Dear Colleagues,
International Plato Society Newsletter, Issue 5 (2010-13)
Pisa, 30th October 2012
let me summarise, in a few paragraphs, the most important events of our Society in recent months.
From 20th to 24th August 2012 the Latin American Area Conference was held in Brasilia, organised by Gabriele Cornelli. The participation of our members was very numerous and enthusiastic. In general, we can say that the theme, styles and characters in Plato’s dialogues, was dealt with in many papers of a good level. During the Conference, the great hospitality allowed for exchanges that reinforced the fertile cohesion of our Society.
Thanks to the presence of many members of the Executive Committee, Francisco Bravo, Gabriele Cornelli, Michael Erler, Verity Harte, Mary-Margaret McCabe and I, it was possible to gather for a meeting to discuss various topics.
After collecting fees directly in Brasilia, our Society has more than 150 paid-up members out of circa 550. Our 2010 Newsletter gives information about fees, but remember that now you can also tranfer fees by Paypal to the account symposium.pisa@humnet.unipi.it. Unfortunately, many of you have had problems with the SWIFT number of our bank: the new number we received is ICRAITRRCQØ.
In Brasilia I summed up the results of the Conference in Paris and of the Conference in Coimbra, which were both endorsed by our Society.
Michael Erler described the situation of our Series: the book by Mario Regali about the Timaeus and the Critias is now in print, the english translation of the essays on the Republic edited by Mario Vegetti is in preparation, the book by Diego De Brasi about the image of Sparta in Plato’s dialogues received a positive evaluation and the volume with the Tokyo Proceedings, today in proof, is supposed to come out before Christmas. We considered the composition of the Editorial Board. Michael Erler, the current Coordinator, has expressed the desire to leave and he has suggested Filip Karfik as a possible solution for the German area. Franco Ferrari will take on the role of Coordinator in Pisa. Furthermore, Louis-André Dorion, after many years of active service, will probably give up his role and Dimitri El Murr is at disposal.
The 2011-2012 Bibliography, edited by Luc Brisson, is now on the web. Francisco Gonzalez has published the 2011 issue of our Internet Journal, even if the problem of a general reinterpretation of its substance and function remains.
Our Panel’s preparation for the FISP Conference to be held in Athens from 4th to 10th August 2013 is ongoing. After the Call for Papers, the Executive Committee considered the abstracts and decided to limit the presence of our Society to no more
than six speakers involved in our official structure: for example, Tomás Calvo, Gabriele Cornelli, Melissa Lane, Noburu Notomi and I have given availability.
The Meeting of the FIEC Delegates was held in Bari from 6th to 8th September 2012. Attendance was high and yielded a very fertile result. We discussed the reports of the Secretary and of the Treasurer, the general situation of the CIPSH, the umbrella organisation between UNESCO and Humanities, the preparation of the 2014 Congress in Bordeaux, and the state of affairs regarding the 2017 Meeting and the 2019 Congress. Problems of the website, of the scope of the Bureau and of the income, to be increased also through private support, deserved special attention. The Bureau organised a conference with papers by Piero Boitani, Guglielmo Cavallo, Giuseppe Cambiano and Emanuele Greco about classical culture and its fortune.
Ann Arbor, Michigan: the US Regional Meeting of our Society took place from 4th to 7th October 2012. It was a very representative and impressive Meeting which showed the rich potential of the US contribution to our Society. More than 90 papers in parallel or plenary sessions analysed the multifaceted aspects of Plato’s psychology with concrete outcomes that will be published in a volume of proceedings. Thanks to the adoption of the commentator scheme, the debate was very lively and allowed us to share opinions and methods. In general, the occasion was useful to reflect upon many aspects of our Society.
Finally, the Pisa Symposium, to be held from 15th to 20th July 2013. The collecting of abstracts is not yet finished. I would like to remind you that the programme will include 14 long papers for plenary sessions, 90 short papers for parallel workshops and 8 short papers from PhD dissertations. The number of abstracts submitted has been increasing over the last period and, unfortunately, the selection will be unavoidable and very difficult. After the invitation of Elizabeth Belfiore, Minnesota, Christian Brockmann, Hamburg, and Stephen Halliwell, St. Andrews, and after the decision of the Executive Committee in the Meeting held in Paris to determine five speakers for the five official languages of our Society, the Call for Papers will give us the opportunity to choose 6 papers for plenary sessions, 90 short papers for workshops and 8 short papers from PhD dissertations. The Executive Committee will end the selection on 31st January 2013 and notification of the result will be sent before 28th February 2013. Our Society is waiting for proposals for the hosting of the 2019 Symposium and for three new representives, one for Europe, one for Africa, Asia and Oceania, and one for South America.
I hope to welcome as many of you as possible in Pisa! Best wishes
Mauro Tulli