[Usyd_Classics_Events] CAH Seminar 24th August Ben Ferris

[Tamara Neal]

Dear Friends of Classics and Ancient History,

We are delighted to invite you to the second presentation of Semester 2, 2026 in our Classics and Ancient History research seminar series.

24th August 2026 (Monday, 12.15pm UTC+11)

V. Gordon Childe Boardroom, Madsen Building Level 2.

Zoom link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/81493879684

Chair: Bob Cowan


Dr. Ben Ferris (University of Sydney

Odysseus Returns (to Cinema): Ralph Fiennes in Uberto Pasolini’s The Return (2024)

My paper examines the portrayal of Odysseus in Uberto Pasolini’s 2024 feature film The Return. Using Gilles Deleuze’s theories on cinema I place Homer’s Odysseus alongside his appearance in The Return, here portrayed by an especially buff Ralph Fiennes. I use Deleuze’s semiotic framework to illustrate how Odysseus’ body, in both its nakedness and woundedness, functions as a “crystal image”, suspending Odysseus between the past and the present, and between revelation and erasure. I further consider the influence of American psychiatrist Jonathan Shay’s work on the film’s main themes, concerned with how psychological injury sustained during war continues to devastate the lives of veterans, and those closest to them, upon their return.
Ben Ferris: Biography
Ben Ferris is a filmmaker and a sessional academic at the University of Sydney. His forthcoming book Cinematic Time in the Odyssey<https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/cinematic-time-in-the-odyssey-9781350579606/> is published through Bloomsbury Academic. His own film adaptation of the Odyssey, the feature film Penelope<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/zxITCwV1vMfAwKQQ6HVfG6hJoCB8?domain=imdb.com> (2009), is available worldwide through the Bloomsbury Video Library.
Also, for those with an interest in seeing the film ahead of my presentation, it is currently available for free on SBS On Demand: https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/O4UWCxngwOf9Wk008HvhEGhynoB9?domain=sbs.com.au

We look forward to seeing you there.

Tamara


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DR TAMARA NEAL FHEA | Senior Lecturer in Ancient Greek (Education Focused) | FASS Academic Advisor | Accredited University-wide Peer Reviewer of Teaching<https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/16284/pages/12-dot-1-peer-review-of-teaching-module-overview>
President Classical Association of NSW<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/EgNMCyojxQT0BZWWDSQim2hxlgLB?domain=classics.org.au>
Classics & Ancient History | School of Humanities│Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
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