Stoic Tragedy and the Sources of Human Ethics

Session #1 (February 20th, 4:30 pm)
The Sources of Stoic Tragedy: Ancient Philosophy and Theater

Session #2 (March 6th, 4:30 pm)
Seneca’s Medea: Spotlight on Human Ethics

Registrants will receive copies of the readings in advance. All participants will also receive a complimentary anthology containing some of Seneca’s tragedies (Oxford World Classics).

The sessions will be led by UNC Classics Professor Al Duncan, Assistant Professor of Classics at UNC Chapel Hill. Professor Duncan’s research considers the ways audiences, both ancient and modern, create value from classical Greek theater. Considering plays not simply as poetic texts but also as scripts for performance, his work focuses on the production, materiality, and aesthetics of the dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. His in-progress book, Ugly Productions: Genre and Aesthetics in Athenian Drama, explores the ways ugliness established and mediated genre in the nascent art form of theater.

Questions? Email Michael Vazquez (michael.vazquez@unc.edu).

This series is a prelude to a public and intergenerational event to be hosted this Spring at UNC-CH, which will feature a staged reading of Seneca’s Medea, followed by a community-wide and multigenerational discussion about the play’s philosophical and literary resonances. All are invited to attend the event later this Spring, whether or not you are able to participate in the discussion series at Flyleaf Books!

This series is made possible by the generous support of the Society for Classical Studies, the Humanities for Public Good Initiative, and the Parr Center for Ethics.