Alain Gowing (Classics)

Sandra Joshel (History)

Margaret Laird (Art History)

UW Week Article

On April 18-19, 2008 a conference on Roman Imperial Art and Culture will bring together leading scholars around a topic that was both central to Roman culture and is an emerging field in the study of the ancient world: ritual. The conference is being coordinated with Seattle Art Museum’s exhibition in the spring on "Roman Art from the Louvre." The exhibition runs from February 21-May 11, 2008.

Ritual permeated every aspect of Roman life from the official state religion to individual dedications and household practices. More importantly, Roman religion was based on actions rather than theological dogma. Rituals were there to be observed, they occurred in a specific place, and they relied on objects for their successful completion. Roman art depicts these rituals and played a part in them.

The conference will be the keystone event of a year-long series of courses on Roman imperial art and culture for both graduate students and undergraduates. There will also be a Wednesday University course and a Teachers as Scholars seminar related to the conference and exhibit.

The conference will serve as a focal point to unite these diverse audiences, provide them with the necessary background to understand the exhibition, and nurture an enthusiasm for Roman art, history, and religion. The organizers anticipate that conference presentations will address topics such as women and gender, the imperial cult, the religious life of slaves and ex-slaves, and art and religion.

Download an E-Flyer (pdf)

Friday, April 18, 2008
Seattle Art Museum - Downtown

6:30 pm
John R. Clarke, "Models for Understanding Visual Representations of Roman Ritual"

This lecture is free, but advance registration is required. To register, contact the SAM Box Office at 206.654.3121 or boxoffice@seattleartmuseum.org.

Please check in at the Admissions Desk before proceeding to the event location. If you have not checked in ten minutes prior to start time, your space may be released to others.

Reception to follow.

Saturday, April 19, 2008
Kane Hall 210, University of Washington

All events at Kane Hall are free and open to the public. No advance registration is required.

10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Mary Beard, "What you see and what you don't: Art, Ritual and Religion in Imperial Rome"

Lauren Hackworth Petersen, "Oh, Mighty Isis! Religion, Politics, and Egyptomania in Ancient Rome"

1:30 – 4:30 pm
Jennifer Trimble, "Portraiture, Interaction and Memory in Roman Military imagery"

Keith Bradley, "Hadrian: Fact and Fiction"

Natalie Boymel Kampen, "Performing, Disrupting and Policing Mourning rituals: the Case of Herodes Atticus"

Reception to follow

Seattle Art Museum
Roman Art from the Louvre
February 21—May 11, 2008

Wednesday University Course
Art and Action in Ancient Rome
Winter Quarter 2008

Teachers as Scholars
The Art of Roman Religion
April 12 & 26, 2008

Sponsored by the Simpson Center for Humanities, Seattle Art Museum, Department of Classics, Department of History, Division of Art History, The Graduate School, and College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington.

John R. Clarke
(Art History, University of Texas, Austin)

Mary Beard
(Classics, Cambridge University)

Lauren Hackworth Petersen
(Art History, University of Delaware)

Jennifer Trimble
(Classics, Stanford University)

Keith Bradley
(Classics, University of Notre Dame)

Natalie Boymel Kampen
(Women Studies and Art History & Archaeology, Columbia University)

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Watertown Hotel. Reserve by March 17 to receive the group rate for this conference.

Phone: 206-826-4242
Toll-Free: 1-866-944-4242