The Brown University seminar on Cultures and Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean (CRAM) serves as a gathering to promote high-level, interdisciplinary dialogue among faculty and graduate students who deal with religion and culture in the ancient Mediterranean basin and west Asia in the broadest terms. CRAM meets monthly during the academic year. Each meeting lasts about an hour, and typically is centered on a pre-circulated paper by one of our participants. We are especially interested in work in progress; CRAM is a great context for working on new ideas and thinking through new problems.
Contact Amy Russell, Director of the Program in Early Cultures, or Lauren Arsenault, Administrative Coordinator for the Program in Early Cultures.
Below is the CRAM schedule for the 2023-4 academic year. Please note that all meetings will take place on Tuesdays, 12:00-12:55 p.m. Papers will be distributed by e-mail approximately ten days prior to the date indicated for your preparation. Newcomers are always welcome!
CRAM Schedule AY 2023 - 2024
Fall 2023
September 12- Nancy Khalek, Religious Studies and History: "Emotion from 450 to 750 CE"
October 17- Marko Vitas, Classics: "Comparisons Compared: The Homeric Simile in its Eastern Mediterranean Context"
November 14- Max Peers, JIAAW: "Rebellion and Historical Consciousness at the Sanctuary of the Divine Palikoi, Sicily"
Spring 2024
February 13- Susan Harvey, Religious Studies: "With Tongues of Fire: Angelic Song in Syriac Tradition"
March 5- Eva Stehle, UMD Classics emerita: "Sappho and the Afterlife"
April 16- Tara Baldrick-Morrone, Classics: "Contextualizing Ancience Chritian Abortion-talk"
May 7- Christelle Alvarez, E&A: topic TBA