract submission process.
In the News: Ivy League School Janitor Graduates With Honors
From the Associated Press, via Yahoo.com:
For years, Gac Filipaj mopped floors, cleaned toilets and took out trash at Columbia University.
A refugee from war-torn Yugoslavia, he eked out a living working for the Ivy League school. But Sunday was payback time: The 52-year-old janitor donned a cap and gown to graduate with a bachelor's degree in classics.
As a Columbia employee, he didn't have to pay for the classes he took. His favorite subject was the Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca, the janitor said during a break from his work at Lerner Hall, the student union building he cleans.
"I love Seneca's letters because they're written in the spirit in which I was educated in my family — not to look for fame and fortune, but to have a simple, honest, honorable life," he said.
His graduation with honors capped a dozen years of studies, including readings in ancient Latin and Greek.
Site: Orbis
From the site:
ORBIS: The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World reconstructs the time cost and financial expense associated with a wide range of different types of travel in antiquity. The model is based on a simplified version of the giant network of cities, roads, rivers and sea lanes that framed movement across the Roman Empire. It broadly reflects conditions around 200 CE but also covers a few sites and roads created in late antiquity.
The model consists of 751 sites, most of them urban settlements but also including important promontories and mountain passes, and covers close to 10 million square kilometers (~4 million square miles) of terrestrial and maritime space. 268 sites serve as sea ports. The road network encompasses 84,631 kilometers (52,587 miles) of road or desert tracks, complemented by 28,272 kilometers (17,567 miles) of navigable rivers and canals.
Read more here: http://orbis.stanford.edu/.
CONF: Flavian Literature And Its Greek Past
Η Λογοτεχνία Τησ Εποχήσ Των Φλαβίων Και Οι Ρίζεσ Τησ Στην Ελληνική Αρχαιότητα
ORGANIZER: ANTONY AUGOUSTAKIS, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, USA JULY 2-4, 2012 EUROPEAN CULTURAL CENTER OF DELPHI
Registration Fee Of € 250,00 Includes Lodging And Meals For The Participants At The Conference Centre Guest House (Single Room) For The Nights Of July 2-4. Declare Interest In Participating By May 31st, 2012 To Aaugoust@Illinois.Edu
Monday, 2 July 2012
From 3.00 Pm Registration
17 Welcome: Antony Augoustakis (University Of Illinois, USA)
17–18:30 Session 1: Silius Italicus (Chair: Bob Cowan)
· 17–17:30 Joy Littlewood (Oxford, UK), Dining Dangerously: Pythian Odes And Capuan Banquets
· 17:30–18 Michiel Van Der Keur (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands), Meruit Deus Esse Uideri. Silius’ Homer In Homer’s Punica
· 18–18:30 Marco Fucecchi (Università Di Udine, Italy), The Philosophy Of Power: Greek Literary Tradition And Silius’ On Kingship
Dinner
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
9.00–11.00 Session 2: Valerius Flaccus I (Chair: Marco Fucecchi)
· 9–9.30 Darcy Krasne (University Of Arkansas, USA), When The Argo Met The Argo: Poetic Destruction In Valerius’ Argonautica
· 9.30–10 Christiano Castelletti (Tll Munich, Germany), Aratus And Aratean Tradition In Valerius’ Argonautica
· 10–10.30 Daniela Galli (Italy), Valerius’ Argonautica And Dionysius Scytobrachion
· 10.30–11 Irene Mitousi (Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki, Greece). Valerius’ Argonautica As An Ideological Epic Of The Flavian Era
11–11.30 Coffee Break
11.30–1.30 Session 3: Martial (Chair: Michiel Van Der Keur)
· 11.30–12 Margot Neger (Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Germany), Martial And Greek Epigram
· 12–12.30 Craig Williams (Brooklyn College, USA), Epigrammaton Lingua: Greek Elements In Martial’s Metapoetics
· 12.30–13 Ana Maria Dos Santos Lóio (University Of Lisbon, Portugal), Inheriting Speech. Talking Books Reach Flavian Rome
· 13–13.30 Sarah Blake (York University, Canada), Poems On Objects: Martial’s Xenia And Apophoreta And The Conventions Of Greek Inscriptive Epigram
13.30–14.30 Lunch
14.30–16 Session 4: Statius’ Thebaid I (Chair: Federica Bessone)
· 14.30–15 Jean Michel Hulls (UK), Greek Author, Greek Past: Statius, Athens And The Tragic Self
· 15–15.30 Cecilia Criado (Universidad De Santiago De Compostela, Spain), The Theban Γηγενεισ And The Roman-Thessalian Sown-Men
· 15.30–16 Robert Clinton Simms (Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan), Eteocles’ Sword And Angry Snakes
16–17 Break
17–19 Session 5: Greek Literature Under The Flavians (Chair: Pavlos Sfyroeras)
· 17–17.30 Katarzyna Jazdzewska (Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University In Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland), Do Not Follow The Athenians! Athens As A Negative Example In Dio Chrysostom’s 13th Oration
· 17.30–18 William Hutton (College Of William And Mary, USA), The Roman Euboea Of Dio Chrysostom
· 18–18.30 Aleksandra Kleczar (Jagellonian University, Krakow, Poland), The Hero For The Greeks: Alexander The Great As Focus For Greek Identity In The Literature Of The Flavian Period
· 18.30–19 Lydia Langerwerf (Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon), Daring Titus. Flavius Josephus’ Use Of Τoλμη Aλoγιστοσ In The Jewish War
Dinner
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
(Morning OPTIONAL Visit To Site And Museum)
10-11.30 Session 6: Flavian Poetics (Chair: Stavros Frangoulidis)
· 10-10.30 Bob Cowan (University Of Sydney, Australia), Quid Tibi Raptus Hylas? Callimachus’ Flavian Shadow Reconsidered
· 10.30-11 Ariana Sacerdoti (Seconda Università Degli Studi Di Napoli, Italy), Iuuenis Placidissime Diuum ... Somne: Greek Models And The Sleep
· 11-11.30 Marta Compagnone (Seconda Università Degli Studi Di Napoli, Italy), Sors And Fortuna From Lucan To Flavian Epic: Greek Stoicism And Latin Reinterpretation.
11.30-12.00 Coffee
· 12-1.30 Session 7: Statius’ Siluae And Achilleid (Chair: Vassiliki Panoussi)
· 12–12.30 Cecilia Pavarani (Università Di Milano, Italy), Greek Roots In The Encomiastic Poetry Of Statius’ Siluae
· 12.30–13 Randall Ganiban (Middlebury College, USA), Thetis And The Fate Of Achilles At Troy In The Achilleid
· 13-13.30 Pavlos Sfyroeras (Middlebury College, USA), Red On White: A Homeric Simile In The Achilleid
13.30-14.30 Lunch
14.30–16 Session 8: Valerius Flaccus II (Chair: Mark Heerink)
· 14.30–15 Cary Seal (University Of California At Davis, USA), Civil War And The Apollonian Model In Valerius’ Colchian Narrative
· 15–15:30 Simone Finkmann (Oxford, UK), Direct Speech In Valerius And Apollonius Of Rhodes
· 15:30-16 Marco Van Der Schuur (University Of Groningen, Netherlands), Conflating Funerals: The Deaths Of Idmon And Tiphys Between Greek And Roman Rewriting In Valerius
16–17 Coffee
17–19 Session 9: Statius’ Thebaid II (Chair: Randall Ganiban)
· 17–17.30 Federica Bessone (Università Di Torino), Polis, Court, Empire. Greek Culture, Roman Society, And The System Of Genres In Statius’ Poetry
· 17.30–18 Fernanda Mοura (Universidade De Sao Paulo, Brazil), Reassessing The Iliadic Model: Statian Narrative Strategies In Thebaid 4.684-696 And 7.246-252
· 18-18.30 Jörn Soerink (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands), Statius’ “Hypsipyle”
· 18.30-19 Vassiliki Panoussi (College Of William And Mary, USA), Hypsipyle’s ‘Greek’ Rituals In Valerius Flaccus And Statius
Dinner
