This year’s MMLA Animals in Literature and Film panel invites papers engaging in tensions of “human” and “animal” found within a variety of ancient textualities related to the broad field of animal studies. In ancient Greek and Roman society, animals serve important roles, often as a medium in religion, as symbolic function in Greco-Roman mythology, and as poetic symbol in ancient oral tradition and later written literature. Often, animals are given titular roles, and they carry strong symbolic function in the narrative, whether the narrative is oral, written, or artistic. This panel will examine especially the role of animals in their various relationships with human beings and the gods in oral and written mythology and other Greco-Roman narratives, including oral storytelling/song, written literature, and artistic representations.  This panel seeks papers that engage a wide range of perspectives on animals in diverse ancient Greco-Roman “texts”; to that end, we seek papers analyzing all types of texts, broadly understood, from mythological sources and artistic representations to drama and other classical literature, as well as film adaptations of classical works. Papers might consider ancient representations of animals in Greco-Roman myth or mythic transformations; changing attitudes to animals in Greek or Roman foundation tales; representations of humans juxtaposed with animals in Greco-Roman mythology, folktales, or other; cinematic representations of animality in Greco-Roman film adaptations; reception of animals in Greco-Roman literature; “classical animals,” or animal representations in ancient sculpture or other art forms; social and/or cultural issues in animal and human representation in Greco-Roman society; or any other conceptual studies that trouble the hierarchy of animality in ancient culture.

Submit 200-300 word abstracts and a brief bio to mmodarelli@walsh.edu by April 14.