One of the essential skills for any scholar is the art of public speaking. Speaking face to face to a live audience at conferences plays a significant role in sharing discoveries with the world.

The act of public speaking was developed to express a sphere of knowledge in Greece and Rome, where prominent thinkers codified discussions as a central part of the discipline of rhetoric. Public speaking has been transformed by newly available technology, but the essentials remain the same.

I have refined my skills in presenting ideas effectively to a large audience through years of practice at conferences, symposiums, workshops, etc. I was also fortunate to attend many of Catherine Para-Tribot’s seminars on public speaking at Sorbonne University and CELSA (Paris) in 2016.

Public speaking was very frustrating for me at first. I was shy and intimidated, which manifested through heart palpitations and sweating. Giving a speech with really sweaty armpits is disgusting! Thus, I went to all of Catherine’s classes, hell-bent on learning how to overcome my fears and become an engaging orator. It took a lot of practice, but it eventually worked.

Having moved past my sweaty armpit days, I have confidently given many talks on various research topics at conferences to enthusiastic audiences worldwide and in multiple languages.

 

If you are interested in my conference presentations, here is a list of talks with their corresponding abstracts. Whenever possible, a link to a video recording has been equally provided. Please note that even if the conference was in a language other than English, the abstracts are always bilingual. Enjoy!

2022 –  “A New Semantic Interpretation of Timotheus of Miletus’ Persae, 147–8”, International Colloquium on Ancient Greek Linguistics; Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain, 2022 (accepted). Anfosso_2022_Persae_147-148

2022 – “Euripides’ Phrygian Slave and Timotheus of Miletus’ Phrygian Soldier: Musical References and Relative Chronology”, Annual Meeting of the Society for Classical Studies, San Francisco, USA, January 2022. Anfosso_2022_Euripides_and_Timotheus

2021 – “Remarks on the Neo-Phrygian Funerary Curse Apodosis με δεως κε ζεμελως κε Τιη τιττετικμενος ειτου”, 32nd Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference, Los Angeles, California, USA, November 2021. Anfosso_2021_Remarks_Neo_Phrygian_Funerary_Curses

2021 (invited talk) – “Radici pre-greche dei miti greci,” Lecture Series “La Storia dietro alle storie – Le radici culturali del mito,” Associazione Italiana di Cultura Classica – Delegazione di Roma, Rome, Italy, October 2021 (with Matilde Serangeli, University of Jena, Germany).

2021 (invited talk) – “Remarks on Some Features of the Neo-Phrygian Funerary Curses”, First International Phrygian Workshop, University of Barcelona, Spain, September 2021.

2021 (invited talk) – “Valentina Visconti, Domina di Asti”, Talk on the occasion of the 650th anniversary of the birth of Valentina Visconti, Asti, Italy, June 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nezmStvwk4

2021 (invited talk) – “Askanios de la lointaine Askania : l’origine anatolienne d’un héros éponyme”, Journée d’Étude Jeunes Chercheurs Asie Mineure, France, April 2021.

2021 – “’Godlike Askanios, from Faraway Askania’, or the Anatolian Connection of an Eponymous Hero”, 2021 (Virtual) Annual Meeting of the Society for Classical Studies, Chicago, USA, January 2021. Anfosso_2021_Askanios_from_Faraway_Askania

2020 – “Entwining Greek with Asian Speech: Timotheus of Miletus’ The Persians 140–61”, Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington, D.C., USA, November 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU9wzImyc5k

2020 – “Timotheus of Miletus’ Persae, 150–161: Entwining Greek with Asian Speech”, 2020 Annual Meeting of the Society for Classical Studies, Marriott Marquis & Marina, Washington, D.C., USA, January 2020. Anfosso_2020_Persae_150-161

2019 (invited talk) – “Between Lydia and Phrygia: the Case Study of Kelainai”, International Workshop: The Lydians and their Neighbors: Recent Perspectives on Cultural, Ethnic and Linguistic Interactions in Western Anatolia, Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington, D.C., USA, December 2019. Anfosso_2019_Kelainai_Between_Lydia_and_Phrygia

2019 – “The Phrygians from Βρίγες to Φρύγες: Herodotus 7.73, or the Linguistic Problems of a Migration”, 31st Annual UCLA Indo- European Conference, Los Angeles, California, USA, November 2019. Anfosso_2019_Phrygians_Briges_Phruges

2019 (invited talk) – “Les inscriptions néo-phrygiennes : une revendication identitaire”, International Conference: Constructions identitaires en Asie Mineure, Institut des Sciences et Techniques de l’Antiquité, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France, October 2019. Anfosso_2019_Inscriptions_Néo-phrygiennes_Identité_Ethnique

2019 – “Ritual Speech in the Neo-Phrygian Funerary Curse Formulae”, International Conference: Indo-European Religion and Poetics – A Comparative Approach: Myth, Ritual and Language, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, October 2019. Anfosso_2019_Ritual_Speech_Neo-Phrygian_Funerary_Curse_Formulae

2019 – “Timotheus of Miletus’ Persae, 147-148: A New Possible Semantic Interpretation”, 2019 Annual Meeting of the Society for Classical Studies, San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina, San Diego, California, USA, January 2019. Anfosso_2019_Persae_147-148

2018 (invited talk) – “Greek and Phrygian Interactions in the Neo-Phrygian Inscriptions: a Pragmatic and Sociolinguistic Analysis”, University of Copenhagen, ‘Roots of Europe’, Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, Copenhagen, Denmark, December 2018.

2018 – “Greek and Phrygian Interactions in the Neo-Phrygian Inscriptions: a Sociolinguistic Analysis”, 30th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA, November 2018. Anfosso_2018_Greek_Phrygian_Interactions

2018 – “Phrygians and Trojans in Greek Tragedy: Synonyms?”, 98th Anniversary Meeting of CAMWS–Southern Session, Hawthorne Inn and Conference Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, October 2018. Anfosso_2018_Trojans_Phrygians_Synonyms

2018 – “‘Entwining Greek with Asian Speech’: An Example of Secondary Foreigner Talk in Timotheus of Miletus’ Persae” International Colloquium on Ancient Greek Linguistics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, August 2018. Anfosso_2018_Secondary_Foreigner_Talk

2018 – “Un soldat phrygien qui parle grec dans l’armée perse : réflexions sur les contacts linguistiques en Phrygie à l’époque achéménide (VI^e–IV^e siècles avant J. C.) à partir des vers 140-161 des Perses de Timothée de Milet”, International Conference “Beyond All Boundaries: Anatolia in the 1st Millennium B.C.”, Conference Center Monte Verità, Ascona, Switzerland, June 2018. Anfosso_2018_Soldat_Phrygien

2017 – “I Frigi nell’universo tragico greco: riflessioni su una tragedia perduta di Eschilo”, International Conference “I Convegno Internazionale sul Teatro Classico: il Teatro Dimenticato”, Centro Studi sul Teatro Classico, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy, December 2017. Anfosso_2017_Frigi_Universo_Tragico_Greco

2016 – “Changements et mélanges de code dans les inscriptions néo-phrygiennes (I^er–III^e siècles après J. C.)”, International Conference: “Le changement : conceptions et représentations dans l’Antiquité gréco-romaine”, Maison de la Recherche, Paris, France, October 2016. Anfosso_2016_Code-Switching_Greek_Phrygian

2014 – “Le Phrygien : une langue balkanique perdue en Anatolie”, Journée d’Études “L’Anatolie: de l’époque archaïque à Byzance”, Maison de la Recherche, Paris, France, November 2014. Anfosso_2014_Phrygien_en_Anatolie