Abstract

Many people are familiar with photos of our Earth, such as Earthrise (1968), Pale Blue Dot (1990) and The day the Earth smiled (2013). It is less well known that these images belong to a tradition of humanist thought that extends back to the 8^th century BC, and possibly earlier still. This talk explores ancient attempts to visualize the Earth through the telescope of the imagination, millennia before humans would leave the world we call home. 

Short CV

Karen ní Mheallaigh is a senior lecturer in Classics at the University of Exeter in the UK. Her research interests are in ancient fiction, and intersections between scientific and imaginative thought in antiquity. She is author of a monograph Reading fiction with Lucian: fakes, freaks and hyperreality (2014), and has just completed at the AIAS a monograph Selenography: the Moon in science, satire and fiction, exploring the Moon’s role in the ancient thought-world.

Karen ní Mheallaigh's project at AIAS.

What is a Fellows' Seminar?

The AIAS Fellows' Seminar is a session of seminars held by the AIAS fellows or by other speakers proposed by the fellows. In each seminar, one fellow will present and discuss his/her current research and research project, closing off with a question and discussion session.

All seminars are held in English and open to the public. Registration to the seminar is not necessary. Read more about the AIAS Fellows' Seminar here.