Tuesday 1 November 2011

Today I presented my paper at the conference. I went early to the University, where a number of interesting sessions were going on. I splurged and took a taxi on my way to the conference, since I didn’t want to walk up the steep hill in a jacket and tie.  The great thing about an interdisciplinary conference is that you can something that’s completely new to you.  I decided to sit in on a few sessions covering topics ranging from higher education to sustainable development to literary theory. 

I planned to listen to the paper immediately before mine just so I’d be in the proper room on time. Much to my surprise the speaker was a Penn State professor from one of our campuses in the Philadelphia area!  After her very interesting paper I introduced myself to her as a fellow Penn Stater.  I was happy to hear her praise the library!  Then it was my turn.  My paper dealt with religious imagery in public art, architecture, and literature in the reign of Caesar Augustus, the first emperor of Roma.  The presentation was well received.  Afterwards I had a couple of good discussions with members of the audience about both the subject of the paper as well as ways to incorporate research in the humanities into the curriculum for courses in the physical and applied sciences.  This conference is pretty cool!  I also talked to a graduate student from the Middle East about historical climatology, a subject in which I have taken a recent interest. 

The sun sets early since Daylight Saving Time (called Summer Time in Europe) ended.  It was dark by the time I left the University, although it was still warm.  Being in no hurry I decided to walk down the steps on the Viale Glorioso. This is one of several stairways leading from Trastevere to the Gianicolo.  This particular stair is very wide, probably thirty feet or more, and consists of a couple of hundred stone steps with five or six broad landings.  I took my time walking down the steps in the dark.  I figured that if I slipped, I’d probably start rolling and not stop until I hit the Tiber.  I made it down the stairs without incident and walked along the Viale di Trastevere, the main street through this part of town.  Along the way I stopped for dinner: bucatini all’amatriciana, long and slender hollow tubes of pasta in a spicy sauce of tomato, pancetta, garlic and hot pepper flakes.  Then I made my way back to the apartment and made some phone calls on Skype before reading a while.  By then it was almost midnight so I got ready for bed, glad that my presentation had gone well.