Bagnani Lectures - Ancient Greek & Roman Studies

Bagnani Lectures

The Bagnani Lectures celebrate the legacy of Gilbert and Stewart Bagnani. After a career at Toronto, where his students included Tom Symons, the founding president of Trent, Gilbert taught at Trent in the 1960s and 1970s, with interests in literature and archaeology. Since 2018 this lecture series has focused on the ancient Mediterranean and the environment, consciously “crossing the river” to unite different ways of thinking about the world.

2025 FALL: Dr. Kristina Sessa (Ohio State University) - Is There an Archeology of Disaster? Using the Material Record to Study Ruinous Events in Late Antiquity

A digital poster for the 2025 Bagnani Lecture hosted by Trent University’s Ancient Greek & Roman Studies department. The background features the painting "The Course of Empire: Destruction" by Thomas Cole (1836), depicting a chaotic scene of classical ruins and destruction. Overlaid text provides event details: Title: Is There an Archaeology of Disaster? Using the Material Record to Study Ruinous Events in Late Antiquity Speaker: Dr. Kristina Sessa, Department of History, Ohio State University Date & Time:

2024 FALL: Dr. Cam Grey (University of Pennsylvania) - An Earthquake that Shook the World: Localizing the Crete Mega-Earthquake of 365 CE

2024 WINTER: Dr. Seth Bernard (University of Toronto) - A Tiber Valley Town in Its Landscape over the Longue Durée

an image of a town and the title of the lecture on top of the image

2019: Dr. Tim Newfield (Georgetown University) - Just Another Day or Volcanic Apocalypse? The 536 Event, Climate Cooling, and the Fall of Rome

a picture of 2 skeletons on the top left, a blue lake on the top right, and an orange sky at the bottom.

2018: Dr. John Haldon (Princeton University) - St. Theodore, Euchaita and Anatolia c.500-1000 CE: Landscape, Climate and the Survival of an Empire

information on the lecture and a picture of 2 ancient sculptures on the right