Boston Area Classics Calendar
October 2018
Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Contexts and
Meanings<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?…
Tue., Oct. 2, 6 – 7:15 p.m.
HARVARD ART MUSEUMS, 32 Quincy Street, Menschel Hall, Lower Level, Cambridge, MA
02138
Robert Koehl, of Hunter College, and Kimberley Patton, of Harvard, will explore why animal
shapes were such popular forms for ancient vessels.
In this lecture, leading scholars will offer perspectives on the social and symbolic
importance of the vessels featured in our special exhibition Animal-Shaped Vessels from
the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings, on view September 7, 2018
through January 6, 2019.
Following their presentations, Koehl and Patton will be joined in conversation by Susanne
Ebbinghaus, the George M.A. Hanfmann Curator of Ancient Art and head of the Division of
Asian and Mediterranean Art at the Harvard Art Museums. Ebbinghaus curated the
Animal-Shaped Vessels exhibition.
The lecture will take place in Menschel Hall, Lower Level. Please enter the museums via
the entrance on Broadway. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
Free admission, but seating is limited. Tickets will be distributed beginning at 5:30pm at
the Broadway entrance. One ticket per person.
Complimentary parking available in the Broadway Garage, 7 Felton Street, Cambridge.
Following the lecture, guests are invited to view the Animal-Shaped Vessels exhibition on
Level 3 until 8 p.m.
www.harvardartmuseums.org…<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=ht…
*Martin Revermann (University of
Toronto)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?…
Thu., Oct. 4, 4 – 6 p.m.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY, 745 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 409, Boston, MA 02215
“Translation Prefaces”
The Study Group on Myth and Religion in the Ancient World is sponsored by the BU Center
for the Humanities
Documentary Screening: The Lost City of Cecil B.
DeMille<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?t…
Wed., Oct. 10, 6 – 9 p.m.
HARVARD ART MUSEUMS, Menschel Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138
Filmmaker Peter Brosnan, lead archaeologist Colleen Hamilton, and executive producer
Francesca Silva will be in attendance for the screening of The Lost City of Cecil B.
DeMille. There will be a panel/Q&A after the screening.
New England Ancient History
Colloquium<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calenda…
Thu., Oct. 11, 5:30 – 9:30 p.m.
TRINITY COLLEGE, Smith House, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT 06106
Registration information:
lauren.caldwell@trincoll.edu<mailto:lauren.caldwell@trincoll.edu>
Timothy Joseph of College of the Holy Cross will offer for discussion his paper
"Lucan, Carthage, and Roman Historical Epic," with commentary from Andrew
Johnston of Yale University
New England Ancient History Colloquium
Thomas Biggs (University of
Georgia)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?…
Thu., Oct. 18, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
BROWN UNIVERSITY, 60 George Street, Room 108, Providence, RI 02912
“Civil War, Sovereignty, and the Poetic ‘State of Exception’ in Lucan’s Bellum Civile”
www.brown.edu…<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.…
**Nadav Asraf (Harvard
University)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calend…
Tue., Oct. 23, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Barker Center, 12 Quincy St., Room 110, Cambridge, MA 02138
"'When I leave the beautiful and severe Hellenism': On Cavafy's
Translations into Hebrew"
Mahindra Humanities Center Seminar: Modern Greek Literature and
Culture<http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/modern-greek-l…
mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu…<http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvar…
*Hannah Čulik-Baird (Boston
University)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calend…
Wed., Oct. 24, 5 – 7 p.m.
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY, Room 303, Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education,
Waltham, MA 02453
"Loss and Recovery of Knowledge at Rome"
How well do the Romans know their own history? In a world where records of the past rot
away, are eaten by worms, mice, larvae, are accidentally or deliberately set on fire, how
is a Roman of the late Republic supposed to understand Rome's past? In the De Lingua
Latina (5.5), Varro wrote: uetustas pauca non deprauat, multa tollit; “there is little
that time does not distort, much it obliterates completely.” Join me in an exploration of
the challenges faced by Romans interested in understanding their city's history, and
what kind of strategies they developed to recover "lost" knowledge.
Reception to follow immediately after the talk from 6:00-6:30 p.m.
Open to the public. Free parking. For a campus map and parking information, please see
www.brandeis.edu…<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__ww…
Contact Heidi McAllister (hmcallis@brandeis.edu<mailto:hmcallis@brandeis.edu>) or
Sybil Schlesinger (sybilsch@brandeis.edu<mailto:sybilsch@brandeis.edu>) with any
questions.
Sarah Spence (Medieval Academy of
America)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?…
Wed., Oct. 24, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
BROWN UNIVERSITY, 90 George Street, Room 208, Providence, RI 02912
“‘The little of our earthly trust’: Vergil's Aeneid and the Geography of Loss”
Sarah Spence is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Classics and Comparative Literature at
the University of Georgia and Editor of Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies.
The Michael C.J. Putnam Lecture
www.brown.edu…<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.…
Archaeological Exploration of
Sardis<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?tr…
Fri., Oct. 26, 3 – 4:30 p.m.
HARVARD ART MUSEUMS, Menschel Hall, 32 Quincy Street Cambridge, MA 02138
Since its founding in 1958 by Harvard and Cornell Universities, the Archaeological
Exploration of Sardis has excavated, conserved, and published on aspects of the ancient
city of Sardis in western Turkey from prehistoric through Islamic periods. The expedition
is one of the longest running international projects sponsored at Harvard and is one of
the oldest classical archaeological projects in the Mediterranean. Harvard students who
participate in the program gain academic, professional, and cultural experience while
contributing to archaeological research, conservation efforts, presentations, and
publications related to the site.
As part of Worldwide Week at Harvard 2018, this event brings together the museums staff
and Harvard faculty and students involved in the project to discuss their work and to
illuminate how team members from various fields and institutions around the world
collaborate to advance research about Sardis. Speakers will include Nicholas Cahill, field
director of the Sardis expedition and the Simona and Jerome Chazen Distinguished Chair in
Art History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Adrian Stähli, professor of classical
archaeology in the Department of the Classics at Harvard University; Susanne Ebbinghaus,
the George M.A. Hanfmann Curator of Ancient Art and head of the Division of Asian and
Mediterranean Art at the Harvard Art Museums; Frances Gallart Marques, the Frederick
Randolph Grace Curatorial Fellow in Ancient Art at the Harvard Art Museums; and Bahadır
Yıldırım, expedition administrator for Sardis at the Harvard Art Museums.
The lecture will take place in Menschel Hall, Lower Level. Please enter the museums via
the entrance on Broadway. Doors will open at 2:30pm.
Free admission, but seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served
basis.
The excavation at Sardis is conducted with the permission and support of the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey. Current conservation work at Sardis is also
supported by an award provided by the United States Government, Department of State, U.S.
Embassy Ankara.
Worldwide Week at Harvard 2018 (October 22–26, 2018) showcases the remarkable breadth of
Harvard’s global engagement. During Worldwide Week, Harvard schools, research centers,
departments, and student organizations host academic and cultural events with global or
international themes.
www.harvardartmuseums.org…<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=ht…
November 2018
Symposium—Between Art and Asset: Silver Vessels from Antiquity to
Today<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?tru…
Sat., Nov. 3, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
HARVARD ART MUSEUMS, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Silver vessels have been prized possessions in many cultures, both ancient and modern.
Some of the most elaborate vessels in the Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World:
Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings exhibition are fashioned from silver. What makes
this material attractive for artists, and what makes drinking from silver vessels pleasant
to the palate? Which intangible qualities have promoted the material’s use? How has
appreciation of the vessels been influenced by the fact that silver often served as
bullion and coins—and hence could be “cashed in”? This symposium will bring together art
historians, a conservator, a numismatist, and a silversmith to explore these and related
questions, including the function and uses of precious metal vessels, the role of
craftsmanship, the symbolic qualities of silver, and silver’s relationship to other luxury
materials. The presentations will focus on the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, the
Byzantine world, China, and the Americas.
Speakers:
Angela Chang, Conservator of Objects and Sculpture, Head of the Objects Lab, and Assistant
Director of the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies at the Harvard Art
Museums
Henry Colburn, Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow in Ancient Near Eastern Art at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Eurydice Georganteli, Lecturer on History of Art and Architecture and Medieval Studies in
the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University
Kenneth Lapatin, Curator of Antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum
Ethan Lasser, Theodore Stebbins Jr. Curator of American Art and Head of the Division of
European and American Art at the Harvard Art Museums
François Louis, Associate Professor and Director of Doctoral Studies at the Bard Graduate
Center
Joanne Pillsbury, Andrall E. Pearson Curator of Ancient American Art at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art
Adam Whitney, Silversmith
The symposium will take place in Menschel Hall, Lower Level. Please enter the museums via
the entrance on Broadway. Doors will open at 9:30am.
Free admission, but seating is limited.
Complimentary parking available in the Broadway Garage, 7 Felton Street, Cambridge.
www.harvardartmuseums.org…<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=ht…
*The Odyssey in Song: A Folk Opera by Joe
Goodkin<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?t…
Mon., Nov. 5, 5 – 7 p.m.
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY, Room 002, Lown Center, Waltham, MA, 02453
Joe Goodkin's Odyssey is a 30 minute original musical performance of 24 original
songs with lyrics inspired by Odysseus' famous exploits. It represents in a
contemporary musical mode both the abridged plot and the performance circumstances of
Homer's original oral composition of The Odyssey. A discussion will follow the
performance. Joe has performed his Odyssey over 270 times in 36 U.S. states and Canada,
and has been honored with several ASCAP Composers awards. More information can be found at
www.joesodyssey.com<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__…
Reception to follow immediately after the talk from 6:00-6:30 p.m.
Open to the public. Free parking. For a campus map and parking information, please see
www.brandeis.edu…<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__ww…
Contact Heidi McAllister (hmcallis@brandeis.edu<mailto:hmcallis@brandeis.edu>) or
Sybil Schlesinger (sybilsch@brandeis.edu<mailto:sybilsch@brandeis.edu>) with any
questions.
Alain Schnapp (Université Paris 1
Panthéon-Sorbonne)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics…
Wed., Nov. 14
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, TBA, Cambridge, MA 02138
TBA
James Loeb Lecture
Nina Papathanasopoulou (Connecticut
College)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?…
Wed., Nov. 28, 5 – 7 p.m.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY, 745 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 409, Boston, MA 02215
“Serpent Heart: Animality, Jealousy, and Transgression in Martha Graham's Medea (Cave
of the Heart)”
The Study Group on Myth and Religion in the Ancient World is sponsored by the BU Center
for the Humanities
R. R. R. Smith (University of
Oxford)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?t…
Thu., Nov. 29 – Fri., Nov. 30
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, TBA, Cambridge, MA 02138
TBA
James Loeb Lecture
December 2018
Alan Nussbaum (Cornell
University)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calend…
Fri., Dec. 7, 5 p.m.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, TBA, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138
TBD
GSAS Workshop "Indo-European and Historical Linguistics”
Nino Luraghi (University of
Oxford)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?t…
Thu., Dec. 13, 5 – 6:30 p.m.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, TBA, Cambridge, MA 02138
"The Peloponnesian Peace"
March 2019
Bernard Frischer (Indiana
University)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calend…
Wed., Mar. 13
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, TBA, Cambridge, MA 02138
"Rome Reborn"
Mahindra Humanities Center Seminar: Civilizations of Ancient Greek and
Rome<http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/civilizations-anc…
Catherine Grandjean (Université de Tours,
France)<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar?t…
Tue., Mar. 26, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
HARVARD ART MUSEUMS, Menschel Hall, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
"The coinage of the Achaian koinon, between federal authority and civic autonomy.”
Ancient galleries open until 8 p.m.
llse and Leo Mildenberg Memorial Lecture
April 2019
New England Ancient History
Colloquium<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calenda…
Thu., Apr. 11
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, TBA, Cambridge, MA 02138
View the entire calendar
online<https://classics.fas.harvard.edu/boston-area-classics-calendar>
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