Evelyn Adkins, assistant professor in the Department of Classics, will give a talk on “The Power of Silence in the Roman Empire: A Novel Approach” Thursday, Oct. 28, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Clark Hall, Room 206.
In this talk drawn from her forthcoming book Discourse, Knowledge, and Power in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses, Adkins will explore the power of silence in the literature of the High Roman Empire. Combining her study of the ancient Roman novel The Metamorphoses with perspectives from Greek and Roman rhetoric, philosophy and mystery religions, Adkins will use contemporary approaches to discourse analysis and linguistics to demonstrate the Romans’ view of silence as a multifaceted mode of communication that could convey powerlessness or power, ignorance or knowledge, and the ineffable nature of the divine.
The Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities will host this talk. Register to attend in-person.