T. Davina McClain | Northwestern State University (original) (raw)

Invited Talks by T. Davina McClain

Modern scholars have tended to examine Galen’s animal dissections not just for their anatomical s... more Modern scholars have tended to examine Galen’s animal dissections not just for their anatomical significance, but also for the way they operated as public performances (Von Staden 1995; Gleason 2009). Galen himself was heavily depended on the
rhetorical strategies promoted by the intellectual movement of the ‘Second Sophistic’, and used strong – at times highly bombastic – language to persuade his audience of his medical competence. In this paper, I would like to turn mainly to Galen’s methods of persuasion in his ethical writings – a largely neglected group of texts, and discuss the rhetorical means he employs in encountering patients with emotional disturbances or in addressing moral advice to a wider readership. His recently discovered treatise Avoiding Distress (Περὶ ἀλυπίας) is a good staring point, as it provides us with instances in which the autobiographical perspective of Galen’s narrative and the
intimacy between author and addressee ensure the efficient treatment of anxiety. Additional persuasive techniques applied in the therapy of emotions involve the construction of authority on Galen’s part, the ‘character assassination’ of contemporary figures, and the play on his audience’s sense of honour (αἰδώς) and
ambition (φιλοτιμία). In a larger project that I currently run, I show that Galen’s role as a healer of the soul corresponds to his role as a practising physician on a number of levels, and in this paper I hope to make clear that Galen’s persuasion techniques across his medical and ethical treatments of patients is one such level.

Papers by T. Davina McClain

The Classical Review, 2000

The Classical Review, 2009

female characters. R.’s main diversion from structuralism occurs at the end of each analysis. Her... more female characters. R.’s main diversion from structuralism occurs at the end of each analysis. Here, she turns to the endings of the plays and highlights the multiplicity of interpretations allowed for by their inherent ambiguity. R. uses this ambiguity in two ways. First, to argue for the universality of Greek tragedy that allows for its relevance to today’s audience, a relevance R. explores further in the epilogue that gives fascinating insights into modern productions of the plays. Secondly, R. utilises this ambiguity to demand a response from her readers to the multiplicity of interpretations, insisting they form their own opinion. Indeed, throughout her monograph R. asks questions that compel readers to re·ect upon the analysis or debate that has been presented (e.g. pp. 117, 143 and 165–6). In Part 1, R. reveals how modern scholars are in·uenced by their own socio-historical circumstances (pp. 33–4); in Part 2, she turns that observation back to her reader and asks them to re·ect upon their own opinions and how these may be moulded by their own cultural and political backgrounds. In so doing, R. introduces her audience to a self-awareness essential to critical thinking. Unfortunately, this attention to readership does not extend to R.’s referencing. Whilst supplying guides to further reading at the ends of Chapters 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8, R. often mentions debates, such as that on the role of the tragic chorus (p. 27), or claims ‘to some x is clear, to others y’ (e.g. p. 107) without elaborating upon this mysterious ‘some’ or indicating where the debates may be pursued. Intended as the book is for a student audience, such indications would have been invaluable. Despite these limitations and omissions, R.’s book fulμls its goals of introducing the web of Greek tragedy to a general and student population and of revealing the relevance of the genre to a modern audience. Her intended readership is re·ected in R.’s use of translations, her succinct summaries of the plays, and the extensive and functional index with which the book ends. It is re·ected, too, in R.’s readable and friendly prose that demands a rare active participation from its readers and forces them to question their assumptions and analyses. For these reasons, this monograph would be useful for anyone attempting to come to grips with or introduce others to Greek tragedy.

All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 47 Titles such as Colax, Hetaira, Ephebus, and Tu... more All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 47 Titles such as Colax, Hetaira, Ephebus, and Tusca of Laberius indicate that several concerned themselves with prostitutes: Beloch 1912, 488. 48 According to L. C. Watson {Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd ed. [Oxford 1976], s.v. "Priape(i)a"), these are generally considered to be the work of one poet. Tibullus, Horace, and

Archaeologists have identified the house of Sp. Stertinius Sp. ? at Delos on the basis of a house... more Archaeologists have identified the house of Sp. Stertinius Sp. ? at Delos on the basis of a household shrine bearing a dedication to Artemis Soteira found in the entryway. The shrine, a recessed wall niche that probably once supported a statuette, was located in the entry corridor of House E on the East Avenue, directly opposite the entrance to the Sanctuary of Apollo at its northeast corner *. Although an ongoing excavation project will soon tell us more about the house, from all appearances it was a large, modestly decorated, and relatively comfortable two-storied structure like its abutting neighbor, House F. Snugly placed behind and slightly to the right of the altar of Dionysus (Bruneau, Guide, 81), its facade of four shops (two to either side of the entry way) was shielded from the afternoon sun by a narrow portico of 8 marble

The Rhetoric of Unity and Division in Ancient Literature, 2021

The Ancient Art of Persuasion across Genres and Topics, 2019

International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 2009

Roman Women, intended as an introductory textbook, is divided into four chapters, with each chapt... more Roman Women, intended as an introductory textbook, is divided into four chapters, with each chapter divided into subsections. It is well-illustrated and includes a glossary (pp. 181-4), a list of Roman authors and some of their works (p. 185-8), a select bibliography (pp. 189-94), and an index (pp. 195-215). For those looking for a text for courses on Roman women or women in antiquity, this work offers a good discussion of the problems of sources and wonderful illustrations. Other aspects of the work may prove problematic. After a brief introductory paragraph, Chapter 1, "Gender and Status" (pp. 1-43), proceeds to a discussion of the sources. Here D'Ambra details the difficulties in uncovering the realities of women's lives. She points to the inconsistencies in visual and literary representations of women and the problems that genre and the lack of archaeological evidence pose for the historian. She also states her intention to focus on the "mundane and less-celebrated aspects of daily life, that is, family and household, work and leisure, worship, and social obligations of women of different social ranks" (p. 3). In the second section, "Marriage by Capture," D'Ambra states, "The stories Romans told about their origins are littered with abandoned wives and expendable mothers …." (p. 9). Scholars can approach the study of women in the ancient world from one of two viewpoints: one explores women's lives in terms of what they could not do because they were living in a world controlled by men; the other approach, while still acknowledging the political and legal restrictions, looks at women's contributions to the ancient world and focuses on women as women, rather than women as "not men." Although D'Ambra does not make her stance explicit, statements throughout the text, and especially in this first chapter, suggest that her perspective on Roman women is predominantly based on the first rather than the second viewpoint.

Organising Department: -- Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus Co-sp... more Organising Department: -- Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus Co-sponsors: -- Department of Classics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens -- Department of Classics and Philosophy, University of Cyprus Conveners: -- Kyriakos Demetriou (Cyprus) -- Sophia Papaioannou (Athens) -- Andreas Serafim (Cyprus/ OU Cyprus/ Trinity College Dublin) Keynote speaker: -- Michael Gagarin (Austin) Confirmed speakers: -- Adele Scafuro (Brown) -- Alessandro Vatri (Oxford) -- Andreas Hetzel (Fatih/Magdeburg) -- Andreas Michalopoulos (Athens) -- Antonis Petrides (OU Cyprus) -- Antonis Tsakmakis (Cyprus) -- Benoit Sans (Brussels) -- Brenda Griffith-Williams (UCL) -- Christopher Carey (UCL) -- Costas Apostolakis (Crete) -- Dimos Spatharas (Crete) -- Eleni Volonaki (Peloponnese) -- Flaminia Beneventano della Corte (Siena) -- Francesca Scrofani (EHESS/Università degli Studi di Trento) -- Gabriel Danzig (Bar Ilan University) -- Georgios Vassiliades (Paris IV-Sorbonne) -...

Movement Disorders, 2008

We present a clinimetric assessment of the Movement Disorder Society (MDS)-sponsored revision of ... more We present a clinimetric assessment of the Movement Disorder Society (MDS)-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). The MDS-UDPRS Task Force revised and expanded the UPDRS using recommendations from a published critique. The MDS-UPDRS has four parts, namely, I: Non-motor Experiences of Daily Living; II: Motor Experiences of Daily Living; III: Motor Examination; IV: Motor Complications. Twenty questions are completed by the patient/caregiver. Item-specific instructions and an appendix of complementary additional scales are provided. Movement disorder specialists and study coordinators administered the UPDRS (55 items) and MDS-UPDRS (65 items) to 877 English speaking (78% non-Lat-ino Caucasian) patients with Parkinson's disease from 39 sites.

Organisation of Conferences/Seminars by T. Davina McClain

by Jennifer Devereaux, Andreas Serafim, Sophia Papaioannou, Kyriakos Demetriou, Andreas Hetzel, Maria Kythreotou, Georgios Vassiliades, Judith Mossman, kostas apostolakis, Flaminia Beneventano della Corte, Sophia Xenophontos, Roger Brock, T. Davina McClain, and Andreas N . Michalopoulos

Organising Department: -- Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus C... more Organising Department:
-- Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus

Co-sponsors:
-- Department of Classics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
-- Department of Classics and Philosophy, University of Cyprus

Conveners:
-- Kyriakos Demetriou (Cyprus)
-- Sophia Papaioannou (Athens)
-- Andreas Serafim (Cyprus/ OU Cyprus/ Trinity College Dublin)

Keynote speaker:
-- Michael Gagarin (Austin)

Confirmed speakers:
-- Adele Scafuro (Brown)
-- Alessandro Vatri (Oxford)
-- Andreas Hetzel (Hildesheim)
-- Andreas Michalopoulos (Athens)
-- Antonis Petrides (OU Cyprus)
-- Antonis Tsakmakis (Cyprus)
-- Benoit Sans (Brussels)
-- Brenda Griffith-Williams (UCL)
-- Christopher Carey (UCL)
-- Costas Apostolakis (Crete)
-- Dimos Spatharas (Crete)
-- Eleni Volonaki (Peloponnese)
-- Flaminia Beneventano della Corte (Siena)
-- Francesca Scrofani (EHESS/Università degli Studi di Trento)
-- Gabriel Danzig (Bar Ilan University)
-- Georgios Vassiliades (Paris IV-Sorbonne)
-- Jakob Wisse (Newcastle)
-- Jennifer Devereaux (Southern California)
-- Jessica Evans (Middlebury)
-- Jon Hesk (St Andrews)
-- Judith Mossman (Nottingham)
-- Kathryn Tempest (Roehampton)
-- Margot Neger (Salzburg)
-- Maria Kythreotou (Cyprus)
-- Michael Paschalis (Crete)
-- Rebecca van Hove (KCL)
-- Ricardo Gancz (Bar Ilan University)
-- Robert Sing (Cambridge)
-- Roger Brock (Leeds)
-- Sophia Xenophontos (Glasgow)
-- Stephen Todd (Manchester)
-- T. Davina McClain (Northwestern State University)
-- Tazuko Angela van Berkel (Leiden)
-- Thierry Hirsh (Oxford)
-- Tzu-I Liao (UCL)
-- Victoria Pagan (Florida)