“Optanda erat oblivio” Selection and Loss in Ancient and Medieval Literature, University of Bari, December 20–21, 2018

Prolepsis Association is delighted to announce its third international postgraduate conference whose theme will be the mechanisms of selection and loss in ancient and Medieval literary and historical texts. “Optanda erat oblivio” Seneca writes in benef. 5. 25. 2, referring to Tiberius’ wish for forgetfulness. We would like to use this quotation as a starting point for a discussion on the vast number of issues related to memory and oblivion in ancient and Medieval texts. This year the conference will be particularly keen on – but not limited to – the following topics:

• Palimpsests.
• Virtual palimpsests (intertextuality, texts survived in translations, paraphrases and quotations).
• Material losses in the manuscript tradition.
• Selection criteria.
• Places of loss and finding.
• Damnatio memoriae.
• Fragmentary literature.
• Lost known texts.
• Book circulation (destiny of books).
• Found unknown texts.
• Found known texts.
• Texts survived through pseudo-epigraphy.
• Ancient witnesses of selection and loss.

The participation in the conference as speaker is open to postgraduate students and early career researchers.