STARR seminars: Spring 2026
The St Andrews Reception Research group will meet weekly for a series of work-in-progress seminars. Each seminar will focus on an aspect of classical reception. Everyone is welcome to attend.
- When: 6pm on Thursdays, unless otherwise stated.
- In person: room S11 Swallowgate, School of Classics, St Andrews.
- Online: via Microsoft Teams.
Please email Anna Coopey, [email protected], to get the Teams meeting link.
Schedule
Lynaea Pace (St Andrews):
“Queerly Something’s Changed: Reimaginings of Dionysus Through Modern Psycho-Social and Queer Theory”
Dionysus is one of the few gods of the Greek pantheon that has taken on a life beyond classical academics, emerging as a figure in modern theory as the embodiment of the “other”. This talk follows Dionysus’ transformation from late-nineteenth century psycho-social theory to contemporary queer theory, examining his association with repression and its evolution as cultural ideals shifted. The works of Nietzsche and Freud position Dionysus as the unruly element of the human psyche, posing it as both necessary and threatening within patriarchal social structures. Using the works of queer theorists Judith Butler, Nicholas Literski and Natalia Theodoridou, Lynaea examines Dionysus’ role as a figure in queer theory, representing gender and sexuality that fall outside the binary. Interpreting both classical and modern conceptions of Dionysus, Lynaea follows his associations with gender and sexuality, exemplifying why his image is used to embody queer ideology. Modern ideas of Dionysus are examined through two pieces of performance art – Dionysus in ’69 and Bacchae Before – both offering a queer interpretation of Euripides’ Bacchae. Dionysus in ’69 is used to explore queer sexuality, while Bacchae Before exemplifies queer ideas of gender, both working to reject traditional frameworks.
5 February
Emily Bedford (St Andrews):
“The Eternal Slave: Receptions of Robots in the Age of AI”
The ethics behind the possible uses of AI in academia is a heated debate, one that this paper aims to address through a reception-based discussion. Starting in the classical world with an analysis of the role of robots as “Eternal Slaves”, this framework of exploitation is extended into early 20th century literature through the case studies of Capek’s Rossum’s Universal Robots and Asimov’s Caves of Steel / The Naked Sun. Asimov’s conceptualisation of a “Frankenstein Complex”, and the fears of technological development expressed in his works will be extended to current discussions in classics, through an analysis of the responses to the emerging study of “Digital Classics”. While the paper itself ends here, there will also be an interactive task-based discussion where we will be challenged to identify an AI translation of lines of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, from a set of anonymous submissions.
Part reception, part pedagogical analysis, the purpose of this session is to open up discussion about if, and how, AI can be integrated into the delivery of Classics curriculums.
12 February
Clara Leonora Burbank (Erlangen-Nurnberg):
“Actually Romantic: The Topos of Love in Byron’s Don Juan in Comparison with the Classical Epics”
Written from 1819 until Byron’s death in 1824, Don Juan is an epic full of allusions to classical mythology and history that draws many parallels with the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid. This paper looks at the themes of love and death, as well as love and power, in different scenes of Don Juan and the classical epics, exploring the narrative structures which they have in common. The episodes of Haidee, Gulbeyaz, and Catherine (Don Juan), Dido (Aeneid), and Calypso and Circe (Odyssey) will be analysed from a feminist perspective, looking at motifs of cross-dressing, the Liebestod, the “mad woman”, and the femme fatale. This paper aims to reveal not only the parallels between the epics, but also the surprising ways in which traditional gender roles are played with, while it also considers which (sometimes misogynistic) structures persisted from antiquity to the Romantic era.
19 February
Raven Jane Adilene (St Andrews):
“Lesbian and Juventius: From Romanticised Ancient Muse to Blasè Contemporary Ex-Lover”
Gaius Valerius Catullus is a name synonymous with obscenity, extravagance, and emotional intensity. The notorious scandals surrounding his poems, from his involvement with a married woman to his unapologetic bisexuality, are perhaps more widely speculated on than the poems themselves, and his relationships have a long tradition of being twisted and tangled in pseudo-biographies. While it is indisputable that his range as a poet extends beyond far more than love elegy, this paper adds to existing scholarship on Catullus’ love poems to Lesbia and Juventius, focusing on interpretations both old and new. It will examine the poetic persona which Catullus adopts and its direct opposition to the persona of “the muse” which he inadvertently forces upon his lovers. The grandiosity and dramatic tension of Catullus’ ancient poems is starkly juxtaposed with modern poets’ interpretations and “replies”, which affect an uninterested, nonchalant attitude towards Catullus’ advances. This paper will ultimately argue that the original poems speak to a wider dismissal of women and queer people in the Roman literary canon which has manifested in a contemporary Lesbia and Juventius who return to the page with a vengeance.
26 February
Christopher Anaforian (St Andrews), Emily Strba (Edinburgh):
“Matrilineality, Materialism, and Minoans: The Radical Use of Bronze Age Crete in Feminist-Communist Discourse”
In October 1975, a group of women in central London met to discuss women’s continual oppression in the economic, social, sexual, and political spheres but above all questioned why women continued to believe in myths that secured their own oppression. They were brought together by a call to form a collective to examine the basis for patriarchal assumptions and to look beyond existing patriarchy to the original matriarchies, to observe the growth of these ideas and see how far they are inherent in human nature. The Matriarchy Study Group combined their independent research on historical societies with their radical feminism and Marxism.
While much of the past research on Second Wave Feminism and their radical use of history focuses on the Goddess Movement, this paper focuses on the MSG’s appropriation of the longest lasting and hotly contested matrilineal society in the Minoans. The MSG was deeply influenced by anthropologists like the nineteenth-century Lewis Henry Morgan, Swiss Johann Jakob Bachofen, and German Friedrich Engels as well as more contemporary ones such as Evelyn Reed, alongside historians and archaeologists such as Sir Arthur Evans, V. Gordon Childe, Jacquetta Hawkes, and Ronald Willetts.
This paper looks at the MSG’s radical combination of Minoan archaeology and historical materialism throughout their published work, Goddess Shrew (1977), Menstrual Taboos (1977), Inevitability of Matriarchy (1977), and Politics of Matriarchy (1979). It analyses how the MSG uses Minoan imagery, history, and society as an example to help modern women answer questions about the rise of the present patriarchal social structures and how women’s liberation can be achieved by a revolution in the realms of production and reproduction.
12 March
Thomas Phillips (St Andrews):
“A Long Time Ago and Far Far Away: A STARR Wars Story”
Classics in popular culture is an area of controversy and academic comment. This presentation seeks to use popular media to establish a baseline of how the Late Republic is utilised in popular culture. The Star Wars Prequel films will then be used as a case study as the film share surprising overlap given Lucas’ lack of classical education. Following a comparison between the Late Republic and the Prequels, there will be discussion of the issues with this interpretation and how academics have tried to merge popular culture and classics. Moving beyond Star Wars to other potential comparisons will illuminate the intellectual transmission mechanism that is the cause of this. This will also highlight the varied influences in pop culture like Star Wars, demonstrating broader issues with classical reception and the issue of relevance for our work in these areas.
This presentation seeks to open a conversation on classical reception and pop culture. Primarily, it will attempt to understand the fascination with the Late Republic in pop culture and how this manifests itself. It will also address the invisible influences classics has while strongly warning against over-reaching in classical reception and advocating for more introspection within the discipline.
19 March
Charlotte Glynn (St Andrews):
“‘Rubbish… It’s Just A Story About Rabbits: Anthropomorphic Compromises, Mythmaking and Storytelling in Richard Adams’ Watership Down“
26 March
Brady Thomson (St Andrews):
“‘Reproduction and Birth in Beauty’: Platonic Philosophy in Romantic Poetry”
2 April
Toni Andres (St Andrews): “Courting Classical Education: The Not-So-Secret Economies of Dark Academia”
Originally posted on ” St Andrews Classics“, the School of Classics blog.
[Last updated: 9 March 2026]