Date/Time
Date(s) - 25 Feb 2016
7:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Location
Columbia University Faculty House
Category(ies) No Categories
Upcoming lecture in Columbia’s University Seminar in Classical Civilization:
Thursday, February 25, 7:30pm
Joshua Billings (Princeton)
“Myth and Enlightenment in Attic Drama”
Faculty House (check the signs in lobby for precise location)
Prof. Billings kindly shared an abstract of his upcoming talk with us:
“My talk considers the way that dramatic myth might contribute to our understanding of the “Greek Enlightenment,” a designation I want to both revive and problematize. It focuses on two figures, Palamedes and Prometheus, whose characterizations in tragedy and philosophy, I argue, reflect on the process of enlightenment. The Palamedes plays of the three canonical tragedians and the Prometheus Bound all contain extensive catalogues of the title figures’ benefactions to humanity, and offer a window onto questions of cultural development and the idea of progress in fifth-century Athens. These catalogues and their place in the respective myths allow us to see the ways that intellectual culture of the period could understand itself as enlightened, while at the same time retaining a critical consciousness toward the process of enlightenment.”
The evening will begin with drinks at 5:45 PM at the fourth-floor dining room of Faculty House, followed by dinner at 6:15 PM. Please email our rapporteur, Anna Conser ([email protected]) by noon on Monday, February 22nd, in order to make a dinner reservation. Note that the price of the meal is $25, payable by check to “Columbia University.”
Professor Billing’s lecture will begin promptly at 7:30 PM.