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CfP 4th International Classics Conference in Ghana

May 15

Classics at the Crossroads
University of Ghana, Legon
3–4 September 2026

Over the past decade, significant strides have been made to rethink Classics beyond its traditional boundaries. Collaborative initiatives such as Global Classics and Africa, Classics Beyond Borders, the Africa World Initiative, and Classics at the Crossroads have sought to reimagine the discipline as more inclusive, globally engaged, and responsive to diverse intellectual traditions. At the same time, ongoing conversations around decolonization, restitution, curriculum reform, language pedagogy, and the place of Classics in contemporary education continue to challenge and reshape the field. What does it mean to practice Classics in a global and interconnected world? In what ways can Classics contribute to broader conversations in the humanities and beyond? We invite papers from scholars in Classics and related disciplines (including archaeology, history, literature, religion, philosophy, linguistics, anthropology, art history, performing arts) as well as from those working in interdisciplinary and comparative frameworks.

Sub-themes (not exhaustive):

  • Cross-cultural reception and reinterpretation of antiquity
  • Collaboration, partnership, and knowledge production
  • Pedagogy, curriculum development, and language teaching
  • Digital Classics and AI
  • Archives, museums, restitution, and material culture
  • Race, ethnicity, and identity
  • Gender, sexuality, and marginalized voices
  • Migration, mobility, and cosmopolitanism
  • Politics, democracy, and public discourse
  • Environment, ecology, and sustainability
  • Classics, the humanities and STEM
  • Public Classics and community engagement
  • Decolonizing Classics
  • Globalizing methodologies in Classical studies
  • Histories and historiographies
  • Africa and the Classics

Submission Guidelines:

  • Abstracts should be no more than 200 words and should be submitted via:
    http://bit.ly/4uWxL8f
  • Papers will be 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for discussion
  • Deadline for submission: 15 May 2026
  • Notification of acceptance: 30 May 2026
  • Deadline for conference registration: 31 July 2026

Conference Fee
The conference fee, which includes conference materials as well as breakfast and lunch on
both days, is $100 ($50 for students). Participants are responsible for arranging their own
travel and accommodation.

Dinner and Excursion
The conference dinner will take place on Thursday, 3 September (7:00pm), and an
excursion to the Shai Hills Resource Reserve on Saturday, 5 September (7:00am). At the
previous conference, each cost approximately $50, and we do not anticipate a significant
increase.

Special Event: A Mock Retrial of Socrates
A mock retrial of Socrates in a Ghanaian legal context, featuring qualified legal practitioners
and a jury, will be held on the evening of Friday, 4 September at the University of Ghana.
The event is open to the public and is supported by the Ancient Worlds, Modern Communities initiative of the Society for Classical Studies.

Please direct enquiries to Gifty Etornam Katahena (gekatahena@ug.edu.gh) or Michael
Okyere Asante (moa24@cam.ac.uk).

Organising Committee: Peter Grant (Cape Coast), Gifty Etornam Katahena (Ghana), Hendrik
Lorenz (Princeton), Michael Okyere Asante (Cambridge/UESD), Stephen Oppong Peprah
(Ghana), Luke Roman (Memorial), Frisbee Sheffield (Cambridge)

The conference is co-sponsored by the Classics Beyond Borders initiative, Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge with support of the  Leventis Foundation; Princeton University’s
Africa World Initiative; and the Classics at the Crossroads project funded by the SSHRC
(Canada).

Details