Call for Papers: Flavian Campania, An International Conference in Italy (Naples / Santa Maria Capua Vetere), September 17-20, 2015. Organisers: Antony Augoustakis (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Claudio Buongiovanni (Università degli Studi di Napoli, Federico II), Joy Littlewood (Independent Scholar, Oxford), Arianna Sacerdoti (Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli)
Campania occupies a prominent role in the literature of the Flavian period, as an area well-known for its fertility, spectacular villas, but also as a place of poetic activity (Statius and Silius Italicus in particular). Statius and Martial celebrate Campania in the Silvae and the Epigrams respectively, while the area is featured also in the epic poems of the period (e.g., Valerius Flaccus’ description of Vesuvius’ eruption), especially in the Punica, as the place where Hannibal spends considerable time during the Second Punic War (Liternum, Capua, Campi Phlegraei).
The International Conference Flavian Campania seeks proposals by researchers in the Flavian period (Greek and Latin authors) who will discuss these literary representations and perspectives of Campania in a variety of authors and genres (epic, lyric poetry, epigram, historiography, natural history, geography, ethnography). Publication of the proceedings is anticipated.
Titles of papers (20-30 min.) with abstracts of about 300 words should be submitted by November 15th, 2014, to Antony Augoustakis (aaugoust@illinois.edu). Participants will be notified by January 31st, 2015. The conference registration fee of €300 will cover the accommodation (from Wednesday, September 17th to Sunday morning, September 21st), as well as lunches, dinners, and coffee breaks. An excursion is being planned for Saturday, September 20th, 2015, to a variety of Campanian sites.
Please feel free to contact the organisers with any questions or requests.”