Department Seminar: Edwin Wong, Friday, 23 Feb. @ 2:30 pm, CLE B415

A departmental seminar hosted by the Department of Greek and Roman Studies at the UVic will be presented by:

Edwin Wong (M.A., Brown University, UVic Alumnus) will present a lecture entitled, “Low-Probability, High-Consequence Events in Greek Tragedy: Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes.”

Low-probability, high-consequence events dramatically reshape our lives in unexpected ways. Our cognitive biases, however, downplay the risk of the highly improbable. By dramatizing low-probability, high-consequence events, the art form of tragedy reminds us that we can be hurt most from what we least expect. This happens in Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes, a play where, against all odds, brother squares off against brother at the seventh gate. By dramatizing improbable events, the ancient tragedy Seven Against Thebes gives modern audiences a primer in risk management.