CFP: Odysseus in the 21st Century
Celtic Conference in Classics, Coimbra, 15th – 18th July 2025
Organizers: Mallory Fitzpatrick (Bryn Mawr College, mmfitzpatr@brynmwr.edu), Sarah Gonzalez (Harvard University, sarah_gonzalez@g.harvard.edu), Thomas Munro (Yale University, thomas.munro@yale.edu), Adriana Freire Nogueira (Universidade do Algarve, anogueir@gmail.com).
The stories of Odysseus/Ulysses remain some of the most popular Greco-Roman myths globally on the contemporary page, stage, and silver screen. From the Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou to Zachary Mason’s The Lost Books of the Odyssey, Odysseus and his journeys have proven a fruitful hunting ground for considering narratives of loss, identity, and homecoming. In recent years, too, receptions of Odysseus’ tale have shown a tendency to look beyond his fantastic adventures and have instead pivoted to meditations on the complexities of his character and the instability of achieving nostos (e.g. Dougherty 2019). Odysseus and his story have become powerful tools for exploring global issues from migrant crises to doubleness of cultural identity and the threat of climate change. At the same time, the last twenty-five years have seen the development of innovative scholarly approaches, as demonstrated by the post-colonial lens developed by Rosa Andujar, Emily Greenwood, and Patrice Rankine, among others. However, since the publication of these works, more examples of Odyssean receptions have arisen, necessitating a re-evaluation of Odysseus and his story for the 21st century.
We welcome abstracts on any aspect of Odysseus’ contemporary reception. Topics might include, but are not limited to:
- Receptions of Odysseus and the Odyssey in contemporary literature;
- Receptions of Odysseus and the Odyssey in film and televisual media;
- The contemporary symbolism of Odysseus, e.g., as a refugee or migrant;
- Global trends in contemporary Odyssean reception;
- Odyssean reception from a comparative standpoint;
- Contemporary advances in scholarship about Odysseus and Homeric epic.
Presentations may be either 20 or 40 minutes in length. Please submit abstracts of no more than 300 words (excluding bibliography) to any of the organizers by the 20th January 2025. Please include your name, affiliation, and contact details in the body of your email along with a clear indication of the length of your presentation.
If you have any questions, please contact the organizers.