Classics in Extremis : The Edges of Classical Reception
Author(s):
Classics in Extremis reimagines classical reception. Its contributors explore some of the most remarkable, hard-fought and unsettling claims ever made on the ancient world: from the coal-mines of England to the paradoxes of Borges, from Victorian sexuality to the trenches of the First World War, from American public-school classrooms to contemporary right-wing politics. How does the reception of the ancient world change under impossible strain?
Its protagonists are 'marginal' figures who resisted that definition in the strongest terms. Contributors argue for a decentered model of classical reception: where the 'marginal' shapes the 'central' as much as vice versa – and where the most unlikely appropriations of antiquity often have the greatest impact. What kind of distortions does the model of 'centre' and 'margins' produce? How can 'marginal' receptions be recovered most effectively?
Bringing together some of the leading scholars in the field, Classics in Extremis moves beyond individual case studies to develop fresh methodologies and perspectives on the study of classical reception.
Review(s):
“This volume has been thought-provoking … As the contributors wanted to, they have enlivened “marginal” voices upon whose winged-words were the Greeks and Romans. The range of these voices is proof that “Classics” has never truly been the exclusive realm of the elite male, despite attempts by the latter to make it so. There is no doubt that a wealth of knowledge about the ancient world can be found within this untapped well of thought … Classics in Extremis is an excellent and timely addition to the contemporary scholarly zeitgeist.” - Ancient World Magazine
ISBN: 9781350017252