Early Modern Translations and the Classics

The recent surge of interest in “global Classics”, the study of the texts and cultures of the ancient Mediterranean beyond the bounds of Greece and Rome, has directed much scholarly attention to the reception of Classics in vernacular languages and the role of Classics as a medium of interaction between cultures. Excitingly, such inquiry has also opened the door to exploring more marginalized voices in Classical studies, such as translations by women [“Grossly Material Things”: Women and Book Production in Early Modern England, Smith 2012] and the reception of Classics in Latin America [Empire without End: Virgilian epics from Spanish and Portuguese America, Valdivieso forthcoming] and East Asia [Plato Goes to China, Bartsch 2023]. Furthermore, we are interested in exploring the potential avenues generated by examining the bi-directional relationship between translation in and out of Classical languages and vernaculars and the composition of new texts within the confluence of different cultures. 

This conference will further such efforts by gathering together scholars who are interested in the global picture of Classics and translations during the early modern period (ca. 1500-1800). The scope is intentionally broad so as to encompass translations of the Classics into other languages, polyglot works, and global reception of classics, etc. The conference will showcase the breadth and depth of the field, foster cooperation within and between fields, and encourage cross-discipline publication.

The conference, sponsored by the University of Oxford and Princeton University, will be held 8-9 March 2024 at Princeton University. We are pleased to have Dr. Gail Trimble, Associate Professor of Classical Languages and Literature at Trinity College, Oxford, as our keynote speaker. Dr. Trimble writes on Latin poetry and literary form and is completing a new commentary on Catullus 64 with Cambridge University Press.

Please direct any questions you may have to the conference organizers, Cynthia Liu ([email protected]) and Jamie Wheeler ([email protected]). Also, please see the conference Facebook page here.