National Bards in Comparative Perspective

Many nations are built on the cults of one or more national bards, from Virgil and Ferdowsi to Shota Rustaveli and Nguyễn Du. Most bards preside over alleged golden ages: the Elizabethan Age for Shakespeare, "the Golden Century" for Cervantes and Camões, and "the Golden Age of Russian literature" for Pushkin, among others. The workshop will attempt to establish some connections and regularities.

10:00 Tea/coffee

Morning Session 10:30 – 13:00

Moderator: Andrei Zorin, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford

Yuri Slezkine, Dept. of History, UC Berkeley:   

Sacred Texts and Their Authors

Bruno Currie, Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford:   

Different Ways of Being a National Poet in Greece and Rome

Edmund Herzig, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford:   

Carving up the Persian Canon: Poets and Nation-Building in the Soviet Union and West Asia

Tian Yuan Tan, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford:   

Who is the Bard of China?

13:00 – 14:30 Lunch

Afternoon Session, 14:30 - 17:00

Moderator: Yuri Slezkine, Dept. of History, UC Berkeley

Ann Jefferson, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford:   

French National Genius: What? Who? When?

Jonathan Thacker, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford:   

Miguel de Cervantes: Lows and Highs

Ritchie Robertson, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford:   

Goethe: A Highly Unsuitable National Bard

Andrei Zorin, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford:   

Why Pushkin? - The Peculiarities of Russian Cultural Mythology

17:00 Coffee Break

17:00 - 18:00 General Discussion

Attendance is free and lunch is provided.

To register please sign up via eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/national-bards-in-comparative-perspective-workshop-tickets-75294619233 

For further information please contact: anbara.khalidi@humanities.ox.ac.uk