Australasian Classical Reception Studies Network (ACRSN)

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#classicalreception - #CFP - #antiquity in the #postclassical world. Website: http://acrsn.org Twitter: @acrsn_org 📷:Miranda Skoczek

AMPORAE XX 2026 Call for Papers Submissions are now open for the Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Hellenic or Roman Antiquities and Egyptology (AMPHORAE XX). The Classics and Ancient History postgraduates of the University of Newcastle are excited to hear from you. AMPHORAE XX will be held at the University of Newcastle from the 24th-25th November 2026 in hybrid form with social events and workshops to be held in person. AMPHORAE XX provides postgraduate students a forum to share in the amazing research being conducted by their peers while presenting their own research in a supportive and encouraging environment. This is an opportunity to network and gain experience in the field of academia and we encourage submissions from Honors to PhD students. We invite papers of 20 minutes with 10 minutes of questions on a variety of research topics which seek to explore the ancient world. Submissions require a completed application form found HERE [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScpTaKYQyFlHUU5nQ8Yvnr5i-XslKkWoX5cOAS69nGczmXOtg/viewform] including an abstract of no more than 250 words and a biography of 100 words maximum. Submissions are due by 11:59 PM AEST on 4 September 2026. If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to the organizers at amphorae2026@gmail.com
Join renowned classicist and historian Mary Beard as she brings her treasure trove of lively stories, curious facts, and ancient gossip to the stage in An Evening with Mary Beard: Talking Classics. You may ask: “What’s exciting about a piece of bread 4,000 years old? Or some pots of paint abandoned in the eruption at Pompeii? Why should we be bothered with the distant past anyway? What’s the point?”, and Mary answers! The life, art and literature of ancient Greece and Rome have something to offer everyone, and the bestselling author of SPQR and Emperor of Rome has made a career of refusing to let the ancient world stay ancient. ‘Britain’s most famous classicist is at the peak of her powers’ — THE TIMES In celebration of her latest bookTalking Classics: The Shock of the Old, Mary will be appearing in conversation with some very special guest hosts, and invites you to ask your burning questions, because The Classics are best explored through talking. Talking Classics will be available at each event, and copies will be signed by Mary Beard after the show.
This volume explores the interest of medieval Irish authors in the myths and legends of the ancient classical world, which were used in part as a lens through which to reimagine, rethink and even in some cases “rescue” their own native storytelling traditions and find a place for them within the Christian worldview and value system cultivated in the early medieval monasteries of the island.
We are now inviting contributions for the 2026 iteration of the Teaching Classical Languages Symposium. The one-day hybrid event will take place Friday 14th August at the Vere Gordon Childe Centre, University of Sydney. We are delighted to announce that this year's keynote speaker is Carla Hurt. Carla is a Latin high-school teacher and You-Tuber working in Melbourne, Australia: https://foundinantiquity.com/ We invite proposals for 20 minute papers on any topic related to the pedagogy of Classical Languages. We are particularly interested in papers that speak to the following: Imagine the perfect textbook; under this theme we invite you to think broadly in terms of what you see as critical to Classical Languages pedagogy, the full range of formats available in an increasingly hybrid world, the integration of social themes and Classical content and best practice in raising student confidence. Possible provocations include: Should textbooks try to include “culture”? Is there still a role for a physical book? What kinds of exercises do students really need? Should we be insisting on translation from English into the target language? We also welcome panel presentations. Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words to the convenors, Tamara Neal t.neal@sydney.edu.au & Sarah Lawrence slawren4@une.edu.au by April the 28th.
Workshop: The Material History of the Late Antique Mediterranean April 16th - 9.20 – 17.00 Macquarie University: Wallumattugal Campus (25 Wally's Walk, C120 Function Room) Ray Laurence and Thomas Derrick have organised a bumper workshop for the 16th of April titled: “The Material History of the Late Antique Mediterranean”. Our speakers will present their current research on archaeological and/or historical topics related to ‘Late Antiquity’ (mid-3rd to 7th/8th centuries CE) in the broadest sense along the Mediterranean littoral. Papers will have a focus on material culture and/or architectural remains, either actual or imagined/described. The idea that sparked this workshop was to celebrate Prof. Nicola Aravecchia’s (Associate Professor of Classics and of Art History and Archaeology at Washington University in St Louis) visiting positions at both Macquarie (in late 2025) and at USyd in 2026 by bringing scholars (of all levels) together to share ideas, forge new connections and strengthen existing ones. The day will begin at 9.20 am and run until 5 pm at the latest (depending on colleagues' availability) – we are also hoping to include an object-handling/viewing section as part of the workshop. There will be some funds for morning coffee during the break, but lunch is not provided. Confirmed speakers include Emlyn Dodd (Adelaide), Nicola Aravecchia (WUSTL), Ryan Strickler (Newcastle (AUS)), Meaghan McEvoy (ANU), Jessica McKenzie, as well as Macquarie Colleagues Julien Cooper, Ewan Coopey, Bronwen Neil, Richard Bott, Peter Edwell, and Thomas Derrick. RSVP-ing to thomas.derrick@mq.edu.au is helpful but not mandatory - it would be good to know who's coming and who to send a finalised programme to. Please do let us know if there's anyone you think we should send this invite to.
In Gargantua (ed. princ. 1535) Rabelais has his narrator describe the accidental discovery and unearthing of a bronze tomb containing ancient writings. One of these he appends to his account, in fragmentary form, “par reverence de l’antiquaille” (sic). At the same time the whole rollicking account is a singular illustration of Rabelais’ irreverence, as the collection’s editor shows in his introduction, where he foreshadows the diversity of approaches to the ancient literary inheritance that the book explores. Some obvious diversities emerge in the titles of the four sections into which the book is divided, and the wide range of figures and topics discussed in them. The first three sections treat transmission and reception through the lenses of different categories: editors, commentators and translators; encyclopedists and philologists; and poets. The last returns to veneranda antiquitas via Guillaume Budé (“premier révérent de l’antique en France”, p. 198) and Rabelais himself.
PACIFIC RIM ROMAN LITERATURE SEMINAR 34 - TRAGEDY MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 20–22 JULY, 2026 To mark the revival of the Pacific Rim Roman Literature Seminar after its hiatus following the pandemic, the thirty-fourth meeting of the Pacific Rim Roman Literature Seminar will be held in Melbourne, Australia from 20-22 July 2026. The convenor invites proposals for papers addressing the theme of TRAGEDY, in any manifestation in ancient Roman literature. Topics might include the genre of tragedy itself (such as the plays of Seneca), or tragedy as a theme in any genre of Roman literature. Approaches might include literary analysis, textual criticism and paleography, historiography, ancient philosophy, medieval & Renaissance and neo-Latin studies, classical reception studies, performance studies, and more. Papers on other topics will also be considered. Papers should be 30 minutes in length, with fifteen minutes of discussion time. The Pacific Rim Seminar does not run parallel sessions, so that participants may attend any or all papers. Submissions are welcome from postgraduate students and early-career researchers as well as established academics. Abstract proposals of 200-300 words should be emailed to K.O. Chong-Gossard (pacrimlatin2026@gmail.com). Please submit abstracts by 1 April 2026. Earlier submissions are of course welcome. The seminar will be held in a venue in the city of Melbourne, and it is expected that a seminar registration fee for participants will be required to cover the costs. We might be able to offer a reduced registration fee for postgraduate students. If there is a large number of papers, the seminar might be extended for an extra day (23 July). A seminar website will be built in due course. Feel free to send enquiries to the Convenor, K.O. Chong-Gossard, Associate Professor in Classics (Ancient Greek & Latin), The University of Melbourne pacrimlatin2026@gmail.com
"The book is a valuable reckoning of the epistemological shifts in ideas surrounding Roman imperialism and the provinces in the last century and a half. In that sense, the volume should be essential reading for all graduate methodology courses and comprehensive lists in classics, ancient history, and archaeology."
Call for Papers in AHA stream: Teaching the Ancient Mediterranean World in Australia, Today Australian Historical Association Conference 2026, Macquarie University, Sydney, 29 June – 3 July 2026 Dear colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to a stream focused on pedagogy in ancient Mediterranean studies within an Australasian context at this year's AHA conference at Macquarie University. This stream invites papers that explore the specific challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities we bear in how we teach the ancient Mediterranean world in Australia, today. Contributions might address curriculum design, embedding Indigenous knowledges, classroom practice, Generative Artificial Intelligence, student engagement, or other pedagogical questions relevant to our field and region. Submissions should ideally respond to the conference theme, "Changing Minds." Submissions close: 1 February 2026 To submit a paper proposal, please use this link: https://mqedu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0vtwRoPEVdsanlk Whether you would like to present a paper or simply attend the stream, I would be delighted to hear from you. Further details about the conference here: https://theaha.org.au/aha-conference-2026/. Please feel free to circulate this call to interested colleagues. Dr Julia Hamilton Lecturer (she/her) Discipline of History and Archaeology, School of Humanities 25B Wally's Walk, Wallumattagal Campus Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia
These editorial shortcomings detract from the accessibility of the text, which is unfortunate given the ambitious scope of González’s project and the insights she offers. Nevertheless, the book has strong points: as a comprehensive survey of the Persephone myth, its originality, and the author’s sensitivity in teasing out the themes and nuances of the texts. Additionally, it is well-presented, with an excellent table of contents, accurate footnotes, and a reasonably comprehensive bibliography. Finally, González directs scholarly attention to a varied selection of novels that showcase how contemporary writers utilise, to greater and lesser degrees, the Persephone myth to explore female adolescence. I hope that this paves the way for further research.
In the first quarter of the twenty-first century, truth has become a deeply contested – if not divisive – concept. Intensifying political polarization, social media, identity politics, & the deliberate spread of mis- & disinformation have all contributed to a climate in which truth gradually forfeits its quality as a shared reference point. Rather, it might be deployed as a marker of exclusion, used to distinguish us from them. This conference returns to the period that witnessed the emergence & proliferation of truth as such a shared frame of reference & communal value in Classical Greece. It invites speakers to examine the role of truth in a range of ancient Greek texts & social & political contexts. We will consider how truth – &, at times, its absence or its wilful distortion & manipulation – operates in the assembly & law courts of the city-state, as well as how truth claims are articulated across various genres of Classical Greek thought & literature, including myth, drama, historiography, & philosophy. Of particular interest is the tension between epichoric encodings of truth – grounded in specific local discourse environments – & their correspondence with, & aspiration toward, universal validity. Our aim is not merely to recover ancient conceptions of aletheia, but to investigate the social, political, & cultural functions truth once served: what did truth mean in contexts where civic trust, justice, & collective decision-making depended upon it? &, crucially, what might be lost if contemporary societies ab&on truth as a shared aspiration & horizon of meaning? The papers presented at this conference will form the basis of a collaborative volume on Truth & the Ancient Greek City. The conference will be held from October 1 to 2, 2026 at the University of Sydney, Australia. Moderate travel bursaries may be available for participants. To be considered as a speaker please send a short (200-300 word) abstract of your paper to Julia.Kindt@sydney.edu.au by 6.12.2025
This online series of meetings brings together scholars and practitioners from both hemispheres to discuss the stories of ancient historical and fictional women who inspire them and their work. We invite speakers to problematise the concept of what a 'strong' woman means to them, and how our ideas about the position and roles of women, gender and female agency have evolved over time. In turn this affects how we receive, interact with and adapt these ancient female figures and their stories. Each speaker will reflect on their chosen ancient woman/women or group, as a launchpad for a wider examination of the impact of ancient women in recent scholarship and/or in a variety of modern media (including but not limited to the stage, screen and the visual arts). Speakers can choose to focus on the ancient material but must engage with recent scholarly debates on questions of gender, and/or diversity. Practitioners are particularly welcome to present their creative receptions of these ancient female figures, partnering up with a scholar or by themselves with a scholar as a respondent to foster dialogue and the exchange of ideas. We welcome proposals from interested scholars, postgraduates and practitioners (a title and a short abstract of 200-300 words) by 6th of January. Collaborations between researchers and between scholars and practitioners are most welcome. Since our goal is to bring together people from both hemispheres, we aim to preserve a balance in terms of numbers between northern and southern speakers. We envisage a seminar series of between 10 and 12 speakers, with around 2 speakers, plus a chair/respondent per session. Dates and times to be decided after the selection of abstracts has been completed.
This online series of meetings brings together scholars & practitioners from both hemispheres to discuss the stories of ancient historical & fictional women who inspire them & their work. We invite speakers to problematise the concept of what a 'strong' woman means to them, & how our ideas about the position & roles of women, gender & female agency have evolved over time. In turn this affects how we receive, interact with & adapt these ancient female figures & their stories. Each speaker will reflect on their chosen ancient woman/women or group, as a launchpad for a wider examination of the impact of ancient women in recent scholarship &/or in a variety of modern media (including but not limited to the stage, screen & the visual arts). Speakers can choose to focus on the ancient material but must engage with recent scholarly debates on questions of gender, &/or diversity. Practitioners are particularly welcome to present their creative receptions of these ancient female figures, partnering up with a scholar or by themselves with a scholar as a respondent to foster dialogue & the exchange of ideas. We welcome proposals from interested scholars, postgraduates & practitioners (a title & a short abstract of 200-300 words) by 6th of January. Collaborations between researchers & between scholars & practitioners are most welcome. Since our goal is to bring together people from both hemispheres, we aim to preserve a balance in terms of numbers between northern & southern speakers. We envisage a seminar series of between 10 & 12 speakers, with around 2 speakers, plus a chair/respondent per session. Dates & times to be decided after the selection of abstracts has been completed.