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We are pleased to announce that the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with the University of St Andrews and the University of Glasgow, will host the Seventh Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in the Reception of the Ancient World (AMPRAW) from 23-24 November 2017. This conference is generously supported by the School of History, Classics and Archaeology (University of Edinburgh), the School of Classics (University of St Andrews), the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH), the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies (SPHS), the Classical Association (CA) and the Classical Association of Scotland (CAS).

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The central theme of AMPRAW 2017 is the concept of community. In 450/451 BC Pericles passed a law delineating stricter requirements for obtaining Athenian citizenship, and in doing so described his vision of community. In 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union, a decision that will continue to have a significant impact on the concept of ‘community’ for UK citizens. Recent political and socio-economic developments worldwide have put notions of what it means to be part of a particular community, and also the concept of the community itself, under increased scrutiny. This conference will therefore explore how definitions of community (geographical, artistic, intellectual, political, cultural and economic) have been shaped and complicated by classical works and/or how classical receptions have prompted and continue to prompt new insight into community groups. Through contributions from Classics and other, related disciplines (including History, Archaeology, Philosophy, Art History, Epigraphy and Palaeography), the conference will emphasise the ways in which classical works can be used not only to comment on and engage with concepts of community, but also to shape communities from within. Since the conference focuses on reception, papers addressing topics in Late Antiquity, Byzantine and Medieval Studies are welcome as well.

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In addition to chaired panels, AMPRAW 2017 will feature a graduate panel on networking and career in collaboration with the Classical Reception Studies Network (CRSN) as well as three key note lectures by Professor Douglas L. Cairns (University of Edinburgh), Professor Patrick J. Finglass (University of Bristol) and Professor Emerita Lorna Hardwick (Open University). Other confirmed speakers are Dr Lilah Grace Canevaro, Dr Christian Djurslev and the British playwright Zinnie Harris. Moreover, for the first time in the history of the AMPRAW conference, we aim to publish a selection of papers in a peer-reviewed edition. More information on this will be made available later.

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Those wishing to present a paper of 20 minutes should please submit an abstract of up to 200 words outlining the proposed subject of their presentation, as well as their affiliation, to AMPRAW2017@ed.ac.uk by 3 September 2017. For further information, you can also contact Mark Huggins (mark.patrick.huggins@gmail.com) or Jenny Messenger (jennymessenger1@gmail.com). Thanks to the support of the SGSAH, the SPHS and the CA, a number of small travel bursaries for doctoral researchers based both in Scotland and further afield are available.

 

The organising committee:

Mark Huggins, James McDonald, Jenny Messenger, Anastasia-Stavroula Valtadorou, Rossana Zetti