Ancient Greece and Rome have had a profound influence on subsequent literature. While our analyses of Classical literature, philosophy, and art often focus on the characters and stories they depict, these works often served as a means to examine the aesthetic process itself. One of the earliest surviving Greek texts, Homer’s Iliad, goes so far as to depict its protagonist Achilles singing of ancient heroes and strumming his lyre as a means of determining the effect of being remembered in epic.

This panel session will explore how ancient art, literature, and philosophy utilize metanarrative and meditate upon the act of creation, and how it serves as a means of examining the creative process in subsequent time periods. Possible approaches include:

· Classical reflections on their own genres and media

· Classical critiques of sources

· Metanarratives in Classical texts

· Classical theories of aesthetics and their influence

· Discussions of contemporaneous art, music, literature, and drama in Classical literature

· The use of Classical sources in subsequent literature as a means of reflection

Please submit a 300 word abstract and 100 word bio by September 30, 2018. You will need to create an user account through the NeMLA account in order to submit an abstract. Contact Claire Sommers (csommers@gc.cuny.edu) with any questions.