HomeThe Classics in the Americas. Reprising and Rewriting Greek and Latin Classics in the American Continent and the Caribbean

HomeThe Classics in the Americas. Reprising and Rewriting Greek and Latin Classics in the American Continent and the Caribbean

The Classics in the Americas. Reprising and Rewriting Greek and Latin Classics in the American Continent and the Caribbean

Les Classiques aux Amériques. Réécritures des classiques grecs et latins sur le continent américain et dans les Caraïbes

Los clásicos en las Américas. Reescrituras de clásicos griegos y latinos en el continente americano y en el Caribe

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Published on Monday, February 11, 2013

Abstract

While classical intertextuality has been a widely studied subject and a much-discussed topic in the field of European literary theory, there exist, as of yet, only one-off studies regarding its developments in the “New World”. Although works by writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Jorge Luis Borges have often been analyzed from an intertextuality-oriented perspective, and although several research projects, by focusing on this or that national or regional literature of the Continent, have helped cover sizeable blind spots in literary history, the groundwork has yet to be laid for an overall theoretical approach on the ways in which the Ancient Classics have hitherto been reprised and rewritten in the Americas.

Announcement

Organizers : Cécile Chapon, Roberto Salazar Morales and Irena Trujic for the Research Center in Comparative Literature  (Centre de Recherche en Littérature comparée, EA 4510), Université Paris-Sorbonne

Argument

While classical intertextuality has been a widely studied subject and a much-discussed topic in the field of European literary theory, there exist, as of yet, only one-off studies regarding its developments in the “New World”. Although works by writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Jorge Luis Borges have often been analyzed from an intertextuality-oriented perspective, and although several research projects, by focusing on this or that national or regional literature of the Continent, have helped cover sizeable blind spots in literary history[1], the groundwork has yet to be laid for an overall theoretical approach on the ways in which the Ancient Classics have hitherto been reprised and rewritten in the Americas.

The choice of covering such a wide time-span (from the XVIth Century to the present day) opens the way to focusing on certain foundational, seminal works of different national literatures, as well as on extremely contemporary authors. Our main goal is to provide for global comparisons on the whole of the American Continent and the Caribbean through original presentations, allowing for an encompassing view of convergent and divergent treatments of classical intertextuality in what appear to be different historical backgrounds, nevertheless linked together by the common bond of European languages and a shared colonial past.

Which authors and which works are most frequently adapted ? On which elements does the reprising/rewriting focus and why? What is the rewriting process and what does it achieve ? How do writers work classical material, how do they « make it new », revamp it for American or modern audiences ? What distinctive features arise from specific cultural backgrounds ? and, conversely, are there any general, common tendencies characterizing the use of classical intertextuality in the American Continent as a whole ? Such are the questions —this is a non-exhaustive list—to be addressed in this symposium, open to both PhD students and senior researchers.

Submission guidelines

The working languages will be French, English and Spanish. A bilingual abstract is required for presentations in a language other than French.

Proposals (200 to 300 words, plus bibliography), written in one of the above-mentioned languages, will be submitted to classiques.aux.ameriques@gmail.com

by February  28th at the latest,

together with a short bio-bibliography of the author.

Scientific Board

  • Jean-François Cottier, Université Paris-Diderot
  • Romuald Fonkoua, UniversitéParis-Sorbonne
  • Véronique Gély, Université Paris-Sorbonne
  • Ute Heidmann, Université de Lausanne
  • Alexis Tadié, Université Paris-Sorbonne
[1]. E.g. Jean-François Cottier’s « Le patrimoine latin du Québec (XVIIe-XXe siècle): à la recherche d'un signe oublié », or Emily Greenwood’s work on the English-speaking Caribbean, in particular Afro-Greeks : dialogues between Anglophone Caribbean Literature and Classics in the twentieth century, Oxford Univesity Press, coll. Classical Presences, 2010. In the field of Hispanic-American studies, we refer the reader to the proceedings of an International Conference held in Havane in 1998 (« Contemporaneidad de los clásicos : la tradición greco-latina ante el siglo XXI »), published under the title Contemporaneidad de los clásicos en el umbral del tercer milenio, éd. M.C. Álvarez Moran et M.C. Iglesias Montiel. Universidad de Murcia, 1999.

Places

  • Maison de la recherche - 28 rue Serpente
    Paris, France (75006)

Date(s)

  • Thursday, February 28, 2013

Keywords

  • Réception des classiques; Amérique; Caraïbes; Littérature

Contact(s)

  • Cécile Chapon
    courriel : classiques [dot] aux [dot] ameriques [at] gmail [dot] com

Information source

  • Véronique Gely
    courriel : veronique [dot] gely [at] orange [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« The Classics in the Americas. Reprising and Rewriting Greek and Latin Classics in the American Continent and the Caribbean », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Monday, February 11, 2013, https://calenda.org/238332

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