"Greek" Self-Identity: Being Greci and Writing Greek in Late Antique ItalyNovember 9, 2015 at 7–8 p.m.

Guest lecture by Associate Professor Edward M Schoolman, University of Nevada. Greek (Self)Identity in the Western Mediterranean at the End of Antiquity At the End of Antiquity, the ways in which individuals expressed identities in written contexts were numerous: through family connections, locations, religion, and occupation or position. In the Western Mediterranean, where Latin was by far the dominant language, using Greek or identifying as a "Grecus epointed towards an amorphous identity, connected to the east but still central to the Roman Empire. By examining, (i) what it meant to use or to be labelled as a Greek by using the term grecus in Latin and (ii) what it meant to publicly use Greek language in official or personal contexts, elements of "Greekness ewere employed to reinforced their membership in and positions at the top of the political, intellectual and social hierarchies.