Edited COllection: call for papers
Edited by Ellie Mackin Roberts and Aimee Hinds Scott
One could be forgiven, nowadays, for thinking that Persephone and Hades’s marriage was a love match if they were familiar only with modern interpretations and had not come across the ancient versions of the myth. The romance of Persephone and Hades appears in a large variety of professional and amateur media including books, webcomics, videogames, stage shows, and on social media. This myriad of interpretations plays a significant role in both interrogating and perpetuating a range of misunderstandings and misperceptions about ancient myth and ancient society, including common tropes from equating abduction to marriage in the ancient world to denying or minimising assault as a tool of arranged marriages in the ancient world. The purpose of this volume is to consider the ways that modern interpretations of ancient myths, specifically through the lens of the story of Hades and Persephone, intersect with contemporary cultural ideologies about marriage, relationships, assault, gender and sexuality, rape culture, forced and arranged marriages. We seek to interrogate contemporary interpretations of the myth, including ways that Persephone specifically is ‘written into’, as a way for writers, artists, and content creators to tell stories about the modern world and look at the ways that these impact understanding about the ancient Mediterranean world. This volume seeks to address the following issues: In what ways are Persephone and Hades portrayed in contemporary popular culture? Why are they portrayed in these ways? In what ways are these portrayals authentic to the ancient source material? Does this authenticity matter?
The aim of this volume is not to advocate for a particularly understanding or reading of this story, but rather to recognise that the ways that myth is used in the contemporary world is complex and multifarious but also that it impacts common understanding and knowledge about the past. We hope this volume will foster an ongoing conversation about the place of myth and mythic interpretation and reception in the modern world.
Those interested in contributing to the volume are asked to submit a 500-word abstract and indicative bibliography. If selected, you will be invited to submit a first draft of your essay, which will be subject to peer review by other contributors, with chapters disseminated between contributors.
Please direct queries to either editor, but abstracts to both editors:
Ellie Mackin Roberts: [email protected]
Aimee Hinds Scott: [email protected]
Indicative time frame
Deadline for abstracts: Friday 11th March 2022
Applicants informed of outcome: by end of April 2022
Deadline for submission of drafts: Friday 28th April 2023
Peer reviewed chapters returned with feedback and revision recommendations: Friday 28th July 2023
Deadline for revised chapters: Friday 27th October 2023
One could be forgiven, nowadays, for thinking that Persephone and Hades’s marriage was a love match if they were familiar only with modern interpretations and had not come across the ancient versions of the myth. The romance of Persephone and Hades appears in a large variety of professional and amateur media including books, webcomics, videogames, stage shows, and on social media. This myriad of interpretations plays a significant role in both interrogating and perpetuating a range of misunderstandings and misperceptions about ancient myth and ancient society, including common tropes from equating abduction to marriage in the ancient world to denying or minimising assault as a tool of arranged marriages in the ancient world. The purpose of this volume is to consider the ways that modern interpretations of ancient myths, specifically through the lens of the story of Hades and Persephone, intersect with contemporary cultural ideologies about marriage, relationships, assault, gender and sexuality, rape culture, forced and arranged marriages. We seek to interrogate contemporary interpretations of the myth, including ways that Persephone specifically is ‘written into’, as a way for writers, artists, and content creators to tell stories about the modern world and look at the ways that these impact understanding about the ancient Mediterranean world. This volume seeks to address the following issues: In what ways are Persephone and Hades portrayed in contemporary popular culture? Why are they portrayed in these ways? In what ways are these portrayals authentic to the ancient source material? Does this authenticity matter?
The aim of this volume is not to advocate for a particularly understanding or reading of this story, but rather to recognise that the ways that myth is used in the contemporary world is complex and multifarious but also that it impacts common understanding and knowledge about the past. We hope this volume will foster an ongoing conversation about the place of myth and mythic interpretation and reception in the modern world.
Those interested in contributing to the volume are asked to submit a 500-word abstract and indicative bibliography. If selected, you will be invited to submit a first draft of your essay, which will be subject to peer review by other contributors, with chapters disseminated between contributors.
Please direct queries to either editor, but abstracts to both editors:
Ellie Mackin Roberts: [email protected]
Aimee Hinds Scott: [email protected]
Indicative time frame
Deadline for abstracts: Friday 11th March 2022
Applicants informed of outcome: by end of April 2022
Deadline for submission of drafts: Friday 28th April 2023
Peer reviewed chapters returned with feedback and revision recommendations: Friday 28th July 2023
Deadline for revised chapters: Friday 27th October 2023