Book Launch Event: “Time, Tense, and Genre in Ancient Greek Literature”

The IGRCT is holding a book launch lecture and reception for the volume “Time, Tense, and Genre in Ancient Greek Literature”, edited by Connie Bloomfield-Gadêlha and Edith Hall. The event is open to all, and will consist of a talk by Nick Lowe (Royal Holloway), followed by a drinks reception.

The poster for the event. It features an unfinished painting of a woman with no face, standing on a cliff.

 

The lecture will take place on October 8th from 5PM to 7PM in the Peel Lecture Theatre.

You can book your tickets here.

The volume fuses three concepts and associated approaches to ancient literature that have never been applied together at the same time: ideas of time, grammatical tense, and literary genre, thus providing a significant new approach to ancient Greek literature by throwing fresh light on one of its most important preoccupations.

2025 Symonds Lecture: “No man can see himself as others see” Bringing the personal papers of John Addington Symonds to new audiences.

We are very excited to announce the 2025 John Addington Symonds lecture, presented in collaboration with OutStories Bristol.

The poster for the event discussed. It features various photographs and drawings from John Addington Symonds' life, such as a photograph of him on a sledge and a drawing of his dog.

The lecture will take place on October 4th from 4PM to 6PM in the Peel Lecture Theatre. The event is free, open to all, and will be followed by a drinks reception.

You can book your tickets here.

Alexander Taylor and Nicky Sugar from the University of Bristol Special Collections will unveil the results of the current project to recatalogue the Symonds archive and increase engagement with his work. They will bring to life new information about Symonds’s life and work, but will also use the Symonds collection as a vehicle for discussing some of the current issues archivists have to balance when working on collections.

  • How do we deal with sensitive or contentious topics within the records we look after?
  • Who gets to decide which aspects of the collection are highlighted in catalogues, and on what basis?
  • How do we ensure that engagement with collections is equitable and authentic?

They will show off some treasures from the archive and seek feedback from the audience about how you’d like to see them develop participation work based on this and other collections which contain LGBTQ+ narratives.

About the speakers:

Nicky Sugar became an archivist because she wanted to help make sure that stories get told. 27 years later, her motivation remains unchanged. After a varied career in higher education and local authority archives she joined the University of Bristol as Head of Special Collections in 2023.

Alexander Taylor has worked as an archivist across a variety of sectors including secondary and higher education and religious institutions. He has project-managed several recataloguing projects, including the personal papers of literary scholar John Addington Symonds. He joined the University of Bristol as Project Archivist in September 2024.

Yearly Events Programme and Directors’ Reception Series

The IGRCT is thrilled to announce our programme of events for the 2025/26 academic year. Be sure to put these dates in your diaries, and keep an eye out for announcements about venues and bookings!

Text reads: IGRCT events programme 2025/25. October fourth: Symonds Lecture. Alexander Taylor and Nicky Sugar: "No man can see himself as others see": bringing the personal papers of John Addington Symonds to new audiences." October sixteenth to April twelfth: Director's Annual Reception Series. Multiple Speakers: "Oblique Classicisms/Hidden Histories." The poster has an image down one side of a painting of the sea and cliffs, with an archaic Greek statue of a girl at the bottom. Text reads: IGRCT events programme 2025/25. November eighteenth: Donors Celebration. Jonathan Stamp: Title to be announced. April twenty third: Morse Lecture. Josephine Quinn: Title to be announced. The poster has the same image as the previous page.

The poster for the event series. It features a painting of a silhouette of a woman walking down a black and white staircase.The first of these events to be open for bookings is the Director’s Annual Reception Series. These lectures will be held online on Thursdays throughout the year, and you can view the full programme and book your place here.