The upcoming conference, “Explorations in the Public Reception of Aristotle” will take place at Durham University on Wednesday March 26 and Thursday March 27, 2025 in the Ritson Room of Durham’s Classics & Ancient History Department and online via Teams (link below).
The two-day event is part of the Durham University and Leverhulme funded research project, Aristotle Beyond the Academy. Our aim is to explore how, where and why Aristotle has made cultural appearances in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales since the Restoration. While the project focuses primarily on the key themes of ethics, law and politics, rhetoric, and natural science, the conference takes a broader look at the reception of Aristotle in culture, literature and the arts to the modern day.
Come join us on our public peripatetic journey! If you cannot join us in person, please use the following link for Microsoft Teams where all the talks will be available at the times advertised below:
Meeting ID: 340 196 386 449
Passcode: 7k9M99EQ
Schedule
Wednesday March 26th
Morning
10:00-11:15
Hatice Nur Erkizan, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Üniversitesi:
“The Reception of Aristotle without Politics in the Islamic World in the Middle Ages and Its Implications”
John Dudley, Leuven:
“John Henry Newman’s appreciation and criticism of Aristotle”
11:45-13:00
Natalie Earl (UEL) & Rhiannon Easterbrook (Royal Holloway):
“Aristotle, Shakespeare, and English Literature in the Contemporary English School System”
Ashley Lance, Cambridge University:
“From Barbarian to Savage Education: The Reception of Ancient Thought in the Development of US Residential Schools.”
Afternoon
Session 3 14:00-15:45
Patrice Rankine, University of Chicago:
“Sing of Anger: Revisiting August Wilson’s Reading of Aristotle’s Poetics.”
TBC
16:30 Keynote
Sara Monoson, Northwestern University (keynote speaker)
“Summoning Aristotle.”
Thursday March 27th
Morning
10:00-11:15
Henry Stead, St Andrews:
“Red Aristotle: British communist receptions of Aristotle for the reading public (1938-1956).”
Christopher Anaforian, St Andrews:
“Moderate to Excess: Will Durant, the Working Class, and The Story of Aristotle’s Philosophy.”
11:45-13:00
Richard Toye, Exeter:
“Boristotle: Boris Johnson and Aristotle.”
Rory McInnes-Gibbons, Durham:
“AIristotle: Aristotle and the Future of Mankind.”
Afternoon
14:00-15:15
Fran O’Rourke, UCD:
“Aristotle in Irish Literature and Folklore.”
David Bullen, Royal Holloway:
“The Rules of Drama? Re-appraising the influence of Aristotle’s Poetics on contemporary British theatre.”
15:45-17:30
Alessandro Vatri, Durham:
“Aristotle and the Orators in Margaret Doody’s Fourth-Century Athens.”
Edith Hall, Durham:
“Visualising Aristotle: Image, Stage, Screen.”