Roman Army School 2013

Details of the programme for the Hadrianic Society Roman Army School 2013 are available here. It will be held at St Chad's College, Durham from 23 - 27 March. I will be speaking on the political role of legionary centurions.

Odysseus in America Documentary

The most popular series of articles on this blog have concerned the debate around the occurence of PTSD among veterans in the ancient world, which can be viewed here and here. Two of the most groundbreaking scholarly works on this theme are Jonathan Shay's 'Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character' and 'Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming'. Both books use the Homeric texts to understand the ordeal which soldiers face both during and after combat.

 

A documentary based on 'Odysseus in America' is currently under production. The website for the documentary film can be viewed here. The trailers are particularly moving, including one which directly uses quotes from Homer. These can be viewed here.

 

Consultation on Museum Funding Cuts

A consultation is currently being held on proposed funding cuts to museums in Tyne and Wear. These proposals include slashing funding for the Great North Museum in Newcastle by 100%. Readers of this blog will be aware that the Great North Museum houses one of the premier collections of Roman artefacts and inscriptions from Hadrian's Wall and the surrounding area. It also plays a crucial role in educating visitors about the Roman heritage of the region.

Details of the consultation here:

'There is a proposed reduction of 50% in Newcastle funding over the next three years to Discovery Museum, the Laing Art Gallery and Tyne & Wear Archives. There is a proposed reduction of 100% in Newcastle funding to the Great North Museum: Hancock and Hatton Gallery over the next two years. If implemented these reductions in funding will mean changes to the service that we can offer including reductions in opening hours at Discovery Museum and the Laing Art Gallery, reductions in learning and community programmes and charging for some services, although we are not planning to introduce charges for entry to the museums and galleries to see core collections and displays.

You can have your say on the proposals by emailing letstalk(at)newcastle.gov.uk by 1 February 2013.'

Call for Papers: Ancient Warfare Workshop

Via the Classicist email list, news of a workshop on ancient warfare to be held in September 2013 which may be of interest for readers of this blog:

Call For Papers: Ancient Warfare Workshop

This workshop is jointly supported by Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, and the University of Wales: Trinity Saint David. It will be held from the 18th of September to the 20th of September 2013, at Aberystwyth University.

Workshop Organsier: Geoff Lee (University of Wales : Trinity Saint David).

The workshop is aimed equally at postgraduate students, early career researchers and established academics.The intent is to facilitate a multi-disciplinary workshop and therefore researchers from any relevant discipline are encouraged to participate.

Papers on any aspect of Ancient Warfare are sought. These will be of thirty minutes duration with fifteen minutes for comments/questions.

The proceedings from the workshop will be published.

The deadline for submission of abstracts, which should be of c. 300 words, is February 28th 2013.

All participants will be required to pay the workshop fee which is £10:00 for current students and £15:00 for other participants.

Aberystwyth is easily accessible by rail.

Postgraduate students needing help with their travel costs are encouraged to apply to the Thomas Wiedemann Memorial Fund (http://www.thomaswiedemann.org.uk/).

Accomodation and meals will not be arranged for the workshop. However, as Aberystwyth is a popular seaside holiday resort there is an abundance of accomodation available. There are also several good places to eat within easy walking distance of the campus.

To submit an abstract or for more information please contact the workshop organiser at: geofflee101(at) yahoo.co.uk