Domesticating Reality: Representations of Space and Place in Antiquity

Graduate Student Conference
Department of Classics
University of Toronto
20-21 April, 2013

Keynote speaker: Lisa Nevett, University of Michigan

The interplay between culture and space in ancient thought is manifested in many ways. Not only are artistic and literary features envisioned and understood in spatial terms, but physical spaces are also imagined and explored through cultural expression. This interaction is found in all forms of the representation of spaces – textual, verbal, pictoral, architectural. Alex Purves’ recent study of space and narrative highlights this approach: "Plot’s spatial legacy is pervasive in ancient Greek thought, where songs might be conceived as pathways, logoi as routes, writing as the movement of oxen turning back and forth across a field with a plough…, narratives as pictures or landscapes, and plots even as living creatures that take up set areas of space."

As scholars of Classical antiquity, we find ourselves at the mercy of representation to shape and inform our understanding of spaces – landscapes, buildings, voyages, rooms – which are no longer knowable by any other means. At the same time, our understanding of cultural expression is often enriched by our ability to comprehend it in spatial terms.

We invite graduate students working in any area of Classical studies (such as literary criticism, history, archaeology, science, philosophy, social history, and philology) to submit papers exploring the various means by which space was represented in antiquity. How was space conceived, constructed, and defined in the Greek and Roman worlds? How were differences in spaces and places articulated? How was their use represented?

Some further possible themes to explore include:

-Abstraction: How is space conceptualised in ancient sciences such as geometry, astronomy, geography, and astrology?
-Scale: How do cartographic or proto-cartographic representations negotiate issues related to the size of the subject? (The microcosm and the miniature.)
-Rhetoric: How do the spaces and places invoked function in discourse? How do particular ritually, historically, or mythologically relevant places resonate in various genres?
-Mobility: What is the effect of movement through space? How do travel and representations of real or imagined journeys articulate differences and universalities? (Ethnography, alterity, regional specificity.)
-Polarities: What frequently appearing dichotomies are built on spatial concepts? (Public & private, home & away, liminal & centripetal.)
-Formalities: What formal techniques do poets, painters, and other ancient artists employ to represent and construct space and places? (Ekphrasis, pastoral, space as literary trope.)

We ask that abstracts of no more than 300 words be submitted as email attachments (.doc/.pdf) to utoronto.grad.classics AT gmail.com no later than January 21st, 2013. Papers will be allotted 20 minutes, plus 10 minutes for discussion.

Seen on the Classicists list:

This colloquium addresses the variety of ways in which emotions are used in
strategies of persuasion within and between societies, groups and
individuals in the ancient world, considering different strata of society,
and diverse media of communication. Persuasion may be effected, for
example, by narrative, explicit exhortation, or covert manipulation through
the judicious use of certain words and phrases. Emotional strategies can be
aimed at superiors, inferiors or one’s equals; to strangers or friends; and
attempted for personal gain or the public good. They can appear in oral
communications designed to be heard briefly – i.e. forensic, deliberative,
epideictic, hortatory or supplicatory oratory – their representations in
literature, or in written communications that can be read again and again
(philosophical treatises, other literary works, letters, inscriptions).

In recent years scholarship on emotive persuasion techniques has focused
primarily on explicit exhortation to feel a small group of emotions (anger,
hatred, envy, gratitude, pity) in Attic forensic oratory, rhetorical
techniques as propounded by philosophers (Aristotle, pseudo-Aristotle,
Cicero, Quintilian), and theatrical techniques such as dress, gesture or
vocal techniques. The last of these is outside the scope of this
colloquium, and we aim to move discussion well beyond the former two.

We invite abstracts on any aspect of emotion(s) used to persuade, in any
period of ancient Greece or Rome from the earliest written texts through to
Late Antiquity. In literature this will include rhetorical treatises
(mainly in their relation to other forms of literature), actual speeches
(from Classical Athens through Rome to the ‘Second Sophistic’ and early
Christian sermons), representations of actual or fictional speeches in other
genres (epic, drama, historiography etc.), and other forms of literature
whose purpose may be deemed partly to persuade (e.g. philosophical
treatises, consolations, satires, epodes, Pauline letters). In non-literary
media it will include texts preserved in inscriptions or on papyri such as
imperial rescripts from and petitions to emperors, private letters, and
prayers or curses addressed to gods. Supplementary questions, especially in
non-literary media, will be to consider whether women’s voices differ from
men’s (or from male representations of female voices), and to what extent
the ‘common man’ (and woman) makes use, or not, of literary techniques
developed by higher-status educated men.

Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent to Ed.Sanders AT rhul.ac.uk
and Matthew.Johncock.2011 AT live.rhul.ac.uk by 23 December 2012

Confirmed speakers include: Professors Chris Carey (UCL), Angelos Chaniotis
(Princeton), Eleanor Dickey (Exeter) and Catherine Steel (Glasgow)

The colloquium will take place at Royal Holloway’s central London buildings
at 11 Bedford Square/2 Gower Street, London WC1B 3RF. It is generously
supported by the Institute of Classical Studies and the Centre for Oratory
and Rhetoric at Royal Holloway

seen on the Classicists list:

The "Public and Private in the Roman House" project (romanhouse.org) is organizing a conference at the University of Helsinki, Finland in April 2013. Keynote speakers include Filippo Coarelli, Paul Zanker and Margareta Steinby. The aim of this conference is to take a fresh look at notions of public and private within the domus by exploring the public and private spheres of the Roman house from the first century BCE to the third century CE. The "Public and Private in the Roman House" is an ongoing project organizing its second major event, building on the success of a workshop at NYU this October. Please find the call for papers below.

Call for Papers: Public and Private in the Roman House and Society Conference

April 18-20, 2013, University of Helsinki, Finland

Abstract deadline: December 15, 2012

E-mail: romanhouse2013 AT gmail.com

Ancient Roman houses were designed to suit both the private life of its occupants and the demands of public life. As a result, the division between public and private spaces inside the domus was a complicated topic even for the Romans themselves. Previous scholarship has tended to treat the domus in terms of a rigid division between public and private, with the same division acting as a gender marker for (male) political activities and (female) domestic activities respectively. This strict division within the household now seems outdated. The aim of this conference, then, is to take a fresh look at notions of public and private within the domus by exploring the public and private spheres of the Roman house from the first century BCE to the third century CE. The "Public and Private in the Roman House and Society" is an ongoing project organizing its second major event, building on the success of a workshop at NYU this October. Keynote speakers include Filippo Coarelli, Margareta Steinby and Paul Zanker.

We therefore invite papers that explore the complex relationship between public and private in Roman society from a variety of perspectives – historical, archaeological, philological, architectural and anthropological – in order to further the understanding of the domus as a place for social, cultural, political and administrative action.

Potential themes include but are not limited to:
– The house and the city: Political and administrative spaces
– The Roman house as political, religious, social and cultural arena
– Newest theories and methods in the study of privacy/public in the Roman House
– Public and private in material culture and artefact studies
– The provincial house: Local and Roman building traditions and usages
– Changes and Continuities of the Roman house in Late Antiquity
– Gender in the house

The conference is organized by the project Public and Private in the Roman House (romanhouse.org), which seeks to contribute to the ongoing debate on privacy in the ancient world as well as the issues of how the limits between public and private spaces were drawn. In an attempt to gain new perspectives on these questions, the project seeks to utilize comparative anthropological theories concerning the conceptualization of the public/private interface.

Please submit your abstract (300 words) as a [word/pdf] file to Juhana Heikonen at romanhouse2013 AT gmail.com Please include your name, academic affiliation and address in your email.

The deadline for submission of abstracts is December 15, 2012.

CONF: Living Latin Workshop in NYC

Fordham University, Lincoln Center Campus, McMahon Hall 109
February 16-17, 2013

The NY Classical Club and the Paideia Institute for Humanistic Study are pleased to collaborate on a two-day workshop on Spoken Latin for teachers and students of Latin in the New York City area. This conference will include presentations and workshops by expert Latin speakers from around the country designed to introduce participants to the world of oral Latin. Participants will not only immerse themselves in the Latin language by participating in guided spoken Latin activities, they will also hear lectures in English on ways to incorporate spoken Latin into their own classroom and learn about more opportunities to improve as a Latin speaker in the U.S. and abroad.

Cost: $100

Professional Development Credit: The New York Classical Club will offer certification for 16 HOURS of professional development credit for high school teachers who participate in Living Latin in New York City. For more information on professional development credit, please contact Prof. McGowan mamcgowan AT fordham.edu.

Registration: To register for Living Latin in New York City, please download the registration form here (http://paideia-institute.org/programs/living-latin-in-nyc) and return to pedicone AT paideia-institute.org. Space is limited. Registrations will be processed on a first come, first served basis.

Payment: Payment must be made in advance by credit card, Paypal or personal check.To pay by credit card or Paypal account, please click on the Paypal button on this link (http://paideia-institute.org/programs/living-latin-in-nyc). Checks should be made out to the Paideia Institute for Humanistic Study and sent to:

LLiNYC Registration
The Paideia Institute
16 Stockton St.
Princeton, NJ 08544

Julius Caesar in History and in the Classroom

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
January 26, 2013, 11am-6pm

The NY Classical Club is pleased to announce a conference on Julius Caesar, including a review of the new Advanced Placement curriculum, to be held on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, 11am-6pm, at New York University, Jurow Hall, Silver Center. The program includes the following speakers:
Cynthia Damon, The University of Pennsylvania
"’Everlasting Ties’: Caesar, Gaul, and Rome"

Luca Grillo, Amherst College
"Caesarian Questions"

James Hunt, Fayetteville-Manlius High School, Syracuse, NY
"Caesar and the new AP Exam in Latin"

Hans Friedrich-Mueller, Union College
"Caesar and the State Religion"

Kurt Raaflaub, Brown University
"Caesar the General and Statesman: A Literary Self-Portrait of a Perfect Roman"

All are welcome, high school teachers and students working with the new AP curriculum are especially encouraged to attend. Registration is required and includes lunch and a reception: $10 students; $25 members; $40 non-members. Please pre-register by Tuesday, January 22, 2013, online here:
http://www.nyclassicalclub.org/events.htm

Or register by check made payable to NY Classical Club via snail-mail to: Dr. Matthew McGowan, Department of Classics, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458. For more information, contact Prof. McGowan: mamcgowan AT fordham.edu.