{"id":13482,"date":"2019-11-21T12:10:11","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T17:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/?p=13482"},"modified":"2023-10-31T10:21:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T14:21:29","slug":"classical-studies-graduate-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/2019\/11\/21\/classical-studies-graduate-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Classical Studies Graduate Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

The BU Department of Classical Studies continues its strong efforts to connect the study of ancient literature and history to pressing issues of our time. On November 9, 2019, the department, with sponsorship from the Center, held their annual graduate student conference.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s conference \u201cAgency through the Ancients: Reception as Empowerment\u201d featured eight speakers from a variety of universities, including a formerly incarcerated individual. According to the organizers, \u201cthe conference examined how classical literature (broadly defined) is able to impart a profound sense of agency to the disenfranchised, especially in times of turmoil or persecution.\u201d Topics included diagnosing trauma in ancient individuals, the influence of classical literature on post-Holocaust authors, classical reception as a means of building community for refugees and immigrants, the pitfalls of misinterpreting the classics to suit our own beliefs, the influence of classical antiquity on early feminism, challenging beauty standards via reinterpretation of classical ideals, and the experience of self-rediscovery in reading classical literature while incarcerated. The keynote speakers, Marquis \u2018I Am\u2019 McCray, a formerly incarcerated person, and his professor from Rutgers, Emily Allen Hornblower, were the highlight of the event. McCray\u2019s talk about the role the classics have played in his life, particularly in his exploration of self and his reintegration into society, inspired audience members to such a degree that many were moved to tears. A BU graduate later wrote a quote from McCray\u2019s speech on their office door: \u201cYou cannot be a good anything without first being a good human being.\u201d Participants, graduate students, and professors alike have voiced their gratitude for being a part of the event.\"\"<\/p>\n

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Pictured (left to right): Ian Nurmi, Ryan Pasco, Torie Burmeister, Paul Breitenfeld, Shannon DuBois, and Nitya Chagti.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Pictured: Keynote speakers, Emily Allen Hornblower and Marquis ‘I Am’ McCray.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Pictured (left to right): Professor Hannah \u010cul\u00edk-Baird and Mark Alonge, Professor Stephen Scully, Marquis McCray, and Samuel Hotchkiss in lively discussion.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The BU Department of Classical Studies continues its strong efforts to connect the study of ancient literature and history to pressing issues of our time. On November 9, 2019, the department, with sponsorship from the Center, held their annual graduate student conference. This year\u2019s conference \u201cAgency through the Ancients: Reception as Empowerment\u201d featured eight speakers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16690,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[316,396],"tags":[373,374],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13482"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16690"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13482"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13494,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13482\/revisions\/13494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/humanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}