Lecture: Catherine Conybeare: “Augustine the African: On Writing Revisionist Biography”

The Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life will present “Augustine the African: On Writing Revisionist Biography,” a lecture by Catherine Conybeare (Bryn Mawr College) on October 20, 2025, at 5:00pm in UCSB’s McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). This event is free and open to the public.

What does it mean to write a revisionist biography of a figure who has been studied for centuries, who has many previous biographies, and who was preeminent in establishing the tenets of humanistic thought and the doctrines of the Christian church? Placing Augustine of Hippo back in his African context elicited a wealth of new questions about this familiar thinker. Conybeare discusses the potential pitfalls of this approach and the ethical responsibilities of the biographer.

Catherine Conybeare is Leslie Clark Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies at Bryn Mawr College. She specializes in the Latin authors of late antiquity, bringing them into conversation with present trends. Augustine the African is her fifth book.

This event is presented in collaboration with the Argyropoulos Chair in Hellenic Studies, and co-sponsored by the Humanities and Social Change Center and the departments of Classics, Philosophy, History, and Religious Studies.

For more information, visit: https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/augustine-african-writing-revisionist-biography-catherine-conybeare