Yelena Baraz, Princeton University. “Ovid’s Bystanders. From Trauma to Complicity”

Apr. 8, 2025—Tuesday, April 8th, 2025. 4:10 pm. Cohen 203. This talk will examine Roman ideas about the ethically and emotionally fraught position of the bystander as explored by Ovid in the Metamorphoses. The figure of the bystander raises questions about responsibility, identification, trauma, and complicity. Ovid’s treatment implicates the reader by creating a parallel between the...

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Nicola Di Cosmo, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. “Visions and Frictions: Venice, the Mongols, and the New World Order (13th-14th centuries)

Apr. 8, 2025—Wednesday, March 26th, 2025. 4:10 pm. Cohen 203. What role did Mediterranean powers, particularly Venice, play in the new world order created by the Mongols? This talk will explore the motivations, challenges, and achievements of the Venetians who lived, traded and died in Mongol lands. The Mongol conquest offered unprecedented opportunities for new markets, safe...

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