21-23 September 2012

Ancient Literary and Visual Representations of the Roman Civil Wars of the 40s and 30s BC

Margherita di Savoia, Puglia, Italy

Over recent years there has been a gradual renewal of interest in the events that led to the fall of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Principate. This interest has involved not only the traditional study of the course of events, but also the literary representations of this political and socio-economic revolution. There has been a fundamental re-evaluation of the literary production of Vergil and his contemporaries, the rediscovery of Caesar as both author and statesman, and a new appreciation of the evidence offered by Appian.

This international workshop will take place in Margherita di Savoia. Situated on the Adriatic coastline of Puglia, the venue offers the chance to consider and discuss the events that happened 2,000 years ago as they were reflected by the ancients themselves. At this very spot large armies continuously crossed, or attempted to cross, from the Italian peninsula to Greece or vice versa. Three days of round-table discussions will be accompanied by public gatherings in the evening and excursions to nearby archaeological sites. The workshop will involve scholars specialising in Classics and Ancient History and aims to appeal to relatively young scholars and be internationally representative.

Key-note speakers will include Kathryn Welch (Sydney), Ida Östenberg (Gothenburg), Jonathan Price (Tel Aviv), Christopher Smith (Rome), and Anton Powell (Swansea).

It is to be expected that many participants will be younger, emerging scholars. Colleagues are invited to submit an abstract of 300-400 words and a one-page CV by 31 March 2012.

Any ancient literary or visual representation of the Roman civil wars of the 40s and 30s BC is welcome.

Some suggestions of topics to consider are the following:
1) The Civil Wars in Latin and Greek poetry, as a theme and in implicit allusions
2) Representation of battle-scenes across genres and media
3) Employment of special images and unique vocabulary in descriptions of the Civil Wars
4) The Civil Wars in the world of Greek Imperial authors
5) Analogies between the transitional period from Republic to Principate and other periods in Greek and Roman history

Please send your abstracts to the organizers, Eran Almagor (almagore@bgu.ac.il) and Richard Westall (westall@unigre.it).

25-27 October 2012

13th UNISA Classics Colloquium
“Ancient routes to happiness”

Proposals are hereby invited for papers on the conference theme. The theme is deliberately formulated in broad terms so as to encourage a wide range of approaches to and perspectives on ancient ‘happiness’ and variants. Apart from the obvious importance of eudaimonia as philosophical telos, the organising committee is interested in treatments of and assumptions regarding happiness in other sources from antiquity: religious, literary, historiographical, medical, epigraphical, etc. The Classics Colloquium focuses on Greco-Roman antiquity, but contributions from other ancient cultures are also welcome.

Please submit titles and abstracts of approximately 300 words to Philip Bosman at bosmapr@unisa.ac.za, as soon as possible, but by the end of May 2012 at the latest.

The Unisa Classics Colloquium is hosted annually by the Department of Classics and World Languages at the University of South Africa, Pretoria.

More on the conference
Convening in 2012 for the 13th time, the Unisa Classics Colloquium combines stimulating scholarship with a pleasant and intimate atmosphere. Over two and a half days, approximately 16 scholarly contributions from around the world are to be presented. The 50 minute slots provide ample time for discussion and valuable feedback. Parallel sessions are avoided in order to promote unity of focus in the conference, and delegates get to know each other properly.

Venue: The Muckleneuk Campus of the University of South Africa (UNISA) in Pretoria.

We start on a Thursday morning, meaning that participants should arrive in Pretoria on the 24th October at the latest and only book a flight out from the afternoon of the 27th but preferably later.

Programme
A preliminary programme will be compiled from the received proposals and will be published on the Departmental website after the final date for submissions. Previous conference programmes may be viewed at http://www.unisa.ac.za/Default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=18743.

Conference Fee
More detail on the conference fee will follow at a later stage. As an indication, the 2010 conference fee was $150, inclusive of transport and meals during the conference. Postgraduates, other students and interested parties not able to claim back conference fees from their institutions should please contact the organizers for a discount.

Accommodation
During past conferences, guests stayed at the Brooklyn Guest Houses (http://www.brooklynguesthouses.co.za/) situated in a leafy suburb close to Unisa, the University of Pretoria, and the Brooklyn, Hillcrest and Hatfield shopping centres. A discounted group booking for delegates is negotiated.

Excursions
We plan excursions to the Winex wine festival in Sandton (Johannesburg) (http://www.sa-venues.com/events/gauteng/winex-wine-festival/) and after the conference (the 28th) to the Pilanesberg Game Reserve (http://pilanesberg-game-reserve.co.za/).

Publication of papers
Depending on quality, a collection of articles on the colloquium theme is envisaged. Submitted papers are subject to a refereeing process. If you would consider submitting your paper for publication, please indicate that to us via return mail for further guidelines on style.

5-27 January 2013

University of Sydney Third Classical Archaeology Summer School

In January 2013 the University of Sydney’s Department of Archaeology in collaboration with the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens (AAIA) will be holding its Third Classical Archaeology Summer School in Athens, Greece.

The Summer School will be led by Dr Lesley Beaumont, Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney’s Department of Archaeology, along with Dr Stavros Paspalas, Deputy Director of the AAIA in Athens. There will also be guest lectures by invited Athens-based experts available at the time.

The three-week intensive School focuses on sites and museums in Athens and Attica. It includes 14 hours of formal lectures, plus visits to many archaeological sites and museums in Athens. Bus tours will be made to important sites in and around Attica, such as Eleusis, Marathon and Sounion. A three day trip to Delphi is also incorporated. In addition, participants will have time for follow-up visits and individual research in the excellent libraries of the various foreign archaeological schools in Athens.

The Summer School is open to Australian and New Zealand undergraduate and postgraduate students and is also being offered to school teachers along the lines of professional education. Applications to attend may be made up to 30th June 2012.

Further information from the Summer School website or from Dr Lesley Beaumont (lesley.beaumont@sydney.edu.au).