CONF: The Alexander Romance in the East

Seen on Classicists:

The Alexander Romance in the East
A Conference at the University of Exeter, July 26-29, 2010

The organisers announce the draft programme for this international conference, which sets out to explore issues and growth points in the study of the Greek Alexander Romance and its transformations in the Persian and Arab traditions, as well as aspects of the Hebrew tradition as it impinges on the Muslim world. Sessions will be held in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, one of the University’s architectural gems with up-to-date facilities and a beautiful outlook. Accommodation has been reserved in the nearby Holland Hall and Mardon Hall.

Draft Conference Programme

Monday 26 July 2010

2.00-5.00 pm Arrival and registration; tea
6.00 Reception
7.00 Dinner
8.00 Richard Stoneman: Introduction and Opening paper
Persian Aspects of the Romance Tradition

Tuesday 27 July 2010

1115-1300 Dan Selden, Circulation of Texts in late antiquity
Sulochana Asirvatham, Alexander the Philosopher in Greek,
Persian and Arabic Traditions
9.15-10.45
1045-1115 Coffee
Corinne Jouanno, The Persians in the late Byzantine Alexander Romances: a portrayal under Turkish influences
Hendrik Boeschoten, Adventures of Alexander in medieval Turkish
1245-1415 Lunch
1415-1545 Michael Axworthy, Nadir Shah and Alexander
Warwick Ball, Alexander in Central Asia
1545-1615 Tea
1615-1730 Daniel Ogden, Sikandar Dragon-Slayer
Sabine Muller, Stories of the Persian Bride: Alexander and Roxane
1845 Dinner

Wednesday 28 July 2010

900-1100 Haila Manteghi, Candace and Qaidafa
Mario Casari, The King Explorer: a cosmographic approach to the Persian Alexander
Graham Anderson, Alexander and Arthur
1100-1120 Coffee
1120-1300 Z.David Zuwiyya, ‘Umara’s Arabic Alexander Romance
Faustina Doufikar-Aerts, Arabic Alexander
El-Sayed Gad, Al-Tabari’s Tales of Alexander: History and Romance
1300-1330 Lunch
1330-1600 Free time
1600-1800 Firuza Abdullaeva, Alexander’s Flying Machine
Alexandra Szalc, The Water of Life
Alexandra Kleczar, Kingship in the Jewish versions
1900 Party

Thursday 29 July 2010

915-1045 Olga Palagia, Macedonian Aspects of the Art of Central Asia
Emily Cottrell and Kyle Erickson, Did the Arabic Alexander Novel rely on Seleucid Sources?
1045-1115 Coffee
1115-1245 Ory Amitay, Paradise and the Gymnosophists in the Talmud
Yuriko Yamanaka, The Islamized Alexander in Chinese Geographies and Encyclopaedias
1245 Close. Lunch available

Booking Information

For further information, including accommodation and conference booking, please see our website, http://huss.exeter.ac.uk/classics/conferences. The University of Exeter is just over two hours by train from London and is located on a beautiful campus (with an important collection of rare trees!). The department of Classics and Ancient History has been rated third in the UK for research in 2008, while the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies is host also to a new Centre for Persian Studies.

Booking closes on June 30th 2010, but reserved accommodation is limited, so book early to be sure of a place in one of the halls of residence overlooking the Exe Valley.

In case of difficulty contact

Richard Stoneman
c/o Dept of Classics and Ancient History
University of Exeter
Amory Building
Rennes Drive
Exeter EX4 4RJ
UK

richard14stoneman AT btinternet.com