On Tuesday, November 15, at 5:30 p.m. (David Auditorium) the Classics Department will present its fall lecture: “The Aeneid in America, from First Contact to Final Frontier.”
Our speaker is Professor Meredith Safran of Trinity College, a recognized expert in the field of classical reception. Her presentation will explore the cultural heritage of Vergil’s Aeneid in the United States, from the controversial Vergilian quotation on the 9/11 Memorial in New York, to the recent reboot of the vintage science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica.
Since this lecture is perfect for our seminar, I'm going to offer a 5% bonus to your class participation grade if you attend. Furthermore, if you ask Prof. Safran an intelligent question during the Q&A (or after the talk is over), I'll award an additional 5% bonus.
Additional information follows. I hope to see you there.
DC
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What is classical reception? What can classicists contribute when materials and motifs from the ancient world garner the attention of modern audiences? These and other questions will be considered from the perspective of Vergil’s epic poem, Aeneid, drawing case studies from the U.S. Postal Service, the 9/11 Memorial in New York, and the recent Syfy series, Battlestar Galactica.
Published after Vergil’s death in 19 BCE, the Aeneid became an instant classic, a seminal text for the nascent Roman empire. Its story of a man fleeing the destruction of his homeland and searching for a new one echoes loudly in the cultural history of the United States, with its own empire, and is even heard in the genre of the space Western. Professor Safran will help us perceive these echoes and offer some strategies for interpreting them.
WHO: Meredith Safran, Assistant Professor of Classics, Trinity College.
WHAT: “The Aeneid in America, from First Contact to Final Frontier.”
WHEN: Tuesday, November 15, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Davis Auditorium.
