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Philosophy in Cicero’s Letters

General Programming

Cosponsor
  • Department of Classics
Notes
  • Free and open to the public
  • No registration necessary
  • First come, first seated

Check back soon for schedule details.

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE)—ill-fated statesman during the collapse of the Roman Republic, Latin orator extraordinaire, and the author of a wide-ranging and influential corpus of philosophical writings—is unique among premodern individuals in that we possess large parts of his correspondence and are thus unusually well informed about both the minutiae of his life and the developments of his thought. In recent years and months, scholarly interest has increasingly turned to the philosophical aspects of this correspondence, which contains everything from passing references to philosophical jokes, serious disquisitions, and the author's attempts to apply philosophical precepts to his own and his correspondents' lives.

The one-day symposium, "Philosophy in Cicero's Letters" aims to capture this moment in the fast-developing scholarship on Cicero, ancient philosophy, and intellectual history.

Four scholars who are right now working on some aspects of the topic will be presenting papers: Margaret Graver (Dartmouth), Nathan Gilbert (University of Toronto), Katharina Volk (Columbia), and Raphael Woolf (King's College London. These speakers will be paired with responses from four established specialists on Cicero, ancient philosophy, and late Republican culture: Yelena Baraz (Princeton), Brad Inwood (Yale), Wolfgang Mann (Columbia), and James Zetzel (Columbia).

Program

time10:30am - 10:40am EDT

Welcome

time10:40am - 11:40am EDT

"The Dregs of Romulus"
Speaker

Margaret Graver

Aaron Lawrence Professor in Classics

Dartmouth College

Respondent

Brad Inwood

Professor of Classics and Philosophy

Yale University

Chair

Gareth Williams

Violin Family Professor of Classics

Columbia University

time12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT

"Philosophy and Death in Cicero's Letters to Atticus"
Speaker

Raphael Woolf

Reader in Philosophy

King's College London

Respondent

Wolfgang Mann

Professor

Columbia University

Chair

Gareth Williams

Violin Family Professor of Classics

Columbia University

time1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT

Lunch Break

time2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

"Pompeian Group Therapy in Cicero's Letters (47-45 BCE)"
Speaker

Katharina Volk

Professor of Classics

Columbia University

Respondent

Yelena Baraz

Assistant Professor of Classics

Princeton University

Chair

Dan-el Padilla Peralta

Assistant Professor in Classics

Princeton University

time3:50pm - 4:50pm EDT

"Cicero the Philosopher at Work: The Genesis and Execution of De Officiis III"
Speaker

Nathan Gilbert

Junior Research Fellow in the Department of Classics and Ancient History

Durham University

Respondent

James Zetzel

Anthon Professor of the Latin Language and Literature, Department of Classics

Columbia University

Chair

Dan-el Padilla Peralta

Assistant Professor in Classics

Princeton University

time4:50pm - 5:15pm EDT

Final Discussion (followed immediately by Reception)
Participants
  • Yelena Baraz Assistant Professor of Classic Princeton University
  • Nathan Gilbert Junior Research Fellow in the Department of Classics and Ancient History Durham University
  • Margaret Graver Aaron Lawrence Professor in Classics Dartmouth College
  • Brad Inwood Professor of Classics and Philosophy Yale University
  • Wolfgang Mann Professor Columbia University
  • Dan-el Padilla Peralta Assistant Professor in Classics Princeton University
  • Katharina Volk Professor of Classics Columbia University
  • Gareth Williams Violin Family Professor of Classics Columbia University
  • Raphael Woolf Reader in Philosophy King's College London
  • James Zetzel Anthon Professor of the Latin Language and Literature, Department of Classics Columbia University