Dr Viola Periti
Teaching Fellow in Latin
Contact details
- Email: vperiti@ed.ac.uk
Availability
Drop-in hours: Wednesday 11-12, Thursday 12-13
Room 0M.14
Background
I received my BA in Literature and my MA in Classics at the University of Pavia, where I also attended the Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori (IUSS), as well as the Almo Collegio Borromeo. During my Master I was lucky enough to spend a semester as Erasmus student at the LMU in Munich (2017) and at Leiden University (2019). Then, I decided to pursue my doctoral degree at the University of Edinburgh where I have worked on Valerius Maximus.
I am currently a Teaching Fellow at Edinburgh where I am teaching Latin language and literature.
Responsibilities & affiliations
Teaching Fellow in Latin
Undergraduate teaching
Latin 1C
Latin 1D
Latin 2B
Topic in Classical Literature
Tiberius, the Reluctant Princeps
Latin Langauge
Classical Literature 2a, Greek and Roman Epic
Postgraduate teaching
Elementary Latin 2 (lecturer)
Research summary
My major interests concern Latin prose and poetry of the Late Republic and Early Empire with a focus on authors of the Tiberian age (Valerius Maximus, Velleius Paterculus, Seneca the Elder), the interrelation between memory, exemplarity, history, as well as on the creation, transmission and politics of memory.
My PhD thesis developed the current trend in scholarship that examines the Facta et dicta memorabilia as a work of literature in its own right. It gave credit to Valerius Maximus’ artistry, narrative strategies, and ideas, and to his role in the transmission of history. The thesis investigated how Valerius deals with the dynamics of power between individuals – how these are established, maintained, or subverted – with a particular focus on the relationship between power and the art of speaking, as well as silence and inability to speak.
Current research interests
As current project, I am working on converting my doctoral thesis into a book, as well as writing and finalising several articles.Journal Articles:
“Knowing the past to understand the present: old age and the power of memory in Valerius Maximus”, in R. Langlands, F. Kimpton, S. Lawrence (eds.) Time, Temporality, and Valerius Maximus (in preparation, invited contribution)
Encyclopaedia entry ‘Valerius Maximus’ in Trends in Classics – Greek and Roman Humanities Encyclopedia, De Gruyter, (submitted, invited contribution).
“Lives of Eminent Philosophers in Valerius Maximus’ Facta et dicta memorabilia (8.7 de studio et industria)”, in T.Itgenshorst, S. Lentzsch & H. Westphal (eds.), Exemplary Representation(s) of the Past. New Readings of Valerius Maximus’ Facta et dicta memorabilia, Leiden (submitted/forthcoming).
“Quale Antonio? Analisi di un “ritratto paradossale” nei Facta et dicta memorabilia di Valerio Massimo”, La Biblioteca di Classico Contemporaneo 13, 2022, 213-230.
Reviews:
Review of “ Bauer (S.), Brockkötter (P.) (eds.) Exemplarität und Exzeptionalität in der griechisch-römischen Antike. Göttingen: Verlag Antike, 2022” in Classical Review, 1-4 (first view).
Review of “Tschögele (T.), Die Erzählungen des Valerius Maximus, Heidelberg, 2022” in Anzeiger für die Altertumswissenschaft 76, 135-140.
Review of “Murray (J.) and Wardle (D.) (edd.) Reading by Example: Valerius Maximus and the Historiography of Exempla.(Historiography of Rome and Its Empire) Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2022” in Classical Review 72.2, 531-534