British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Ancient Greek Myth and Modern Conflict in World Fiction since 1989

9.30am - 4.30pm, Thursday, 5 July and
9.30am - 6.00pm, Friday, 6 July 2012

Venue: The British Academy 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH

This unprecedented conference will bring together a global team of practising novelists and scholars to discuss the importance of ancient Greek myths in the recent fictional narration of war. Novels from every continent will be discussed, including works by Maori, Chinese, African, Brazilian and Japanese authors. The conference will ask whether it is the very difficulties involved in addressing large-scale trauma that have elicited this new ‘mythical turn’ in the medium; it will also explore the tensions involved in the use of canonical ancient Greek texts central to the western ‘colonial’ curriculum in selfconsciously anticolonial and postcolonial writing.

Convenor:
Professor Edith Hall, King's College London, Classics

Please note that there is a fee for this event:
£50 Standard fee
£25 Discounted rate for students, unemployed and retired delegates.

Places are limited and registration is essential. Please click here to register.  A copy of the provisional programme can be downloaded here:

Performance Event: Ancient Myth and the Modern Novel

 5.00pm - 7.30pm, followed by a reception

Thursday, 5 July 2012

Venue: The British Academy 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH

This public event , chaired by Edith Hall, features talks by Tom Holland, a prominent author of both history and fiction, including Persian Fire, Rubicon and Sleeper in the Sand. He is also the presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Making History. The other speakers include the Chinese writer Yan Lianke, author of Dream of Ding Village and the Serbian Aleksandar Gatalica, whose Death of Euripides addresses the tragic 20th-century history of eastern Europe.

The professional performance ensemble Live Canon and Friends will then deliver selected highlights from novels by writers from all over the worldwho have used ancient Greek myths in witnessing modern history, including Salman Rushdie, Jonathan Littell, and Elizabeth Cook.

Attendance to the performance event only is free but places are strictly limited and registration is essential. To register please click here.   Please note that attendees for the conference must register separately for the evening event.