(9.10) Identity politics gone mad . . . or have Barbarians been unjustly maligned lo these many years? Are there any Barbarians are on the faculty at Brown? (We know there’s at least one dorm.) This Tuesday, Berkeley’s Prof. Erich Gruen will attempt to answer the age-old question, “Were Barbarians Barbaric?”
The Department of Classics cordially invites you to join us for, “Were Barbarians Barbaric?”, a lecture presented by Erich Gruen from the University of California, Berkeley.
This talk explores attitudes, especially Greek attitudes, toward the “barbarian.” The term, ubiquitous in Greek literature, carries the aura of savagery, brutishness, brutality, and every form of uncivilized behavior. Scholars have normally taken this concept as a prime marker of the perceived ethnic divide between Greeks and aliens. This paper sets the “barbarian” in a very different frame and questions the image of natural inferiority and subhuman character.
This event is free and open to the public, a light reception will follow, and there will be photography. You can find more information on the classics website and Facebook page.
Free, 5:30pm to 7:30pm, Tuesday, September 10, Room 108, Rhode Island Hall, Brown Main Green adjacent to George Street, (directions)