We are delighted to open a call for papers for the closing conference of the research project “The Transformation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Modern Printing: text, image and new readership” (MedOvid, PID2023-153036NA-I00) entitled Ovid’s Metamorphoses through Time: Paratexts, Translations and Iconography to be held in Barcelona on the 2nd and 3rd of July 2026 (Facultat de Filologia i Comunicació, Universitat de Barcelona).
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The MedOvid project studies textual and paratextual changes of the medieval vernacular translations of the Latin poem from their manuscript form to their circulation as printed books (particularly, from 1480s to 1550). We focus largely on paratextual materials (prologues, epilogues, letters of dedication, marginalia, engravings) as a means to explore how the text is used or presented in a new light for a wider audience, and how this contributes to the emergent philological discourses on the translation of classical texts in the early modern period. We also pay attention to the role of women in these printed translations (as dedicatees, sponsors, readers).

The conference aims to bring together scholars who can contribute on the following topics:

1. Medieval and humanistic commentaries and translations of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (preferably translations and commentaries of the whole poem).
2. Later translations of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (17th-21st centuries).
3. Representation of episodes from the Metamorphoses in medieval and Renaissance visual arts.
4. From manuscript to print: paratextual materials, new readership, uses, censorship, the role of women in Ancient and Medieval works in printing. (This topic is open to the study of works other than the Metamorphoses. We encourage researchers on medieval and Renaissance Catalan literature to present papers on this research topic).

Submissions: Please send a short biography (a link to an institutional page or similar resource is also acceptable), a provisional title and an abstract of no more than 300 words by Thursday, 15th of January 2026 either to Gemma Pellissa Prades (gemmapellisa@ub.edu) or Pere Fàbregas (pfabregas@ub.edu). Papers should be 20 minutes long (followed by a discussion). The languages of the conference will be Catalan, English, French, Italian, and Spanish. Papers will be selected according to their intrinsic relevance and affinity with the project’s subject matter. Authors will be notified by Monday, 2nd of March.

Scientific committee: Anna Alberni (UB), Anna Cappellotto (U. Verona), Mattia Cavagna (UCLouvain), Juan Antonio Estévez (U. Huelva), Albert Lloret (U. Massachusetts Amherst), Carles Mancho (UB). 

Conference website: https://web.ub.edu/web/projecte-recerca-medovid/conference

The conference is an in-person event. The inscription is free of charge, but unfortunately we cannot offer any grants to cover travel and accommodation expenses.

Should you have any questions or if you wish to make any informal inquiries, please contact either Gemma Pellissa Prades (gemmapellisa@ub.edu) or Pere Fàbregas (pfabregas@ub.edu).
We look forward to reading your proposals.

Source : Universitat de Barcelona