Classical reception, the study of different encounters with the texts, material culture, and ideas of Greco-Roman antiquity in later periods, has been an important development in Classical Studies over the past three decades, bringing it into dialogue with other traditions and other fields, including medieval and early modern studies and comparative literature, philosophy and political theory, translation studies and history of the book, film and media studies, history of art and architecture, cultural and postcolonial studies, performance studies, and race, gender and sexuality studies.
The University of Michigan has played a leading role in the development of research and teaching in classical reception studies, as reflected in activities sponsored by Contexts for Classics (CfC), a consortium that for more than twenty years has brought together faculty and students from the Department of Classical Studies, the Modern Greek Program, the Interdepartmental Program in Ancient History, the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Art and Architecture, the Department of Comparative Literature, Medieval and Early Modern Studies, and Mediterranean Studies, among others.
The Certificate in Classical Reception Studies seeks to take full advantage of our university’s institutional resources for interdisciplinary scholarship, inviting master’s and doctoral students from a wide variety of disciplines to enrich their analytical skills, broaden their professional development, and pursue public-facing work related to classical reception.
Interested students should direct inquiries to the Certificate Advisor, Professor Ian Fielding (fieldian@umich.edu).
