This symposium brings together scholars working across the Mediterranean and East Asia to explore the manifold dimensions of letter-writing in premodern cultures. Through perspectives spanning ancient Rome, early medieval China, and medieval Japan, the event examines how epistles shaped education, literary self-presentation, emotions, and relationships of power across different historical and cultural contexts.

The program is as follows:

• Carl R. Rice (Vassar College)
  Opening Remarks & Introductions
• Rachel C. Morrison (Vassar College)
  “Amicus / Magister: How Letters Can Make Us Forget”
• Antje Richter (University of Colorado Boulder)
  “What’s in a Sigh? Expressions of Longing in Early Medieval Chinese Letter Writing”
• Pier Carlo Tommasi (Vassar College)
  “Lovable Warriors: Letter-Writing and the Art of Seduction in Medieval Japan”
• Discussion and Q&A

This event is free and open to the public.

For disability accommodations or accessibility information, please contact the Office for Accessibility and Educational Opportunity at aeo@vassar.edu.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Greek and Roman Studies, the Department of Chinese and Japanese, the Medieval & Renaissance Studies Program, and the Asian Studies Program. This event was organized under the auspices of a Faculty Conversation Award from the Learning, Teaching, and Resource Center at Vassar College.