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<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><b>Announcing a CMRS Ahmanson
Conference<br>
</b> <br>
<b>“Writing Down the Myths: The Construction of Mythology in Classical
& Medieval Traditions”<br>
<br>
April 16 – April 18, 2009, at UCLA<br>
</b> <br>
Contemporary scholarly definitions of and approaches to myth, though
influenced by the fieldwork and findings of anthropologists and
folklorists working with living oral traditions over the last hundred
years, are still grounded in venerable literary classics that purport to
sum up ancient traditional stories about gods and goddesses, heroes and
heroines, primal events, and the beginnings of the world. Such texts,
which assemble related narratives into “mythologies,” become canonical
formulations that can function as sources, templates, and inspirations
for other literary and scholarly works, both within their own
literary-historical contexts and beyond them. There are cases, however,
where these codified mythologies serve as epitaphs, seemingly marking the
end of particular (oral) traditions instead of their (literary) revival.
<br>
<br>
This conference will examine the various factors (literary, cultural,
political) that led to the production of mythological compendia in the
Classical and Late- Antique world, and the extent to which the agenda
that produced parallel works in certain medieval cultures of northwest
Europe (Ireland, Wales, Iceland) operated along similar or even
historically related lines. Presentations and discussions will focus on
the cultural and literary contexts behind the “mythographic urge” in
Classical Greek and Latin literature, as well as in Western European
traditions of the Middle Ages (particularly Celtic and Norse), and on the
possible historical links and typological parallels among works such as
Apollodorus’s <i>Library</i>, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Snorri Sturluson’s
<i>Edda</i>, the Irish <i>Battle of Mag Tuired</i>, and the Welsh <i>Four
Branches of the Mabinogi</i>. Some of the questions to be considered are:
What was the transmission history of pre-medieval mythographic works in
the Middle Ages, and to what extent and to whom were they available as
models to the post-Classical world? How “authentic” are ancient and
medieval mythographies, and how do we determine that authenticity? To
what uses were they put? Are they attempts to negotiate received or
developing concepts of history, or are they formulations of an
anti-historical poetic? And what are the differences in function,
approach, and subtext between these pre-modern “write-ups” of myth and
modern learned and popular handbooks of mythology? Mythographic issues in
other cultures will also be considered <br>
<br>
Organized by UCLA Professors Joseph F. Nagy (English) and Kendra Willson
(Scandinavian), and UCLA graduate students Malcolm Harris (English), Eric
Kristensson (Scandinavian), Katherine McLoone (Comparative Literature),
and Anna Pagé (Indo-European Studies). <br>
<br>
<b>Thursday, April 16, 2009, Royce Hall 314 <br>
</b> <br>
5:00 Opening Reception on the Royce 306 loggia<br>
<br>
6:00 Welcoming Remarks, <br>
Brian P. Copenhaver (UCLA), Director, Center for Medieval &
Renaissance Studies <br>
Joseph F. Nagy (UCLA) and Kendra Willson (UCLA), Conference Organizers
<br>
<br>
6:15 UCLA Sounds Presents “Lamento d’Arianna “ (Rinuccini/Monteverdi)
<br>
<br>
6:45 William Hansen (Indiana University), “Packaging Greek Mythology”
<br>
<br>
8:00 “Mythic Film” Presentation <br>
<br>
<b> <br>
Friday, April 17, 2009, Royce Hall 314 <br>
</b> <br>
8:30 Coffee, pastries <br>
<br>
9:00 Richard Martin (Stanford University), “There was a Myth before the
Myth Began” <br>
<br>
10:00 Break <br>
<br>
10:15 Rahim Shayegan (UCLA), “The Evil Brothers in Iranian History and
Epic Tradition” <br>
<br>
10:45 Darcy Krasne (University of California, Berkeley), “Starving the
Slender Muse: The Curse of Pedantry in Ovid’s ‘Ibis’”<br>
<br>
11:15 Craig Melchert (UCLA), “Motivations for Hittite Mythological Texts”
<br>
<br>
12:00 Lunch break <br>
<br>
1:30 Jan Ziolkowski (Harvard University) “Latin Mythology as Death and
Resurrection of Myth” <br>
<br>
2:30 Break <br>
<br>
2:45 William Bodiford (UCLA), “Myths and Counter Myths in Early Modern
Japan” <br>
<br>
3:15 Stephanie Jamison (UCLA) “India and the Graphy o’ Myth” <br>
<br>
3:45 Kathryn Morgan (UCLA) “Saving the Myth: Atlantis and the
Philosophies of Preservation” <br>
<br>
4:15 Break <br>
<br>
4:30 Discussion, featuring speakers, with conference organizers Malcolm
Harris (UCLA) and Elizabeth Thornton (UCLA) <br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Saturday, April 18, 2009, Royce Hall 314 <br>
</b> <br>
8:30 Coffee, pastries <br>
<br>
9:00 Sioned Davies (Cardiff University), “‘Venerable relics’? Revisiting
the Mabinogi” <br>
<br>
10:00 Break <br>
<br>
10:15 Kimberly Ball (University of California, Irvine), “The Metamyth of
Supernatural Vessels” <br>
<br>
10:45 Katherine McLoone (UCLA), “Myth and Geoffrey of Monmouth” <br>
<br>
11:15 Break <br>
<br>
11:30 Bernhard Maier (University of Tübingen), “Dead Men Don’t Wear
Plaid: Celtic Myth and Christian Creed in Mediaeval Irish Concepts of the
Afterlife” <br>
<br>
12:30 Lunch break <br>
<br>
1:30 Margaret Clunies Ross (Sydney University), “Snorri Sturluson and
Norse Mythology” <br>
<br>
2:30 Break <br>
<br>
2:45 Gísli Sigurðsson (University of Iceland), “Thor and Midgard Serpent.
Whom Should We Read: Snorri or Finnur?” <br>
<br>
3:30 John Lindow (University of California, Berkeley), “Some Thoughts on
the Mythography of Saxo Grammaticus” <br>
<br>
4:15 Break <br>
<br>
4:30 Discussion, featuring speakers, with conference organizers Eric
Kristensson (UCLA) and Anna Pagé (UCLA) <br>
<br>
This conference was made possible by the generous support of <br>
The Ahmanson Foundation <br>
The UCLA Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies <br>
The UCLA Vice Chancellor for Research <br>
The Humanities Division of the UCLA College of Letters & Science<br>
<br>
Registration Advance registration is not required. No admission fee.
Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served
basis. Parking Campus parking permits may be purchased for $9 each
day from any UCLA Parking Services kiosk. For more information, contact
<a href="mailto:cmrs@humnet.ucla.edu">cmrs@humnet.ucla.edu</a> or call
310-825-1880<br>
<br>
<a name="OLE_LINK2"></a>* * * * * * * * * * * *<br>
<br>
Note: You have received this announcement because you are affiliated with
the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (faculty member,
associate/affiliate, staff, or council), or because you requested to be
on our email announcement list. If you wish to be removed from the
list, please contact us at
<a href="mailto:cmrs@humnet.ucla.edu">cmrs@humnet.ucla.edu</a>.<br>
<br>
<br>
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