Symposium
Organized by
Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies (WIHS)
Sponsored by
Waterloo Centre for German Studies (WCGS)
Co-sponsored by
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) & Classical Studies within the School of Social, Political and Historical Research
Hosted in
DRAGEN Lab, St. Jerome’s University College, University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario | October 19–20, 2026
Overview of the Symposium
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.
Angelica Kauffman (1741–1807), Erato, the Muse of Lyric Poetry (c. 1778). One of Kauffman’s many classical subjects celebrating the Muses and the enduring inspiration of Greek literature.
Conference Program
The symposium will take place on October 19–20, 2026 at the University of Waterloo.
Monday, October 19
Informal Morning Event at Brubacher House
For invited guests only
10:00–10:45 a.m. — Walk from Delta Hotel to Brubacher House, or ride at 10:30 a.m.
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. — Guided tour of Brubacher House
12:00–1:00 p.m. — Pizza lunch at Brubacher House
1:00–1:30 p.m. — Walk or ride to the DRAGEN Lab
Afternoon Lectures in the DRAGEN Lab
For registered attendees
1:30–2:00 p.m.
Tea and coffee reception
2:00–2:15 p.m.
Welcome Addresses
2:15–2:30 p.m.
Dr. Andrew Faulkner
Professor of Classical Studies, University of Waterloo
Introduction
2:30–3:20 p.m.
Dr. Kristine Palmeri
Historian of Science and the Humanities; Humboldt Fellow, Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich
Classical Philology in and beyond the Seminar
3:30–4:20 p.m.
Dr. Andreas Bendlin
Professor of Classical Studies, University of Toronto
The “Older Greeks” and Us: Greek (and Roman) Religion in the Nineteenth Century and Beyond
4:30–5:20 p.m.
Dr. Hannah Eldridge
Professor of German Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA
The Triad of German Literature: Roots, Nature, and Consequences
Evening Keynote Event
UW lecture hall to be announced | Open to the public
6:00–6:15 p.m.
Welcome Addresses
6:15–7:30 p.m.
Dr. Sotera Fornaro
Professor of Greek Philology, Università della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli,” Italy
Polyps and Puppets: Emotions and the Discipline of Emotions in the German Reception of Classical Antiquity
Followed by discussion
7:30–9:00 p.m.
Public reception
Tuesday, October 20
Morning Lectures in the DRAGEN Lab
For registered attendees
9:15 a.m.
Welcome
9:30–10:20 a.m.
Dr. David Engels
Adjunct Professor of Ancient History and World History, Institut Catholique de Vendée, France
The Classical Paradigm: Antiquity and the Idea of Historical Totality in German Philosophy of History from Hegel to Heidegger
10:30–11:20 a.m.
Dr. Mareile Haase
Assistant Professor of Classics and Historian of Religion, University of Toronto
From Völkerpsychologie to Nietzsche: Constructing “Mythical Thinking” in 19th-Century German Scholarship
11:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Dr. Markus Hafner
Professor of Classics / Greek Philology, University of Zürich, Switzerland
German Classical Scholarship’s Journey into Dictatorship: The Gnomon Example, 1933/34
12:30–1:30 p.m.
Lunch
Afternoon Lectures in the DRAGEN Lab
1:30–2:20 p.m.
Dr. Marina Gallagher
Lecturer in Music, Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo
An Obsession with the Past: Memory, Repression, and Revenge in Richard Strauss’s Elektra
2:30–3:20 p.m.
Dr. Cordula Grewe
Professor of Art History, Indiana University Bloomington, USA
Circe’s Spell: Modern Bodies and the Erotic Afterlife of Antiquity
3:30–4:20 p.m.
Dr. Paul Malone
Associate Professor of German, University of Waterloo
Antiquity in German Comics
4:20–4:30 p.m.
Concluding Remarks
Evening Event in Elora
For invited guests only
5:00–5:30 p.m. — Ride to Elora
5:30–6:45 p.m. — Walk through the old town and Halloween displays
6:45 p.m. — Conference dinner
Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein (1751–1829), Goethe in the Roman Campagna (1787). One of the defining images of German Classicism, depicting Johann Wolfgang von Goethe among the ruins of ancient Rome during his Italian journey.
Registration and Online Attendance
Registration is requested by September 30, 2026
The symposium will be offered in a hybrid format. Participants may attend in person at the University of Waterloo or remotely through Zoom.
To register, please contact Dr. Altay Coşkun and indicate whether you plan to attend in person or remotely, whether you will attend the full symposium or only part of the program, and, if travelling from abroad, whether you are still seeking accommodation.
Angelica Kauffman (1741–1807), The Judgement of Paris. A Neoclassical interpretation of one of the best-known myths from Greek mythology, illustrating the continued importance of classical themes in eighteenth-century European art.
Special Guests and Host
Special Guests
Dr. Anne Wagner-Mitchell
Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Toronto
Dr. John Paul Kleiner
Senior Manager, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Toronto
Host
Dr. Altay Coşkun
Professor of Classical Studies
Director, Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies (WIHS)
University of Waterloo
Symposium Materials
Paper titles, abstracts, and the symposium flyer are available in the downloadable documents below.
Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841), Greek Ideal Landscape (1823). An imagined classical landscape expressing the Romantic and Neoclassical fascination with ancient Greece.
Full Conference Description
German scholarship and the Klassische Altertumswissenschaften (Classical Studies) have been so deeply interwoven that the discipline would be scarcely recognizable today without Germany's contributions. The archaeologist and art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann coined the notion of the "Classical"; Theodor Mommsen remains one of the most prolific historians of all time, and Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff is widely regarded as one of the greatest Greek philologists in history.
The enduring fascination with ancient Greece profoundly shaped German intellectual and cultural life. Through their engagement with Greek antiquity, philosophers such as Friedrich Schleiermacher, Immanuel Kant, G. W. F. Hegel, and Friedrich Nietzsche developed influential philosophical systems that continue to shape modern thought. Likewise, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller would scarcely have become the "Classics" of German literature without their deep immersion in the ancient authors, whose influence also inspired poets such as Friedrich Hölderlin and Rainer Maria Rilke.
The nineteenth century also witnessed the rise of German Philhellenism. Support for the Greek War of Independence against Ottoman rule coincided with liberal movements throughout the German states, while the flourishing of the neuhumanistisches Gymnasium placed the study of Greek and Latin at the centre of education. Heinrich Schliemann's excavations at Mycenae and Troy rekindled international fascination with Homeric epic and Mediterranean archaeology, while Gustav Droysen's interpretation of Alexander the Great profoundly influenced modern understandings of the Hellenistic world. Later, Oswald Spengler's The Decline of the West drew heavily upon the history of the Roman Empire in developing his philosophy of civilization.
Following the darkest chapters of twentieth-century German history, scholarship once again turned to the democratic traditions of ancient Greece, helping to reaffirm one of the intellectual foundations of modern participatory societies. The relationship between antiquity and German culture has therefore remained dynamic, continuously shaping both academic inquiry and broader public discourse.
The Waterloo Region—often regarded as the centre of German immigration to Canada—provides a particularly appropriate setting for this symposium. Mennonite settlers established German communities here during the nineteenth century, later joined by refugees displaced during and after the Second World War, as well as numerous scholars recruited by the University of Waterloo. Today, the University's Faculty of Arts is home to two internationally recognized research centres: the Waterloo Centre for German Studies (WCGS) and the Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies (WIHS).
Together, these institutions place the University of Waterloo in a unique position to explore the many intersections between the ancient Greek and Roman worlds and early modern Germany. By bringing together internationally recognized scholars in Classical and German Studies, the symposium seeks to illuminate the remarkable intellectual legacy that emerged from this dialogue while strengthening connections between the University and the wider Waterloo Region, including its vibrant German-Canadian community.
Anselm Feuerbach (1829–1880), Plato’s Symposium (1871–1874). Feuerbach’s celebrated interpretation of Plato’s Symposium, reflecting the enduring influence of Greek philosophy on nineteenth-century German art.
