Middle ground or no man’s land? The Classical tradition between Modern Languages and Classics

Panel at Our Uncommon Ground: Modern Languages and Cultures for the 21st Century

Chairs: Barbara Graziosi (Durham) and Carlo Caruso (Siena)

In November 2016 the Centre for Classical Reception at Durham University organised a workshop on the future of what is commonly defined as ‘Classical reception’. After a long period of progressive and very promising expansion, that immense territory appears in danger of being deserted, owing principally to the difficulty of conducting and seeing properly acknowledged interdisciplinary projects and offering poor career prospects. Scholars from a range of disciplines will be invited to address the following questions: a) Should one consider redefining aims and objectives of the study of the Classical tradition/reception? b) What importance should be assigned to the acquisition of specific philological skills? c) In consideration of the vastness of its remit, can the study of the Classical tradition/reception benefit from projects and tools developed in the field of the digital humanities? d) What effective roles can classicists, medievalists and modernists play in redefining aims and objectives of such a multifarious object of enquiry?

Location: Engineering Dept, Room E101

Professor Andrew Laird (Brown)

Classical Reception: Redundancy and Disciplinary Politics

Dr Laura Jansen (Bristol)

Global Classics: Reconsiderations of The Interdisciplinary Space

Professor Peter Heslin (Durham)

Artificial Intelligence: Distantly Reading the Classical Tradition

Our Uncommon Ground: Modern Languages and Cultures for the 21st Century addresses the pressing ethical imperatives for the study of Modern Languages and Cultures as a diverse and yet coherent discipline in a world which is increasingly –  and acrimoniously – divided.

There has never been a more important time to articulate and embrace the values of a discipline equipped to study cultures and their interactions in historical perspective. And yet, Modern Languages continues to struggle with its disciplinary identity; as Michael Worton argued, almost a decade ago, one of the major challenges facing the discipline is a move towards separatism and forms of protectionism, which emerged at the very moment when it is vital that new forms of partnership and collaboration be established. This conference represents an attempt to sketch out the uncommon ground between the many (sub-)disciplines that comprise Modern Languages and Cultures. It offers a platform from which to establish a regular UK-based gathering of the Modern Languages and Cultures research community to promote the productive exchange of ideas across existing subject boundaries.