CFP: Modernity and the Shock of the Ancient


Edwardian scholars may be interested in the following CFP:

Modernity and the Shock of the Ancient:
The Reception of Antiquity in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century
June 10th, 2016, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.




We are pleased to be hosting three invited speakers, Prof. Sarah Iles Johnston (Ohio State University), Prof. Richard B. Parkinson (University of Oxford), and Prof. Fritz Graf (Ohio State University). The day will include a guided tour of relevant museum collections led by Dr. Paul Collins (Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford). The conference will promote genuine interdisciplinary exchange, to which end panels will be followed by a lengthy discussion period. Papers might explore such questions as:

  • In what ways was the past reappropriated and reimagined, and ‘ancient’ used to signal ‘newness’?
  • How did discovery and decipherment enable ‘new’ pasts and how did this transform historical narratives, of the self and/or the other?
  • Did the past become more accessible or more alien in this period?
  • What did narratives of ‘modern progress’ owe to scientific, technological, and political power? How is this demonstrated in the uncovering of ancient objects and decipherment of texts?
  • How did museums narrate the journey from ancient to modern?
  • How do interpretations of the ancient in these periods continue to inform our experiences of historical narrative, political projects, and cultural institutions today?

We welcome abstracts on these or related themes from postgraduates and early career researchers across

humanities disciplines, including literature, classics, art history, oriental studies, and anthropology. Please send abstracts of up to 300 words, for papers of 15­20 minutes, along with CV to Friday, April 8th.​ For more information see our website​ or visit us on facebook at

Eva Miller (DPhil, Assyriology; Wolfson College, Oxford)

Sarah Green (DPhil, English; Merton College, Oxford)


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