The Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies is pleased to announce its Second Annual Undergraduate Conference:  Ab Urbe Recondita: the Reception of the Roman Classics in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.  The conference will take place on March 30, 2012 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  We are currently calling for abstracts from interested undergraduates.

In 1274, the Paduan proto-humanist Lovato de Lovati was called upon to identify a marble arch housing a coffin.  Lovato excitedly decreed that this was the tomb of Antenor, the mythic founder of Padua and a Trojan exile.  There was no sound evidence to support this conjecture; however, the scholar’s desire to accredit the tomb to a figure prominent in the pages of Vergil’s Aeneid was a sign of a new awareness of the past.  This tendency to fall back upon the past displays the draw of the ancient world on the people of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.  Indeed, the influence of the classical world extended well beyond its own lifespan, appearing prominently throughout the medieval period and into the early modern era.  This conference will focus on the reception of the classics in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

We welcome submissions from all disciplines of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, including archaeology, architecture, art, history, literature, music, philology, philosophy, and theatre.  Possible topics may include (but are by no means limited to): the place of classical literature and literary allusions in the Middle Ages and Renaissance; the continuance and adaptation of Roman traditions, institutions, technologies, and ideologies; the use and expansion of Roman architectural and artistic trends; classical themes in art; the prominence of the artes liberales in the education process; the role of the classical world in defining the humanist movement; and the evolution of Latin and the development of the European vernacular languages.

While the primary focus of this conference will be classical Roman influences, we also invite submissions centering on Greek influences in medieval and Renaissance Europe.  All submitters should send an abstract of no more than 250 words, including their name and their college affiliation (if applicable), to Tyler A. Denton, Dept. of Classics, at tdenton@utk.edu.  Abstracts should be sent by no later than January 16, 2012.  Notification of acceptance will be sent by February 17.  We look forward to your submissions!