“‘Race Mixing’ & The Fall of Rome: The Role of Eugenics In Early 20th Century Classical Scholarship”

Eugenics, a doctrine originating in the work of Francis Galton at the end of the 19th century, proposed that selective breeding could be used to ensure the general “improvement” of human populations.  This lecture examines the ways eugenics and associated concepts like “race mixing” and “race-suicide” were applied to various ancient phenomena, such as the so-called “fall of Rome,” by American classicists of the early twentieth-century.

"How To Start a Dynasty in Byzantium, and How To End One"

Co-sponsored by Leila and Kareem Fawaz, Dean Bárbara Brizuela, the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, the Department of History at Tufts University, the Department of Classics at Tufts University, and  the Department of Art & Art History
Professor George J. Marcopoulos Memorial Lecture
This lecture was made possible thanks to the generosity of his past student and friend, Tony Ettinger A’78, G’79.

Silver vessels have been prized possessions in many cultures, both ancient and modern. Some of the most elaborate vessels in the Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings exhibition are fashioned from silver. What makes this material attractive for artists, and what makes drinking from silver vessels pleasant to the palate? Which intangible qualities have promoted the material’s use? How has appreciation of the vessels been influenced by the fact that silver often served as bullion and coins—and hence could be “cashed in”? This symposium will bring together art historians, a conservator, a numismatist, and a silversmith to explore these and related questions, including the function and uses of precious metal vessels, the role of craftsmanship, the symbolic qualities of silver, and silver’s relationship to other luxury materials. The presentations will focus on the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, the Byzantine world, China, and the Americas.

Speakers:
Angela Chang, Conservator of Objects and Sculpture, Head of the Objects Lab, and Assistant Director of the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies at the Harvard Art Museums

Henry Colburn, Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow in Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Eurydice Georganteli, Lecturer on History of Art and Architecture and Medieval Studies in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University

Kenneth Lapatin, Curator of Antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum

Ethan Lasser, Theodore Stebbins Jr. Curator of American Art and Head of the Division of European and American Art at the Harvard Art Museums

François Louis, Associate Professor and Director of Doctoral Studies at the Bard Graduate Center

Joanne Pillsbury, Andrall E. Pearson Curator of Ancient American Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Adam Whitney, Silversmith

The symposium will take place in Menschel Hall, Lower Level. Please enter the museums via the entrance on Broadway. Doors will open at 9:30am.

Free admission, but seating is limited.

Complimentary parking available in the Broadway Garage, 7 Felton Street, Cambridge.

Joe Goodkin's Odyssey is a 30 minute original musical performance of 24 original songs with lyrics inspired by Odysseus' famous exploits. It represents in a contemporary musical mode both the abridged plot and the performance circumstances of Homer's original oral composition of The Odyssey. A discussion will follow the performance. Joe has performed his Odyssey over 270 times in 36 U.S. states and Canada, and has been honored with several ASCAP Composers awards.

Reception to follow immediately after the talk from 6:00-6:30 p.m.
Open to the public.  Free parking.  For a campus map and parking information, please see
www.brandeis.edu…

Contact Heidi McAllister (hmcallis@brandeis.edu) or Sybil Schlesinger (sybilsch@brandeis.edu) with any questions.

Readings TBA

“Ocean in Greek and Roman Myth and Thought.”
Ocean was a unique figure in ancient mythology, both a god and a physical entity that could be sailed on or pictured on maps. Aeschylus famously depicted him on stage in “Prometheus Bound,” riding on a flying sea monster. The problem of Ocean troubled geographers, artists and poets throughout Greco-Roman antiquity. This illustrated talk will examine some of the solutions they found and the ideas they generated.”

TBA

“Aristotle on the Value of Comedy” 

TBA

"The Final Age Has Come: Nero, Seneca and the End of the World"

“Serpent Heart: Animality, Jealousy, and Transgression in Martha Graham's Medea (Cave of the Heart)”
Sponsored by the BU Center for the Humanities

Topic TBA
Reception to follow in Ticknor Lounge.

TBD