Call for new male co-Chair of LCC

Because Bruce Frier’s three-year term as LCC co-Chair is up at the end of this year, we’ll be holding elections for a new male co-Chair at January’s APA Meetings.

The LCC co-Chairs are responsible for the following duties:

-Conducting the business of the LCC.

-Overseeing the process by which LCC prizes and grants are awarded.

-Facilitating efforts by members to present panels and workshops at the annual conventions of the APA.

-Reserving space for the annual business meeting during the annual APA convention, as well as running the meeting.

-Co-organizing (with the WCC and CSWMG) the opening-night party of the annual APA convention.

If you are interested in running for this position, please email me (dkamen@uw.edu) and Bruce (bwfrier@umich.edu) in advance of the convention. Elections will be held at the LCC business meeting on Saturday, January 4, 2.30-4pm.

The OPPORTUNITY of a LIFETIME membership!

I am writing to remind everyone that at the last LCC meeting in Seattle, the members decided to raise the price of a lifetime membership in the Lambda Classical Caucus from $200 to $250 on January 1, 2014.  So if you have been thinking at all about becoming a lifetime member, you should act now to lock in the current lower rate.  This is equal to just ten years of regular dues--compare this to how long you expect to be a part of the LCC, and you will see how great a bargain this is!  Use this link to get to the LCC web site where you can download the dues form or use Paypal to make your payment.  Or skip the dues form, if your membership information hasn't changed, and just put a check in the mail to me with a little note.  I will be happy to acknowledge your membership upgrade!

All best,
Jorge J. Bravo III

LCC Graduate Student Travel Award

If you're a graduate student member of the LCC and will be delivering a paper at the 2014 APA-AIA conference, you might consider applying for an LCC Graduate Student Travel Award!

To apply for the $150 award, students must detail their involvement in the LCC and its mission; demonstrate their financial need; and provide the title of the paper they will be delivering at the APA-AIA. Recipients of the travel award will be expected to provide a brief report on their use of the award for Iris, the blog of the LCC.

Applications should be submitted to LCC Co-Chairs Deborah Kamen (dkamen@uw.edu) and Bruce Frier (bwfrier@umich.edu) by October 31, 2013.

Costume Theme for Chicago

Since 2003 in New Orleans, the LCC has been setting a costume theme for the opening WCC/LCC party. The theme is based on the topic of the LCC's panel (this year: 'Stifling Sexuality?') and on the city where the meetings are held. This year, as a tribute to Chicago and Mrs O'Leary's cow, our costume theme is:* 'Putting Out the Fire (Or Fanning the Flames?).*' The general subject is fire, both literal and metaphorical (but no actual fire, please!), any costume related to the idea of fire. (In a pinch, even cow costumes are acceptable.) There will be prizes! There will be honor!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_O'Leary

CFP, APA 2015

CALL FOR PAPERS

Humoerotica

Lambda Classical Caucus Panel, American Philological Association

New Orleans, January 8-11, 2015

Organizers: Ruby Blondell (blondell@uw.edu) and Kate Topper (ktopper@uw.edu)

Humor and sex have walked hand in hand since time immemorial. For this panel, we invite submissions on the many manifestations of this relationship in the ancient world, with a specific focus on intersections between humor and homoeroticism. Abstracts related to any aspect of this theme are encouraged from all areas of classical studies.

We are interested in questions of definition, and the application of comic theory to the ancient world. Why is sex such a prominent theme for humor? What counts as humorous, and how do we identify it, especially in cultures so distant in time and space from our own? What “work” did sexual humor do for the Greeks and Romans – did it challenge conventional approaches to sexuality, did it reinforce these approaches, or could it do both? Is comedy inherently hostile towards its subjects, or can it be celebratory? Is homoerotic humor ever used at the expense of heteroeroticism? What modern approaches have helped to advance our understanding of sex and humor in the ancient world? How about ancient theories (e.g. Aristotle)?

We also welcome analysis of specific texts and artifacts. While Greek and Roman comedy provide an obvious and valuable resource, we encourage submissions on a wide range of genres and forms of evidence. Sexual humor features in the full spectrum of Greek and Latin texts, from oratory (with its comic invective), to lyric poetry (with its sexual innuendo and obscenity), to satirical prose and verse (Juvenal, Petronius, Lucian), and even philosophy (which features, notably, the humorously homoerotic persona of Socrates). In keeping with the traditions of the LCC, we also hope to include papers dealing with material evidence, such as painting, graffiti or mosaics. Abstracts might address, for example, the visual humor of the Eurymedon vase or of erotic wall-paintings at Pompeii. Other suitable themes include  intersections between visual and textual sources, the role of sexual humor in cultural institutions (such as religious cult), and the comic reception of ancient homoeroticism. Papers might also draw attention to evidence that remains underexplored or deserves a second look.

Abstracts, of 650 words or less, are due by March 10, 2014. Do not identify yourself in any way in the abstract itself, and please do not send it to the organizers. It should be sent as an email attachment to Jorge Bravo (jbravo@umd.edu), who will forward it to the organizers in anonymous form. Please follow the APA's formatting guidelines for individual abstracts (http://www.apaclassics.org/index.php/annual_meeting/abstract_instructions/guidelines_for_authors_of_abstracts).

LCC ACTIVISM AWARD

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The LCC's mission statement declares, "the purpose of the Caucus is twofold: scholarly and political." If our scholarly purpose is (in brief) to support queer scholarship, our political purpose is (in brief) to support queer politics. In the 23 years since the Caucus was founded, we have done an increasingly successful job in fulfilling the former purpose, both by organizing panels and by offering awards for scholarly work. Our political purpose has, by contrast, been confined to the valuable yet limited role of providing queer scholars with the support of a like-minded community.

In order to redress this imbalance, at the LCC meeting in Seattle in January 2013 the members voted to institute an Activism Award of $100, to be given either annually or as often as a fitting nominee is presented. The award is intended to honor an LCC member who has worked to promote the rights and well-being of sexual minorities in ways that go beyond the usual academic missions of teaching and scholarship. Such work should have taken place at any time within the past five years, and might include (without being limited to) any of the following:

-- Volunteering with, or advising, college or community groups

-- Working for political initiatives, causes, or candidates (locally or nationally)

-- Engaging in public advocacy (e.g. through op-eds, letters to the editor, blogs, websites, or social media)

-- Organizing and/or participating in protests or other forms of resistance to hate and oppression

The nomination process is extremely simple. Send either of the co-chairs, or the treasurer, the name of the person who deserves such recognition, with a very brief description of the reason (e.g. the name of the organization for which they have worked). We will then contact the nominee for more details. All LCC members are eligible, including students and other non-paying members. Self-nominations are encouraged, but since we are hoping to reach the unsung heroes among us, we urge you to nominate those who may be too modest to identify themselves. Please note that nominators need not themselves be members of the LCC. Nominations will be accepted throughout the year, but for recognition at the APA they should be received by October 31st in the preceding year. Unsuccessful nominations will remain on file for consideration in subsequent years.

Subject: LCC Panel Call for Papers: DEADLINE EXTENDED!

The Lambda Classical Caucus CFP for the 2014 APA/AIA meetings in Chicago has been extended until March 17, the date that the WCC is also using. The Chicago LCC panel topic, which is presented in full below, is an attractive one: how cultural and social efforts to maintain sexual "morality" can often fail, either by falling flat or even by attracting newcomers to "vice." Some of us will remember the 1962 movie Advise and Consent, in which a naive young Senator was inveigled into entering an underground gay bar in Washington; the bar was preposterously stereotyped as a "den of iniquity," but tens of thousands of closeted gay men got their very first sight of such a "den" and they never looked back. Similar effects are sure to have been common also in antiquity. Were Petronius' readers necessarily all that revolted by the Priapic hijinks in Quartilla's country home? And how would such titillated readers read, say, an epic, whose generic law demanded decorum that stifled sexual expression? Did such decorum rule reception?

Stifling Sexuality?

Although, at least before the later Empire, sexual behavior between individuals of the same biological sex is widely tolerated in Greek and Roman law, expressions of personal or social disapproval are by no means unusual. Setting to one side the often uncertain status of pederasty, we note that many authors react to same-sex sexual conduct with distaste or even disgust, and subliterate attitudes, emerging in papyri or Pompeian graffiti, exhibit similar levels of hostility. A representative example, perhaps, of unofficial attitudes is Clement of Alexandria, who writes in his Paedagogus at 3.3.23: "I admire the ancient legislators of the Romans: they detested effeminate conduct and, according to their law of justice, they deemed it worthy of the pit to engage in carnal intercourse as the female, against the law of nature." Clement states that these laws were no longer enforced in Alexandria ca. 200 CE.

How should we evaluate expressions of disdain like Clement's? How effective are they likely to have been, either in conjunction with legal restrictions or independent of them? It is clear, for instance, that social controls are often adopted or relied upon when law is deemed ineffective for one reason or another. An example is ancient attitudes towards rights of authorship, which were fairly vigilant even though copyright itself did not yet exist; outright plagiarism was not remotely so common as one might have anticipated, see Katharina Schickert, Der Schutz literarischer Urheberschaft im Rom der klassischen Antike (2005).

Should we posit something similar for same-sex behavior? How did social views interact with legal restrictions? Were social controls successful in deterring at least public displays of same-sex conduct? Did social controls modulate displays in certain respects, or lead to the expression of same-sex desire in oblique ways?

Papers are invited on the widest possible basis consistent with this general theme. They may examine norms (alone or in conjunction with law), or look more closely at particular authors or particular forms of sexual conduct, including not just sexual intercourse but also behavior or dress identified with sexual minorities. We also welcome papers that consider connections between these norms and expectations of gender performance conforming to roles for women or men. The general aim of the panel will be to focus closely on this topic of informal modes of control and resultant expression, and so to encourage the development of scholarship concerning them.

Submissions should be anonymous, and otherwise adhere to APA guidelines for the formatting of abstracts. Please do not send abstracts to panel organizers; e-mail them as word documents to Ruby Blondell (Blondell@uw.edu). Questions may be addressed to the panel organizers: Bruce Frier (bwfrier@umich.edu) or Mark Masterson (Mark.Masterson@vuw.ac.nz). The NEW deadline is March 17, 2013.

8th Annual Paul Rehak Symposium on Ancient Art & Gender

The Department of Classics, the University of Kansas, is proud to sponsor
The Eighth Annual Paul Rehak Memorial Symposium on Ancient Art & Gender

2 April 2013, 2-5 pm
Hall Center Conference Room
The University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

SPEAKERS

Jeannine Diddle Uzzi -- University of Southern Maine
“What Rome Wants: Politics and Pederasty in Roman Imperial Art”

Amy Richlin -- University of California at Los Angeles
“Roman Pet Boys in Nineteenth-Century Germany: Theodor Birt and the Pueri Minuti.

Eve D’Ambra -- Vassar College
“The Beauty of Roman Girls: Portraits and Dolls”


PAST PRESENTERS IN THE SERIES

2006: Beth Cohen, Susan Matheson, Jenifer Neils
2007: Sheramy Bundrick, Richard, Neer, Mark Stansbury-O’Donnell
2008: Mary Sturgeon, Mary Ann Eaverly, Janet Grossman
2009: Anne Chapin, Kim Shelton, Nancy R. Thomas
2010: Peter Holliday, David Petrain, Elizabeth Marlowe
2011: Tyler Jo Smith, Maura Heyn, Susan Rotroff
2012: Nancy De Grummond, Jean Turfa, Hilary Becker

For more information:
John Younger
jyounger@ku.edu

LCC prize winners 2013

Graduate Student Award: Jen Oliver (Toronto), “Oscula iungit, nec moderata satis nec sic a virgine danda: the Callisto episode in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and the typology of female homoeroticism,” Romosexuality: The Reception of Rome and the Construction of Western Homosexual Identities (Durham University), April 2012

Paul Rehak Award: Orrells, Daniel (2012) “Greek Love, Orientalism and Race: Intersections in Classical Reception,” Cambridge Classical Journal 58: 1-37.

Congratulations!

CFP, APA 2014

Stifling Sexuality?

Organizers: Bruce W Frier, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Mark Masterson, Victoria University, Wellington

Sponsored by the Lambda Classical Caucus

Although, at least before the later Empire, sexual behavior between individuals of the same biological sex is widely tolerated in Greek and Roman law, expressions of personal or social disapproval are by no means unusual. Setting to one side the often uncertain status of pederasty, we note that many authors react to same-sex sexual conduct with distaste or even disgust, and subliterate attitudes, emerging in papyri or Pompeian graffiti, exhibit similar levels of hostility. A representative example, perhaps, of unofficial attitudes is Clement of Alexandria, who writes in his Paedagogus at 3.3.23: “I admire the ancient legislators of the Romans: they detested effeminate conduct and, according to their law of justice, they deemed it worthy of the pit to engage in carnal intercourse as the female, against the law of nature.” Clement states that these laws were no longer enforced in Alexandria ca. 200 CE.

How should we evaluate expressions of disdain like Clement’s? How effective are they likely to have been, either in conjunction with legal restrictions or independent of them? It is clear, for instance, that social controls are often adopted or relied upon when law is deemed ineffective for one reason or another. An example is ancient attitudes towards rights of authorship, which were fairly vigilant even though copyright itself did not yet exist; outright plagiarism was not remotely so common as one might have anticipated, see Katharina Schickert, Der Schutz literarischer Urheberschaft im Rom der klassischen Antike (2005).

Should we posit something similar for same-sex behavior? How did social views interact with legal restrictions? Were social controls successful in deterring at least public displays of same-sex conduct? Did social controls modulate displays in certain respects, or lead to the expression of same-sex desire in oblique ways?

Papers are invited on the widest possible basis consistent with this general theme. They may examine norms (alone or in conjunction with law), or look more closely at particular authors or particular forms of sexual conduct, including not just sexual intercourse but also behavior or dress identified with sexual minorities. We also welcome papers that consider connections between these norms and expectations of gender performance conforming to roles for women or men. The general aim of the panel will be to focus closely on this topic of informal modes of control and resultant expression, and so to encourage the development of scholarship concerning them.

Submissions should be anonymous, and otherwise adhere to APA guidelines for the formatting of abstracts. Please do not send abstracts to panel organizers; e-mail them as word documents by  Feb. 08, 2013 to Ruby Blondell (Blondell@uw.edu). Questions may be addressed to the panel organizers: bwfrier@umich.edu or Mark.Masterson@vuw.ac.nz.

THE JOHN J. WINKLER MEMORIAL PRIZE

The John J. Winkler Memorial Trust invites all undergraduate and graduate students in North America (plus those currently unenrolled who have not as yet received a doctorate and who have never held a regular academic appointment) to enter the nineteenth competition for the John J. Winkler memorial prize. This year the Prize will be a cash award of $1500, which may be split if more than one winner is chosen.

The Prize is intended to honor the memory of John J. ("Jack") Winkler, a classical scholar, teacher, and political activist for radical causes both within and outside the academy, who died of AIDS in 1990 at the age of 46. Jack believed that the profession as a whole discourages young scholars from exploring neglected or disreputable topics, and from applying unconventional or innovative methods to their scholarship. He wished to be remembered by means of an annual Prize that would encourage
such efforts. In accordance with his wishes, the John J. Winkler Memorial trust awards a cash prize each year to the author of the best undergraduate or graduate essay in any risky or marginal field of
classical studies. Topics include (but are not limited to) those that Jack himself explored: the ancient novel, the sex/gender systems of antiquity, the social meanings of Greek drama, and ancient Mediterranean culture and society. Approaches include (but are not limited to) those that Jack's own work exemplified: feminism, anthropology, narratology, semiotics, cultural studies, ethnic studies, and lesbian/gay studies.

*The 2013 Winkler Prize Competition*

The winner of the 2013 Prize will be selected from among the contestants by a jury of four, as yet to be determined.

The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2013. Essays should not exceed the length of 30 pages, including notes but excluding bibliography and illustrations or figures. Text should be double-spaced; notes may be single-spaced. Electronic submission is *required*. Essays should be submitted in MS Word or .pdf format. Please include an email with your essay in which you provide the following information: your college/university, your department or program of study, whether you are a graduate or undergraduate, your email and regular mail addresses, a phone number where you can be reached in May of 2013, and the title of your work. Please note: Essays containing quotations in original Greek must be sent in PDF format, due to difficulties reading different Greek fonts and keyboarding programs.

The Prize is intended to encourage new work rather than to recognize scholarship that has already proven itself in more traditional venues. Essays submitted for the prize should not, therefore, be previously published or accepted for publication. Exceptions to this rule may be made in the case of the publication of conference proceedings, at the discretion of the prize administrator.The Trust reserves the right not to confer the Prize in any year in which the essays submitted to the competition are judged insufficiently prizeworthy.

Contestants may send their essays and address any inquiries to: Kirk Ormand, Dept. of Classics, Oberlin College; kirk.ormand@oberlin.edu.

The John J. Winkler memorial Trust was established as an independent, charitable foundation on June 1, 1990. Its purpose is to honor Jack Winkler's memory and to promote both his scholarly and his political ideals. Inquiries about the Prize, tax-deductible gifts to the Trust, and general correspondence may be addressed to: Kirk Ormand, John. J. Winkler Memorial Trust, Dept. of Classics, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 44074.

Outstanding panels and papers from the APA Surveys

Congratulations to Sarah Levin-Richardson and Lauri Reitzammer for their LCC panel on Transgressive Spaces, which was voted one of the BEST SESSIONS OVERALL for Saturday at the APA, to Sarah for being voted BEST SESSION CHAIR, to Kate Gilhuly and Elizabeth Young, whose papers were voted  BEST INDIVIDUAL PAPERS IN MORNING SESSIONS, and to Lauren Curtis and David Fredrick, whose papers received an HONORABLE MENTION!