Welcome to the website for the 2015 Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Ancient Literature.
This year's theme is Progress.
The theme this year is progress, namely the process of moving forward, whether for its own sake or with the purpose of improvement or development. This theme may seem natural after the previous year’s conference on failure. After failing at anything, do we not look ahead towards a progression, or an improvement (or even simply an attempt not to fail again)? The ancient world too seems perpetually concerned with the implications of progress. The idea pervades many genres such as history, philosophy, and poetics. It can be seen as a positive or negative force, as an attempt to better oneself, to elevate to a better position, or in contrast as a movement away from a better state, a force for degeneration and declination. Through such ideas as Hesiod’s golden age, Thucydides and the idea of progress in historical inquiry, Stoic notions of degeneration and rebirth, or ancient commentary on linguistic or literary progress, the idea of how ancient literature addressed the question of whether we are capable of lasting progress is one that merits discussion.
Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:
· Can failure lead to progress? Is failure necessary for progress?
· Can ancient literature ever be said to progress?
· Does ancient Historiography argue towards socio-political progress?
· How do we understand ideas of progress in ancient writers against the backdrop of the concept of the golden age?
· Does myth provide examples of progress as something to be sought after?
· How does progress in scientific fields affect ancient literature?
· How progressive were literary genres, and how did progress and innovation transform ideas about literature and its role in society?
· Do ancient authors see progress as a form of improvement, and if so, how?
· Did the concept of progress constrain or liberate ancient literary endeavours?
· Is the idea of progress seen in a positive or negative light in ancient literature?
· Did ancient philosophers see philosophical progress as in any way possible?
Sarah Cassidy
University of Edinburgh
This year's theme is Progress.
The theme this year is progress, namely the process of moving forward, whether for its own sake or with the purpose of improvement or development. This theme may seem natural after the previous year’s conference on failure. After failing at anything, do we not look ahead towards a progression, or an improvement (or even simply an attempt not to fail again)? The ancient world too seems perpetually concerned with the implications of progress. The idea pervades many genres such as history, philosophy, and poetics. It can be seen as a positive or negative force, as an attempt to better oneself, to elevate to a better position, or in contrast as a movement away from a better state, a force for degeneration and declination. Through such ideas as Hesiod’s golden age, Thucydides and the idea of progress in historical inquiry, Stoic notions of degeneration and rebirth, or ancient commentary on linguistic or literary progress, the idea of how ancient literature addressed the question of whether we are capable of lasting progress is one that merits discussion.
Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:
· Can failure lead to progress? Is failure necessary for progress?
· Can ancient literature ever be said to progress?
· Does ancient Historiography argue towards socio-political progress?
· How do we understand ideas of progress in ancient writers against the backdrop of the concept of the golden age?
· Does myth provide examples of progress as something to be sought after?
· How does progress in scientific fields affect ancient literature?
· How progressive were literary genres, and how did progress and innovation transform ideas about literature and its role in society?
· Do ancient authors see progress as a form of improvement, and if so, how?
· Did the concept of progress constrain or liberate ancient literary endeavours?
· Is the idea of progress seen in a positive or negative light in ancient literature?
· Did ancient philosophers see philosophical progress as in any way possible?
Sarah Cassidy
University of Edinburgh
Image taken by Diana Ringo, found at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Colosseum#mediaviewer/File:Exterior_of_the_Colosseum.jpg