The Department of Classics welcomes Professor of Classical Studies Jonathan Ready from the University of Michigan for a talk titled "Euripides' 'Orestes' and Postcritique."
Please join us Tuesday, January 27, at 4:15 p.m. in Hayes Hall 109.
"We are taught to excavate as readers in as disinterested and controlled a mode as we can and to focus our excavations on a few topics: the themes of a text, the lessons it imparts, the political work it does. To talk about why we like a character or a story is to run the risk of sounding amateurish: we fear being accused of doing what lay readers do and of not doing the work of interrogation that we are supposed to be doing. This talk valorizes those supposedly amateurish and unprofessional orientations to a text. It asks, What makes Euripides' 'Orestes' enjoyable? Why was it one of Euripides' most popular plays? By looking at the play from the perspectives of fan fiction and trash theory, we can begin to explore the fact that at the heart of engagement with entertainment media is enjoyment." —Jonathan Ready