CALL FOR PAPERS
The Technologies of Memory:
Latin Literature and the Preservation of the Past
The 2008 Pacific Rim Latin Literature Seminar will be held at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, from Tuesday to Friday, August 26-29, 2008.
The creation of literature is governed by forms and by media, and this inevitably shapes the nature of the work created. Literature is constantly created, revised, quoted, adapted, interpreted, and lost: all of these processes are governed by literary technologies. From the length of a line of verse to the size of a papyrus roll to the use of slaves to read texts aloud, specific technologies associated with literacy shape perceptions of Roman literary identity, and affect the interpretation of individual works. Proposals are invited for 20-minute papers that deal with the intersection of Latin literature and the mechanics of literary production and reception, broadly conceived. Possible areas of investigation include the following:
- the role of libraries in the Roman world
- para-literary documents, created as a byproduct of other literary endeavours
- the transmission of authors through the manuscript tradition, the printing press, and the internet
- bilingualism and Roman literature
- the relationship of books to larger works (as in epic), and other aspects of poetic structure
- epigraphic verse, and other forms of public writing and material culture
- the circulation of ancient literary texts
- the influence of the codex
- "reading" in all its forms in antiquity
- the reception of Latin literature in later centuries
As is usual for the PacRim Latin Seminar, there will be plentiful entertainment beyond the conference papers, including a performance of Hosidius Geta's Medea and a conference dinner. Details on accommodation will follow later.
Abstracts for papers of 150-250 words, as well as any inquiries, should be sent by December 7, 2007 to:
C. W. Marshall
Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1Z1
E-mail (preferred): toph AT interchange.ubc.ca
Graduate students and scholars in the early stages of their careers are particularly encouraged to apply.
We shall be seeking funding support for the conference from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Therefore, titles and abstracts must also be accompanied by the following, as applicable:
Family name, given name, initials
Institutional affiliation (if any) and department
Degrees received; please specify the discipline
Recent positions held
Recent publications and those relevant to the theme of the conference
Audio-visual or other requirements
E-mail and postal address
The Technologies of Memory:
Latin Literature and the Preservation of the Past
The 2008 Pacific Rim Latin Literature Seminar will be held at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, from Tuesday to Friday, August 26-29, 2008.
The creation of literature is governed by forms and by media, and this inevitably shapes the nature of the work created. Literature is constantly created, revised, quoted, adapted, interpreted, and lost: all of these processes are governed by literary technologies. From the length of a line of verse to the size of a papyrus roll to the use of slaves to read texts aloud, specific technologies associated with literacy shape perceptions of Roman literary identity, and affect the interpretation of individual works. Proposals are invited for 20-minute papers that deal with the intersection of Latin literature and the mechanics of literary production and reception, broadly conceived. Possible areas of investigation include the following:
- the role of libraries in the Roman world
- para-literary documents, created as a byproduct of other literary endeavours
- the transmission of authors through the manuscript tradition, the printing press, and the internet
- bilingualism and Roman literature
- the relationship of books to larger works (as in epic), and other aspects of poetic structure
- epigraphic verse, and other forms of public writing and material culture
- the circulation of ancient literary texts
- the influence of the codex
- "reading" in all its forms in antiquity
- the reception of Latin literature in later centuries
As is usual for the PacRim Latin Seminar, there will be plentiful entertainment beyond the conference papers, including a performance of Hosidius Geta's Medea and a conference dinner. Details on accommodation will follow later.
Abstracts for papers of 150-250 words, as well as any inquiries, should be sent by December 7, 2007 to:
C. W. Marshall
Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1Z1
E-mail (preferred): toph AT interchange.ubc.ca
Graduate students and scholars in the early stages of their careers are particularly encouraged to apply.
We shall be seeking funding support for the conference from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Therefore, titles and abstracts must also be accompanied by the following, as applicable:
Family name, given name, initials
Institutional affiliation (if any) and department
Degrees received; please specify the discipline
Recent positions held
Recent publications and those relevant to the theme of the conference
Audio-visual or other requirements
E-mail and postal address