Williamstown – Antonios Augoustakis, assistant professor of Classics at Baylor University, will deliver a lecture "Mother as Makers of Same and Other in Flavian Epic," Tuesday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Stetson Faculty Lounge. The event is free and open to the public.
In his presentation, Augoustakis will re-examine the fundamental aim of epic poetry in the late first century C.E., and argue that women come to the foreground of action simultaneously as heroines and readers.
To propagate the male ideology of the Roman Empire, Flavian poets promote the ideals of the glorious Roman past or underscore the failure of mythical heroines as mothers and wives. Despite this fact, the old male ideology is simultaneously destabilized as women assume a key role in securing and promoting their sons' prosperous future.
Augoustakis is associate director of the Baylor in Italy program. He received his B.A. from the University of Crete, Greece, and this Ph.D. in Classics from Brown University.
He is currently working on a monograph on the role of women in Latin epic poetry of the first century C.E. (Silius Italicus' Punica and Statius' Thebaid) for Oxford University Press, titled "Motherhood and the Other: Fashioning Female Power in Flavian Epic."
He is the author of articles on Silius Italicus, Statius, and Pliny the Younger. His research interests include Roman historiography (Pliny and Tacitus), late Latin poetry and historiography (Claudian, Corippus, Ammianus Marcellinus), and Renaissance Latin poetry (Petrarch, Poliziano, Vegio).
The event is sponsored by the Williams College classics department.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Air Quality Alert Issued for Berkshire County
Staff reports
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The state's on an air quality alert through midnight Thursday because of the smoke from wildfires in Canada.
Berkshire residents woke up to smoky, hazy skies and a red glowing sun on Wednesday morning, but with less oppressive heat.
The Department of Environmental Protection issued an air quality alert for elevated levels of fine particles (PM2.5). This refers to microscopic airborne particles measuring 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter — about 30 times smaller than a human hair. These particles come in many sizes and shapes and can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the size of these particles can cause serious health problems because they can get deep into your lungs and even into bloodstreams. Particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter pose the greatest risk to health.
The air quality statewide is expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups. These include people with heart or lung disease such as asthma, older adults, children, teenagers, and people who are active outdoors. People with either lung disease or heart disease are at greater risk from exposure to air pollution.
MassDEP advises people in sensitive groups to reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion, take more breaks, do less intense activities, follow asthma action plans, and keep quick relief medicine handy. Watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath.
EPA's air quality index rates levels from "good" at 0-50 and "very unhealthy" from 201 to 300. Residents of Williamstown can track the AQI through PurpleAir, which displays results from monitors in five sections of town.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more