2023/2024 Lecture Series Event – Remind Me of Anactoria: Models for Meaning from the Structure(s) of Early Modern Greek Poetry
The Vanderbilt Department of Classical and Mediterranean Studies is excited to welcome Joel Christensen, Professor of Classical Studies at Brandeis University, to present Remind Me of Anactoria: Models for Meaning from the Structure(s) of Early Greek Poetry. This event is the second of the department’s 2023/2024 lecture series. Professor Christensen will present his talk on Monday, March 4th, 2024 at 4:10pm in 203 Cohen Memorial Hall, with a reception to follow.
What is the relationship between repetitive structures and interpretation in early Greek poetry? This talk will draw on cognitive approaches to literature to look in a new way at structural framings that encourage audiences to compare the ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ of devices like similes and paradeigmata. After surveying some models for narrative structure in epic, Professor Christensen will argue that there is a relationship between repetitive structures and implicit models for making meaning in early Greek narrative, one rooted in human cognition and exemplified in Fragment 16 of Sappho.
This event is sponsored by the Department of Classical and Mediterranean Studies and is free and open to the public.
