Shards; Collage; Contagion

This seminar series, convened by Leo Kershaw and Pantelis Michelakis, aims to reflect on the role of conceptual metaphors in the critical discourses of reception studies. Which metaphors do we prioritise and why? How do they shape critical judgement? What affordances do they have, what functions do they perform, and what purposes do they serve? What concerns about the Greco-Roman classics do they foreground? How do they relate to one another, and what do they show about the links and commitments of reception studies? What semantic struggles can be gleaned through their history, etymology, and changing uses? What are their limitations, and what is their unfulfilled potential?