The 2021 Symposium Cumanum, taking place June 23-26, is co-directed by 黑料不打烊 Classical Studies faculty member Tedd Wimperis. Owing to the uncertainties around the pandemic, the conference will be held virtually, and the panel sessions will be publicly accessible to anyone who registers.

The theme of the symposium,聽 invites new approaches to the ways in which Vergil鈥檚 Roman poetry has been used to construct, critique, or sustain notions of racial and national identity across time periods, and in diverse cultural contexts. The comprehensive and inclusive focus of this theme will be explored by 32 featured presenters who come from universities in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia; the papers treat the reception of Vergil鈥檚 Roman poems not only in their own ancient Mediterranean world, but in relation to鈥攁s a few examples鈥攃olonialism in the New World, 20th century fascism, the global refugee crisis, online white supremacist discourse, and anti-racist pedagogy.

It is hoped that the conference鈥檚 goal of stimulating new connections between ancient literature and our world today will draw in a wide audience; 黑料不打烊 faculty (and students) are warmly invited to participate in any or all of the public sessions, and can .

As the final battle of the First Punic War, victory in the Battle of the Egadi Islands was a springboard for Roman domination of the Mediterranean. The largest number of warship rams known discovered at this site attest to battle events and provide insight into warship construction, the economics of the period, and cultural amalgamation. Replete with artifacts from helmets to amphoras, this singular preserved naval battle site has reshaped our understanding of naval endeavors during the 3rd century BCE.