classical studies

Free Will, defined by Dante's Virgilio as the noble power to guide and constrain the soul's natural inclination and desires (Purg 18.73),  holds a place of central concern in the Commedia. Elaborating on Marco Lombardo's discourse, the roman poet asserts that it is Free Will that accounts for the justice in feeling joy for doing good and misery for doing ill. While offering a general outline of the fundamental importance of Free Will in the ethical and moral rationale for the fate of departed souls, the pilgrim's first guide promises that Beatrice will provide clarity on this and other topics of particular complexity beyond the purview of his Classical pagan understanding.

1818-2018 – the silent revolution: of fears, folly & the female

Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon

5-6 November 2018

In 2018 we celebrate events which took place two hundred years ago: the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the birth of Emily Brontë. While the two events are markedly different, as the former is a tangible work of art and the latter more of a promise of what was to come, both have contributed to challenge and change the conceptions and perceptions of the time, thus performing a silent, subtle revolution in the world of letters.

Call for Papers–2019 Conference 43rd Comparative Drama ConferenceText & PresentationApril 4-6, 2019Orlando, Florida

2019 Keynote Event

April 5, 2019     8 p.m. (followed by a reception)

Keynote Q&A:  Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Ic þa wiht geseah

heo wæs wrætlice

Wundor wearð on wege

on weg feran

wundrū gegierwed

wæter wearð to bane

I saw the wight

It was splendidly,

The wonder was on the wave;

going on its way.

wonderfully arrayed

water became bone.

— Exeter Book, Riddle #7 (Baum)

PAMLA's Folklore and Mythology session is open to all papers that explore some aspect of ancient or modern folklore or mythology, but we are particularly interested in papers attuned to some facet of the conference theme, "Acting, Roles, Stages."

The 116th Annual PAMLA conference will take place on Friday, November 9, 2018 to Sunday, November 11, 2018, at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.

Please submit your proposal to the PAMLA website, at http://pamla.org/2018/topic-areas

Pleas contact Charles Hoge (at hoge@msudenver.edu) if you have any questions.