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Inspired Voices Research Cluster

Welcome to the Inspired Voices Research Cluster. Inspired Voices is a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences funded collaborative research group, whose brief it is to explore the voice of inspiration in cultural productions of ancient Greece. The core research group, comprised of A/Prof. Rick Benitez (Philosophy), Dr. Juila Kindt (Ancient History), A/Prof. Ian Maxwell (Performance Studies) and Prof. Peter Wilson (Classics), brings the expertise of four disciplines to bear on the study of oracles, the Muses, myth-makers, myth tellers, and inspired poetry. We seek a comprehensive understanding of inspired speech within a particular time frame and culture, taking careful note of the interplay between religious, poetic, narrative and philosophical contexts. Our inquiries examine inspired speech in terms of performance and associated cultural aptitudes for recognition of distinct voice registers, such as the myth voice, the narrative voice, the oracular voice. We are interested in why and how people respond to thought expressed in inspired forms.

A/Prof. Rick Benitez Dr. Juila Kindt A/Prof. Ian Maxwell Prof. Peter Wilson
A/Prof. Rick Benitez
(Philosophy)		 Dr. Juila Kindt
(Ancient History)		 A/Prof. Ian Maxwell
(Performance Studies) 		Prof. Peter Wilson
(Classics)

Inspired Voices offers a full range of research activities, from reading groups working with primary texts, to informal workshops discussing particular themes, to seminar papers and public events. Already in 2011 we will be hosting talks from Gerard Naddaf (York University, CA), Apostolos Pieris (Institute for Philosophical Research, Patra, Greece), Arlene Allan (Otago, NZ), James O'Maley (Melbourne), Harold Tarrant (Newcastle) and Marguerite Johnson (Newcastle), in addition to discussions facilitated by our own research group and local scholars.

Staff, associates, postgraduates and interested members of the public are all welcome. Seminars and discussion groups are held in the CCANESA boardroom (Madsen Building) from 3-4 on Thursday afternoons during semester. Reading groups (availability limited) are held in Summer and Winter terms, in the Kevin Lee Room, Main Quad. Public events are by announcement and require rsvp. To be placed on our mailing list for events, please contact . Inspired Voices is grateful to the Centre for Classical and Near Eastern Studies of Australia (CCANESA) and the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry for provision of facilities.