Pacific Rim Roman Literature Seminar 34

Name: Pacific Rim Roman Literature Seminar 34
Start: 2026-07-21T09:00:00+10:00
End: 2026-07-22T09:30:00+10:00
Location: Woodward Conference Centre

About

This is an annual seminar that brings together scholars on the "Pacific Rim" (Australia, New Zealand, and the west coast of the USA & Canada) to meet in person and share their expertise on Roman literature. 2026's Pac Rim is the 34th such seminar and takes place in Melbourne on 21–22 July, 2026. This year's theme is "Tragedy".

TUESDAY 21 July
9:30 am – Opening remarks
9:45–10:45 am: KEYNOTE: Tony Boyle (University of Southern California, KEYNOTE), “Ennian Tragedy: Ten Propositions”
10:45–11:15 Morning Tea
11:15–12:00: • Bob Cowan (University of Sydney), “Not Hector but Hector’s body: identity, anagnorisis, and gender in Pacuvius and Accius”
12:00–12:45 pm: • Andrew Turner (University of Melbourne), “Livy and Nicholas Trevet’s Lucretia”
12:45–2:00 Lunch
2:00–2:45 pm: • K.O. Chong-Gossard (University of Melbourne), “Trevet’s Oedipus: reading Seneca through Nicholas Trevet”
2:45–3:30 pm: • Michael Hanaghan (Australian Catholic University), “Virgil’s Camilla as an anti-Medea”
3:30–4:00 Afternoon Tea
4:00–4:45 pm: • Monique Webber (Melbourne Girls Grammar), “Seneca and spolia: Counter-Reformation Reception of Roman Tragedy”

WEDNESDAY 22 July
9:30–10:30 am: • Marcus Wilson (University of Auckland), “Tragic and Anti-Tragic in Seneca’s De Providentia”
10:30–11:00 Morning Tea
11:00–11:45 am: • Blake Wassell (Trinity College Theological School in Melbourne), “Euripides in Seneca and Josephus”
11:45–12:30 pm: Paul Roche (University of Sydney), “Cicero’s tragic epistolarity: fragments in the correspondence”
12:30–1:45 Lunch
1:45–2:30 pm: • Andrew Benjamin (University of Melbourne), “suasit amor facinus’: Scylla and the Economy of Love. Metamorphoses Book VIII. 1-150″
2:30–3:15 pm: • Peter Davis (Adelaide University), “Laodamia in Heroides 13: from Greek tragedy to Roman elegy”
3:15–3:45 Afternoon Tea
3:45–4:30 pm: • Jacque Clarke (Adelaide University), “Ovid’s Nurses: Shifting Genres from Tragedy to the Heroides”
4:30 pm – Closing Remarks

All persons with an interest in hearing about ancient Roman literature are welcome to purchase a ticket and attend! A "complete seminar" ticket can be bought to attend both days, or you can buy a single-day ticket if you want to come for only one day. Please email [pacrimlatin2026@gmail.com] if you want to know which papers will be delivered on which day.

Tickets include morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea at the Woodward Conference Centre. If you have dietary requirements (e.g. gluten free, vegetarian, vegan), please email pacrimlatin2026@gmail.com after you purchase your ticket.

A concession rate is available for members of the Classical Association of Victoria, students (including postgraduates), seniors, retirees, and the unwaged.

This event is sponsored by the Classical Association of Victoria, and the University of Melbourne's Classics Trust Fund.