SUPPORTING CLASSICAL STUDIES ON ALL CONTINENTS
75 years of FIEC – second series of lectures
75 ans de la FIEC – deuxième série de conférences
Thursday 11 April 2024 19h00 CEST
Prof. Filippomaria Pontani
Professor of Classical Philology at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Filippomaria Pontani is Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Venice Ca’ Foscari, and a member of the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome. While primarily concerned with scholarship and manuscript transmission in the Byzantine and humanistic period (from Plutarch’s Natural Questions to Planudes’ edition of Ptolemy, down to Pletho’s De Homero), he is currently editing the scholia to Homer’s Odyssey (five volumes so far, 2007–2022; prolegomena: Sguardi su Ulisse, 2005). He has published extensively on Greek and Latin texts (from Sappho’s Nachleben to Callimachus’ Aitia, from Aeschylus’ Choephori to Euripides’ Medea, from the rise of ancient grammar to allegory and the literary facies of some ancient myths) as well as on Byzantine, Humanist (Poliziano’s Liber Epigrammatum Graecorum, 2002; Kondoleon’s Scritti omerici, 2018; the anthology of "neualtgriechische Gedichte" The Hellenizing Muse, 2022, ed. with Stefan Weise) and Modern Greek literature (Poeti greci del Novecento, 2010). He co-directs (with S. Valente) the Sammlung der gr. und lat. Grammatiker, (with Alberto Camerotto) the project Classici Contro, and (with Anna Santoni) a series of modern receptions of Classical myth (last issue: a piece by W. Mouawad, Pisa 2023). https://www.unive.it/data/people/5592491
Vingt-quatre pattes de mouche : Greek manuscripts and beyond
Link for the lecture : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88338349785?pwd=LO5w8zMwp2LP5ThhQzQkGUkjIkIVRs.1
Studies of Greek manuscripts and Greek manuscript culture have made enormous leaps forward in recent decades. While academic practice tends to parcel off Altertumswissenschaft by allotting special inquiries to palaeographers, papyrologists, philologists, historians of culture, Byzantinists etc., only the fruitful interaction between these disciplines can enable significant progress in the recovery, the edition and the interpretation of ancient and medieval Greek literature and wisdom. Incidentally, this approach is not only paramount for textual criticism, but it also has much to tell about phenomena of reception and appropriation that have shaped the Classical heritage throughout the centuries.
Thursday 25 April 2024 19h00 CEST
Prof. Joy Connolly
President of the American Council of Learned Societies
Joy Connolly began her service as President of the American Council of Learned Societies on July 1, 2019. Previously, she served as provost and interim president of The Graduate Center at the City University of New York, where she was also Distinguished Professor of Classics. She has held faculty appointments at New York University, where she served as Dean for the Humanities from 2012-16, Stanford University, and the University of Washington. Committed to broadening scholars’ impact on the world, as provost at the Graduate Center Joy secured generous support from the Mellon Foundation to foster public-facing scholarship through innovative experiments in doctoral training. She has published two books with Princeton University Press and over seventy articles, reviews, and short essays. Connolly earned a BA from Princeton University in 1991 and a PhD in classical studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021. https://www.acls.org/joy-connolly/
Beyond “Greece and Rome”
Link for the lecture : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84371055398?pwd=HAUvemCCcIEuzuooRVbXabzuhe2xlB.1
In this lecture, I argue for a thorough rethinking of the field we now call “classical studies,” based on a critical evaluation of its historical structure and founding values. I propose a redesigned discipline constituted in collaboration with scholars of the deep past in other regions of the world. This new configuration would transcend the nineteenth-century protonationalist borders of “Classics” (Altertumswissenschaft) and speak to the needs of our interconnected, global age while preserving the skills required to understand cultures far distant from ours in time and space, including the study of ancient languages.
My reasoning runs along two tracks. First, the professionalized study of Greece and Rome is the product of a university and disciplinary system centuries in the making that placed Europe at the center of inquiry. Its intentional focus on what I call “GreeceandRome” shut out consideration of other ancient cultures, and today still warps our effort to understand ancient history and cultural and intellectual production. Recent efforts in the US to push against the GreeceandRome paradigm by renaming departments “Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies” and the like typically represent accretions of a few scholars and courses, not a significant reorientation of vision and goals. Transregional, transcultural, and translinguistic studies beyond Latin and Greek continue to be marginalized in favor of scholarship on familiar canonical texts.
Meanwhile, the contemporary audience for these canonical texts is decreasing in size, and this is the second reason I advocate for a global approach to the study of ancient pasts. Across the United States, undergraduate enrollments in the study of all ancient cultures are flat or declining, the number of tenure track jobs is shrinking, and departments in less wellresourced institutions are getting smaller or forcibly amalgamated. Calls from the left to burn down the house of classical scholarship are growing louder; calls from the right to preserve Classics as the keystone of Western culture exacerbate political divides while ignoring the failure of the status quo.
We must fight for the study of ancient texts, ideas, and culture in a world that increasingly devalues the humanistic study in general and the study of the past in particular. It is time for us to design our future. Today scholars of all ancient cultures are isolated in their struggle to survive: I will argue in this talk how we will be stronger together.
Thursday 9 May 2024 19h00 CEST
Prof. Carmen Codoñer
Emerita Professor at the University of Salamanca
Carmen Codoñer is Professor Emerita at the University of Salamanca, Spain, where she has trained numerous disciples, who today occupy important positions in various Spanish and Latin American universities. Her works cover a wide range from language to literature and from the Roman Republican period to Renaissance Humanism. Her contributions to the medieval Latin lexicon are especially notable, as well as to the study of the grammatical and linguistic works of the 15th and 16th centuries in Europe. https://produccioncientifica.usal.es/investigadores/148078/detalle
Humanismo : transiciones. Texto y contexto
Link for the lecture : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85188579883?pwd=uk2eVAoGNKjgtaCCNj9oDNhdJGKHpA.1
Generalmente las transiciones entre dos épocas suelen estar marcadas por importantes acontecimientos. En otras ocasiones, se perciben cambios, pero no contamos con datos objetivos que delimiten, que enmarquen un cambio que, a pesar de ello, es perceptible. La filología, centrada en el estudio de los textos, inseparables del contexto en que se generan, puede contribuir a reconocer con más claridad los cambios históricos.
English abstract:
Transitions. Text and context
Transitions between two historical periods are usually marked by important events. On other occasions, changes are perceived, but we do not have objective data to delimit or to frame a change which, despite this, is perceptible. Philology, which focuses on the study of texts, inseparable from the context in which they are generated, can help to recognize more clearly the historical changes.
Thursday 23 May 2024 19h00 CEST
Prof. Denis Rousset
Directeur d’études in Greek epigraphy at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Sorbonne, Paris
Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
Denis Rousset Né en 1962, docteur et maître de conférences en 1991, habilité à diriger des recherches en 2001 2002- : Directeur d’études à l’École pratique des hautes études, Section des sciences historiques et philologiques, Épigraphie grecque et géographie historique du monde hellénique Prix (= premier prix) de l’Association des études grecques (Paris), 2003. Prix Ambatielos de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 2004. Korrespondierendes Mitglied des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts (Berlin), 2004. Member of the School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton), 2007-2008 Chevalier des Palmes Académiques, 2005 ; officier, 2018. Prix Brunet de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 2011. Correspondant de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (Institut de France), 2021. Président de l’Association des études grecques 2020-2021. Membre du comité d’évaluation scientifique 27 (« études du passé, patrimoines, cultures ») de l’Agence nationale de la recherche, 2021-2022. Membre élu du Conseil d’administration (2022-2026) de l’École pratique des hautes études Doyen de la Section des Sciences historiques et philologiques de l’École pratique des hautes études (2023-2027) Membre élu du Conseil d’administration (2020-2024) de l’Université Paris Sciences Lettres Vice-Président de l’Association internationale d’épigraphie grecque et latine (2017-2022 ; 2022-2027). CV complet et liste des quelques 200 publications sur : https://www.ephe.psl.eu/denis-rousset
Comment publier les inscriptions grecques et latines au XXIe s. ?
Link for the lecture : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83537842966?pwd=Gaz2uoRgspTYbul1gVYFxaK7klOaxI.1
Le flot actuel de publications révèle une somme jamais atteinte de moyens humains et financiers dévolus à l’édition d’inscriptions antiques. Cependant, et à la différence de quelques disciplines sœurs comme la papyrologie et la numismatique, cet accroissement de moyens ne paraît pas accompagné d’une unification des outils et des corpus épigraphiques, mais au contraire par une dispersion, sous la forme de réalisations ou projets émiettés, peu coordonnés, voire concurrents. Ne faut-il donc pas mener une réflexion sur les formes et les voies de publication, individuelle et collective ? Ainsi, on s’interrogera entre autres d’une part sur l’avenir des grands Corpora (IG et CIL), et leur indispensable continuation, pourvu qu’ils soient modernisés dans leur forme éditoriale et leur mode de diffusion, et tant soit peu unifiés, pour ne plus constituer des instruments séparés des bases de données en ligne, et d’autre part sur la pratique des projets courts, liée à leur financement – question qu’il faut d’autant plus poser qu’elle dépasse de loin le champ de l’Antiquité classique.
Thursday 13 June 2024 19h00 CEST
Prof. Stefan Rebenich
Professor of Ancient History and the Classical Reception at the University of Berne
Stefan Rebenich is Professor of Ancient History and the Classical Tradition in the Department of History at the University of Bern (Switzerland). He has published widely in the field of late antiquity and the history of historiography, including Hieronymus und sein Kreis (1992), Jerome (2002), Theodor Mommsen. Eine Biographie (2nd ed. 2007), and, most recently, Die Deutschen und ihre Antike. Eine wechselvolle Beziehung (2021). https://www.hist.unibe.ch/ueber_uns/personen/rebenich_stefan/index_ger.html
"Alte Geschichte in Forschung und Lehre": A very brief survey of the development
of Ancient History in Germany over the last fifty years
Link for the lecture : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88237331560?pwd=HOpMFVnEz80X2Y9efuAvpT6mzpGHNn.1
The lecture will give a brief overview of trends and developments in the study of the ancient world in Germany during the last half century. During this period, Ancient History continued defining its position between the 'positivistic' study of sources on the one hand and (post-)structuralist models of interpretation on the other, and continually reviewed its mediating role between Classics and History. This critical review is the basis for discussing some prospects for the future.
75 years of FIEC – first series of lectures
75 ans de la FIEC – première série de conférences
Thursday 16 November 2023 19h00 CET
Prof. Franco Montanari (Genoa/Italy)
Emeritus Professor at the Università degli Studi di Genova
(click here for a short biography)
L’evoluzione della filología ed erudizione antica da Zenodoto alle raccolte antiquarie
Link for the lecture : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84560724537?pwd=HAyDYNqm9fDexquId4zh6QxSSbU7Yc.1
Se guardiamo in senso lato all'ultimo mezzo secolo più o meno, è innegabile che ci siano stati importanti cambiamenti nel campo di ricerca che chiamiamo filologia o erudizione antica. La mia conferenza si propone in particolare di riflettere sull'evoluzione della filologia e dell’esegesi dei testi letterari nel mondo greco, a partire dalla grande innovazione degli inizi - e fu, a mio avviso, un'innovazione davvero rivoluzionaria, come spero di mostrare - alle raccolte erudite e antiquarie dell'età imperiale, che sarebbero poi proseguite nelle grandi raccolte antiquarie degli studiosi e eruditi bizantini.
English abstract:
The evolution of ancient philology and erudition from Zenodotus to antiquarian collections If we look broadly at the last half century or so, it is undeniable that there have been major changes in the field of research we call ancient philology or erudition. My lecture aims in particular to reflect on the evolution of philology and exegesis of literary texts in the Greek world, starting from the great innovation of the early days - and it was, in my opinion, a truly revolutionary innovation, as I hope to show - to the erudite and antiquarian collections of the imperial age, which would later be continued in the great antiquarian collections of the Byzantine scholars and erudites.
Thursday 23 November 2023 19h00 CET
Prof. Charlotte Schubert (Leipzig/Germany)
Professor emerita of Ancient History at the University of Leipzig, Germany
Die Zukunft der Altertumswissenschaften: Hermeneutik und Digitalität
Link for the lecture : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88000189798?pwd=Oh9NdmRcJLBBFnLDynihMP58w681Sh.1
Die Altertumswissenschaften haben heute durch die Entwicklungen der Digitalität ganz neue Impulse bekommen. Digitalität in den Altertumswissenschaften beruht auf dem Zusammenspiel verschiedener, jeweils in sich neuer Arbeitsbereiche: der ‚Verdatung‘ der Forschungsgegenstände, dem Einsatz entweder ‚datenbasierter‘ oder ‚datengeleiteter‘ algorithmischer Forschungsverfahren sowie weiterer Verfahren, die dann darauf aufbauen wie Visualisierungen der Analyseergebnisse in einer von Menschen rezipierbaren Form und – vor allem – dem Neuigkeitswert der Erkenntnisse. Zwei grundlegende Fragen ergeben sich aus dieser Situation: Wie läßt sich diese Entwicklung mit der klassisch hermeneutischen Arbeitsweise der Altertumswissenschaften verbinden und wie werden sich die Forschungsprozesse verändern? In dem Vortrag soll dies anhand von Forschungsrichtungen, Projekten und Ergebnissen aus dem Bereich der digitalen Altertumswissenschaften, die algorithmenbasierte Methoden des Textmining (NLP), der Netzwerkanalyse (SNA), der Simulation (nautische Simulationen) und des maschinellen Lernens (BERT) einsetzen, dargestellt werden.
Thursday 30 November 2023 12h00 (Chicago time)
Prof. Sofía Torallas (Chicago/U.S.A.)
Professor of Classics at the University of Chicago
Material Vessels of Ancient Magic: a case study in the transmission of Classical knowledge
Link for the lecture : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86805174200?pwd=caqfH6J3NBzCbN0K76vtaKHRocv23Y.1
Ancient Magic has long been a subject of interest in Classical studies, with special attention focused on the Greek papyri of Egypt and on the lead curse-tablets from Greece and the Western Mediterranean. Recent years have seen increasing interest in Ancient Magic from the point of view of materiality and book-production. Where traditionally only the texts had been the focus, current research shifts attention toward the material vessels of magical knowledge and practice. In this paper I will present an overview of the most recent research on Ancient Magic and what this research is discovering about the magical handbooks on papyrus and how they were produced.
Thursday 7 December 2023 20h00 (New York time)
Prof. David Konstan (New York/U.S.A.)
Professor of Classics at the University of New York
Anger, Revenge, and Community: The Importance of Respect
Link for the lecture : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85148313855?pwd=O3k339KJVHvp82tiL8MkZFRmMzhwLu.1
Over the past twenty years or so, the study of emotions in classical Greece and Rome has become a major field of research. New methods have been applied, and there has been considerable interplay between historical approaches and new developments in the cognitive sciences. In my talk, I will survey some of the major tendencies in the study of emotions, with particular emphasis on anger, and also indicate some possible avenues for future research.
Aristotle defines anger, the emotion to which he devotes most attention, as a desire for revenge. According to Aristotle, anger results from a slight, and revenge aims at restoring one’s status, that is, one’s honor or dignity, above all in the eyes of the community. Modern studies of revenge also point to the importance of social regard, rather than a desire simply to punish the offender. I will survey several cases of revenge in Greek literature and selected modern treatments, by way of demonstrating the aptness of Aristotle’s account and the new paths it suggests for further investigation.
Wednesday 13 December 2023 15h30 (UK time)
Prof. Arlene Holmes Henderson (Durham/U.K.)
Professor of Classics Education and Public Policy
at the University of Durham, UK
Classics in schools: past, present and future
Link for the lecture : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86555758610?pwd=bJek9Zy5Cj1ZO8B6tptMJnq39mPIGS.1
In this talk, Arlene Holmes-Henderson will provide an overview of the learning and teaching of Classics in pre-university settings. Covering a range of geographical contexts since FIEC’s foundation to the present day, she will chart the peaks and troughs of educational policy support for classical subjects and will share recent findings from European comparative ‘big data’ projects. Tracing the (limited) history of Classics education as a sub-field of research in its own right, Arlene will sketch the current landscape of pedagogical research and training, before conjecturing what the future might hold for teachers and learners of Classics.
Thursday 21 December 2023 15h00 (Argentinian time)
Prof. Darío P.R. Maiorana (Rosario, Argentina)
Professor of Latin, Director of the Centro de Estudios Internacioneles,
Former Rector of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario (Argentina)
Prospectiva de los Estudios Clásicos en el siglo XXI
Link for the lecture : https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85353831615?pwd=LNFdVh4n3p5ebyuLaOx1fHtL2xGAXO.1
Pretendo hacer en primer término un breve estado de la enseñanza de los estudios Clásicos en el sistema educativo argentino para luego fundamentar los campos disciplinares que, según considero, podrían ayudar en el futuro a la expansión de la enseñanza de los Estudios Clásicos, no solo en nuestro país, sino también en Latinoamérica y otros continentes. En tal sentido, existe una serie de elementos que a mi modo de ver impactarán en la enseñanza e investigación de los Estudios Clásicos:
1) La necesidad de reflexionar sobre los sistemas políticos y de organización de los estados y gobiernos (los ejemplos del mundo antiguo clásicos son muy apropiados para comparar y reflexionar sobre la política actual).
2) La necesidad de reflexionar sobre el pensamiento ético y moral actuales (también en este caso, ejemplos del mundo antiguo clásicos son muy adecuados para comparar y reflexionar sobre la ética y el bien común).
3) El aumento de la expectativa de vida de la población, lo cual origina la necesidad de una educación continua, tanto formal como no formal (este hecho aumenta la población que estudiaría tanto lenguas como cultura clásicas por placer y entretenimiento con las adcuaciones
de cada caso).
4) La necesidad de incorporar mayores aportes de las proyecciones de la cultura antigua clásica en los sistemas educativos en campos como la literatura, lexicografía, didáctica de la lengua, semiótica, estudios culturales, religiosos, derecho, lingúísticos, entre otros.
Planeo terminar con una serie de propuestas didácticas, culturales y comunicacionales sobre cómo pueden impactar los estudios sobre el mundo antiguo clásico en el mundo contemporáneo.