5-Week SASA Continuing Education Reading Group : DiscOdyssey - An Ancient Voyage Through Modern Sounds

Interdisciplinarity comes naturally to classicists. We are inveterately cross-cultural, in that we embrace Greek and Roman in a single field, with range stretching from from early hero cults and Orphic rites to the advent of Christianity. Given the broad scope of our studies, it is no surprise that we are tempted to further expand the horizons of our comparative investigations. Cue Classical Reception, which encompasses a myriad of modern pop culture monuments, from film, television, visual arts, prose, poetry and music.

‘DiscOdyssey’ will examine the ways in which modern artists across a range of genres utilize the classics in their works, and what their usage (and abusage) of this ancient material can say to us about our own experiences and knowledge of the classical world.

Using a variety of ancient sources, we delve into the insights these give us about ancient society, uncovering how core ideas - including kleos, timé, arête, furor, pietas, and other ancient notions about gender, sexuality, and community - can be observed through the prism of modern music.

Through close reading, listening, and viewing of modern songs, we explore how and why these disparate musical genres incorporate and employ classical allusion/tropes/ideals in their music, touching on the extent and intent of this allusiveness. Discussion then turns to how successfully these ancient ideals have been reframed for modern society. Learners will be encouraged to share their own musical proclivities, providing agency, and promoting a practical chance to apply the skills that this course aims to develop.

5-Week Text-In-Translation Reading Group

Fridays at 5 pm Eastern Time   

Start date: June 14th

End date: July 12th

MUST RSVP TO GET THE LINK TO THE GOOGLE CLASSROOM. 

**Please consider supporting SASA to help us create more open access Ancient Studies events and programming. Donate here.**