Skip to main content

America and the Classical Past: Trends in Greco-Roman Reception

September 11, 2020, 11 am to 5:30 pm EST

This virtual conference aims to bring together those interested in the reception of classical antiquity in a variety of different disciplines and contexts throughout American history. We are especially keen to integrate studies of education, history, and literature with the analysis of art and architecture. Thus, the first two papers focus on schooling and the place of the Greco-Roman Classics in early American education. Next, we move to the late nineteenth century to examine classically inspired architecture in two important test cases in Washington DC and Tennessee. Then, we jump to the 1960s and the adaptation of Greek literature in revolutionary Cuba before the final paper offering a retrospective survey on the place of Greek and Latin inscriptions in the story of classical reception in the United States. There will be time for questions after each set of papers, and we will close the conference with a formal response to all the papers before opening up the floor to general discussion. All are welcome; pre-registration is required; please register via this form.

Although the event itself and (most of) the individual papers were planned before the coronavirus pandemic hit and the BLM protests began, we nevertheless see this conference as an opportunity to engage with the complicated role of Classics in the history of the United States. We therefore take an expansive view of classical reception that will allow historians of art and architecture to talk to scholars of literature, education, theater, and history. We hope to foster an inclusive environment that will encourage participation from our audience in trying to deepen our understanding of the classical past and its place in the history of America from its origins to the present day.

Speakers include Elise A. Friedland (George Washington), Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis (The Graduate Center, CUNY); Matthew McGowan (Fordham); Robert J. Penella (Fordham); and Carl Richard (University of Louisiana at Lafayette); and conference respondent, Caroline Winterer (Stanford University).

This conference is the first hosted by the City Seminar in Classical Reception, founded by Prof. Matthew McGowan (Fordham University) and Prof. Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis (the Graduate Center, the City University of New York) in 2018. The seminar provides a venue where those working on the intersections between the ancient and modern world can present their work to scholars, students, and the public. The speakers examine the dialogues between antiquity and modernity in a wide array of disciplines such as literature, history, education, art, architecture, film, theater, and dance.

For more details, please visit the conference website: https://classicalpast.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

If you have questions, please email cityseminarnyc@gmail.com for more details.