The following message reached me on MANTOVANO, David Wilson-Okamura's
discussion list for the works, commentary tradition and reception of Vergil.
Those interested in Mantovano may want to visit the following address:
http://www.wilsoninet.com/hydepark/mantovan.htm
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The following may be of interest to students of the classical tradition
and/or Vergil. Please post.
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; name="apa97t.txt"
Content-ID: <[log in to unmask]>
Content-Description:
Abstracts are sought for a panel being proposed for the APA annual
meeting, 1997. The panel, sponsored by the Committee for the Classical
Tradition, is entitled, "Strangers in a Strange Land: Classical Influences
on the Literature of Exile". The co-organizers are Roxanne Gentilcore,
Harvard University and Michele Ronnick, Wayne State University.
Prospectus
The term exile has been used to describe not only physical
homelessness but also spiritual isolation, deracination, and creative
or intellectual deprivation. The individual may write of his exile from
the culture of antiquity, as did Petrarch, or of his exile from the world
in a medieval monastery. The idea of exile appears in the Christian concept
of mankind's banishment from Eden or heaven as well as in the so-called
internal exile suffered by Russian writers in this century. Despite the
solitary nature of the experience, much of the literature of exile speaks
in a universal language. For example, from the Middle Ages to our own
century writers turned above all to Ovid in exile and to his poetry written
there for a model of the experience of exile. Ovid was viewed as the
precursor of persecuted artists from Alexander Pushkin to D.H. Lawrence.
Besides Ovid's, the exile of Vergil and the banishments of Cicero and
Seneca, among others, prompted many later authors to identify with these
classical writers and to respond to their writings from or about exile.
The purpose of this inter-disciplinary panel is to explore some
of the ways in which exile in the classical world influenced later
literature on the theme of exile. This panel will contribute to our
understanding of exile in Greece and Rome by developing a cross-
disciplinary dialogue on later ages' artistic and scholarly interpretations
often overlooked aspect of antiquity. What are the effects of exile upon
the artistic imagination? Are there universal modes of expression in
exilic writing (i.e. in depicting the natives or the foreign landscape)?
What can we learn from these writings about the relationship between the
exile and power or tyranny? Which classical writers on exile were emulated
and which were rejected in particular periods?
Suggested topics include: medieval concepts of exile and the use of
the Classics; classical models for the exile as a voice against tyranny;
changing scholarly and literary interpretations of Vergil's or Ovid's
exile; later literary uses of mythological exempla of exile (Odysseus,
Medea, Thyestes); Ovid as the archetype of the exiled writer in Russian
literature; later interpretations of the Greek concept of ostracism;
diaspora or the exile of a group; or other suitable topics. Contributions
are welcome from all disciplines.
The deadline for abstracts is January 31st. They should be
approximately 500 words. Please include your name, institution, e-mail
address and telephone numbers on a separate page, not on the abstract.
Send abstracts to Michele Ronnick at the Department of Classics, Wayne
State University. The Fax no. is (313) 577-3266, office phone is
(313) 832-3009, and e-mail address is [log in to unmask]
We encourage those submitting abstracts to do so by fax or e-mail because
of time constraints. The regular mail address is: Department of Classics,
431 Manoogian Hall, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202. More
information can be obtained from Michele Ronnick or Roxanne Gentilcore
([log in to unmask]) or (508) 897-6966.
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