PROGRESS IN ANCIENT LITERATURE

15-17 июня 2015 г. в Университете Эдинбурга пройдёт ежегодная конференция аспирантов «Прогресс в античной литературе».

Заявки на участие (тезисы до 300 слов) принимаются до 30 января 2015 г. по адресу ampal2015@ed.ac.uk.

Оригинальный текст:

Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Ancient Literature 2015: Progress in Ancient Literature

School of History, Classics, and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, 15th-17th June 2015.

The deadline for submissions for this year’s Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Ancient Literature, which will take place at the School of History, Classics, and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, from the 15th-17th June 2015, is the 30th January 2015.

We are pleased to announce that our keynote speaker this year will be Professor Douglas Cairns.

The Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Ancient Literature (AMPAL) is one of the largest postgraduate conferences in ancient literature in the UK. It attracts international speakers from all around the globe, and provides an opportunity for the worldwide postgraduate community to interact and share research. Although it is a perfect medium for PhD students in later stages of their research to receive constructive feedback, it is also an ideal first conference, as it enables students to present their work in a friendly environment, develop presentation skills and encourage professional development. In the past, papers have been published both as special issues of journals, and as collected volumes in book format. We hope to continue this tradition and offer presenters an opportunity to publish in a peer-reviewed medium.

The theme for the conference is ‘Progress in Ancient Literature'.

This year’s theme is progress, namely the process of moving forward, whether for its own sake or with the purpose of improvement or development. The theme may seem natural after the previous year’s conference on failure. After failing at anything, do we not look ahead towards a progression, or an improvement (or even simply an attempt not to fail again)?  The ancient world too seems perpetually concerned with the implications of progress. The idea pervades many genres such as history, philosophy, and poetics. It can be seen as a positive or negative force, as an attempt to better oneself, to elevate to a better position, or in contrast as a movement away from a better state, a force for degeneration and declination. Through ideas such as Hesiod’s golden age, Thucydides and the idea of progress in historical inquiry, Stoic notions of degeneration and rebirth, or ancient commentary on linguistic or literary progress, the idea of how ancient literature addressed the question of whether we are capable of lasting progress is one that merits discussion.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

·      Can failure lead to progress? Is failure necessary for progress?

·      Can ancient literature ever be said to progress?

·      Does ancient Historiography argue towards socio-political progress?

·      How do we understand ideas of progress in ancient writers against the backdrop of the concept of the golden age?

·      Does myth provide examples of progress as something to be sought?

·      How does progress in scientific fields affect ancient literature?

·      How progressive were literary genres, and how did progress and innovation transform ideas about literature and its role in society?

·      Did the concept of progress constrain or liberate ancient literary endeavours?

·      Is the idea of progress seen in a positive or negative light in ancient literature?

·      Did ancient philosophers see philosophical progress as in any way possible?

Abstracts of no more than 300 words for 15-20 minute papers are to be sent to ampal2015@ed.ac.uk no later than the 30th January 2014. Suggestions for coordinated panels consisting of three papers are welcome, and should be presented in a single file with all abstracts and an extra 100 word statement outlining the panel's unity and relevance to the central theme of progress.

We intend to assess abstracts anonymously. In order to do so, please send the abstracts as PDF files with no identifying information in the file content or file name. Please include name, degree currently under study, institution and the title of the talk in the body of the email.

We look forward to hearing from many of you and please do not hesitate to contact us at ampal2015@ed.ac.uk with any questions.

For more information and future announcements please visit our website at: ampal2015.weebly.com

Kind Regards,

Sarah Cassidy

University of Edinburgh

AMPAL 2015

Источник: оргкомитет.