Call for Papers:

Wilderness, Frontiers, and New Worlds in Antiquity

Biennial Classics Graduate Student Conference

New York University

November 4, 2017

Keynote: Prof. Emily Greenwood (Yale University) "Classics and the Travelers' Tool Kit: literature on ancient and modern frontiers"

Unfamiliar, unexplored, and unsettled places captivated the ancient imagination and were of pressing importance not only to poets and prose writers of every genre, but also to merchants, militaries, and governing bodies enticed by the prospects of new sites for trading, settling, and conquering. There has been a swell of critical interest recently in the topics of borders and boundaries in the ancient world, as part of the increased scholarly attention to space over the past few decades. Our conference is interested in spaces beyond borders, and we aim to explore ancient encounters with wilderness, frontiers, and unknown lands.

Possible topics include:

•   Visual representations of wilderness and extreme environments

•   Representations in ancient texts of the landscape, weather, and human adaptation in unexplored lands

•   Narrations and theorizations of journeys undersea, into the sky, or below the earth

(From insidehighered.com)

Scott Jaschik from Inside Higher Ed has written a story about the statement the SCS board released last Fall.

"The statement notes that the ancient world was not monolithic and in fact was influenced by people of different regions and cultures."

You can read the full piece at Inside Higher Ed here, and read the board's original statement from last Fall here.

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(Photo: "McKeldin Library, University of Maryland" by George Williams, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Humanities for All:

A National Survey of Public Engagement in the Humanities in Higher Education

CALL FOR ASSISTANCE

The National Humanities Alliance Foundation is currently conducting a national study of public engagement in the humanities at institutions of higher education.

This national study surveys the range of ways that higher ed faculty, students, and administrators have connected with diverse communities through the humanities over the past decade (short abstract available here). We are especially interested in initiatives that have involved collaboration with the wide range of organizations that are also committed to the public humanities.

We are reaching out to ask for examples of projects that connect the humanities with the broader community.

If you have been involved with or know of any projects that fit this description, we would be grateful if you could please contact Daniel Fisher, Project Director (dfisher@nhalliance.org).

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This project has received generous support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Olympiodorus of Alexandria: exegete, teacher, philosopher

Utrecht University (NL), 14-15 December 2017

Olympiodorus of Alexandria, who is often considered to have been the last leading, non-Christian philosopher of classical antiquity, has also been termed ‘the first classicist’ (Tarrant 1997). His place in the history of thought brings into focus issues of doctrinal difference and toleration, of the value of philosophical tradition, and of pedagogical concern for those coming of age in uncertain times. But there is more to Olympiodorus than the times in which he lived. His commentaries on Plato’s First Alcibiades, Gorgias and Phaedo, and on Aristotle’s Categories and Meteorology are now becoming better known and explored. Recent scholarship has also reopened the question of Olympiodorus’ philosophical calibre. There is reason enough, then, to try to present an all-round picture of Olympiodorus, as this conference intends to do.

Confirmed speakers include:
Bert van den Berg
Michael Griffin
Pauliina Remes
François Renaud
Anne Sheppard
Carlos Steel
Harold Tarrant
Cristina Viano