As part of my post-doctoral project, I will spend a Term (October-December 2024) to pursue research at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) at the University of Cambridge.

During my time at CRASSH as a Visiting Fellow, I will seek to develop further the theoretical and methodological background of my project on politics and poetics of anonymity in Roman epigraphic and literary discourses, focussing on Pompeian graffiti written in a female voice. In the interdisciplinary context such as that promoted by CRASSH, I aim to consolidate critical perspectives on forms of authorship and gain a new understanding of recent developments in the field of gender studies. This will enable me to offer novel gendered perspectives on ancient poetry, unearthing the – too-often unheard – female voices in ancient literary production, circulation and consumption. In pursuing this project, I bring together a set of theoretical frames, including literary-critical perspectives (inter-mediality, intertextuality, philological analysis), cultural-materialist approaches, and gender studies. CRASSH’s mission to lead scholars to think across discipline boundaries, its diverse and multi-cultural environment will be extremely beneficial for reflecting on the critical implications of authorship and anonymity across disciplinary fields and chronological eras and for further developing my research project.

While in Cambridge, I will consolidate my teaching experience at Masters’ level, by offering research-led seminars at the Institute of Classical Studies, for the intercollegiate postgraduate courses. I will take part in research seminars at the University of Manchester and the Faculty of Classics in Cambridge, and I will lead one seminar for the Research Practice Seminar series at CRASSH, enabling me to create stimulating connections with colleagues both within and outside my field of expertise.

Alessandra Tafaro