Ancient Greece and Rome in German Scholarship and Culture, 18th to the 20th Centuries

The impact of the ancient Greeks and Romans on early modern German culture has been profound. In turn, German scholars made foundational contributions to the study of the ancient world, particularly during the “long nineteenth century.” These efforts not only elevated the study of antiquity to a scientific discipline—known as Klassische Altertumswissenschaften (Classical Studies)—but also helped establish History, Archaeology, Art History, Philosophy, Linguistics, and Literary Studies as independent fields of scholarship.

This symposium traces important stages in that intellectual and cultural exchange while highlighting the deep and lasting influence that the ancient world has had—and continues to have—within German society. Through twelve presentations delivered by leading scholars from Europe and North America, the symposium will examine the many ways in which Greek and Roman antiquity shaped German scholarship, literature, philosophy, art, politics, and cultural identity.

The event will engage faculty, students, and members of the wider community in reflecting upon the historical development of their own academic disciplines and the continuing relationship between scholarship and society. By encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue across the School of Social, Historical and Political Research and the School of Critical and Creative Humanities, the symposium aims to inspire new collaborations while making the enduring legacies of Greek, Roman, and German thinkers, writers, artists, and scholars more accessible to the public, including the German-Canadian community of the Kitchener–Waterloo region.