Edith Hall and Arlene Holmes-Henderson are delighted to share further details of the ‘Teaching Philosophy and Antiquity in Prisons’ international conference at Durham University on 5th-6th March 2026.
There is no fee to attend this conference, thanks to funding from Durham University. Hybrid attendance is possible. Please email arlene.v.holmes-henderson@durham.ac.uk by Monday 2nd March to request the link.
Thursday 5th March
9.30-9.45am Arrival and registration
9.45-10am Welcome from Edith Hall and Arlene Holmes-Henderson
Session 1: Drama and Performance
10-10.45am Michael Beer, Exeter University/Open University Antigone and the Island: teaching Greek tragedy within the prison system 10.45-11.30am Zina Giannopoulou, California State University, Irvine (online) Race Meets Gender in prisons: subjectivities and performative politics in Fugard, Kani and Ntshona’s The Island
11.30am Refreshment break
12-12.45pm Aikaterini Papageorgiou, The Young Quill Theatre Company Ancient Drama in prison theatre: voice, agency and collective identity at Korydallos Prison
12.45-2.15pm Lunch break
Session 2:
Museums and Material culture
2.15-3pm Alison Hadfield (St Andrews), Leah Neiman (Brown University) and Rebecca Sweetman (British School at Athens) Archaeology on the inside: workshops for wellbeing in prisons 3-3.45pm Kirsten Day (Augustana College) (online)
Inside/Out: a conversation between traditional and incarcerated students
3.45-4pm Refreshment break
4-4.45pm Artemi Papandritsa, Centre for Hellenic Studies in Greece Museum tours for inmates: the ancient Greek encounters 5-6pm MM McCabe, King’s College London Keynote
6-6.50pm Drinks reception for in-person participants 7pm-9pm Conference dinner for in-person participants
Friday 6th March
Session 3:
Women, mythology and critical skills
9-9.45am Samantha Newington, University of Aberdeen Title tbc 9.45-10.30am Glenn Godenho Egyptology as Access Point: Teaching Ancient Egypt and Critical Thinking in Prison
10.30-11am Refreshment Break
11-11.15am Maria Silvina Delbueno, UNLP-UNICEN Argentina (pre-recorded video)
11.15-12 Panel discussion: working collaboratively with charities, policymakers and heritage organisations.
12-1pm Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz (Hamilton College) (online) Keynote
1-1.45pm Lunch break
Session 4:
Identifying next steps in policy and practice
1.45-3pm Workshop for in person participants
3pm CLOSE
To find out more about the Leverhulme-funded Aristotle Beyond the Academy project, visit: https://aristotlebeyond.co.uk/
Note: this is not a Classical Association event – please contact the organisers directly with any enquiries.