An 1830 medal of the Two Sicilies honors Archimedes (3rd century BCE)
Hold onto your hats. The Rutgers Classics Graduate Student Association (GSA) kicks off its ambitious 2012/3 lecture series on Thursday 27 September 2012 at 6 PM in Ruth Adams Building 003. Featured is Professor Courtney Ann Roby of Cornell University, who lectures on “Literary Reflection of Mechanical Technology in the Ancient World.”
Professor Roby’s research interests focus on the literary aspects of scientific and technical texts from the ancient world, the interaction of verbal and visual elements in those texts, and the definition and dissemination of scientific work.
Roby is currently working on a book manuscript based on her Stanford dissertation, which traces the literary techniques used in the textual representation of technological artifacts from Hellenistic Greece to late-ancient Rome.
Some of Professor Roby’s other recent, current, and forthcoming projects? An exploration of Ptolemy’s use of ekphrasis to appeal to the “scientific imagination”; the challenges of describing pain as presented by Galen; the Roman reception of Greek science; and the reworking of mathematical texts by the Roman surveyors.
RU Classics graduate students Scott Barnard and Nicole Freeto organized the event for the Classics GSA. And there’s so much more to come! You can view a list of some forthcoming GSA-sponsored lectures (through April 2013) here.
rutgersclassics.com 