The Penn-Leiden Colloquia on Ancient Values were established as a biennial venue in which scholars could investigate the diverse aspects of Greek and Roman values. Each colloquium focuses on a single theme, which participants explore from a diversity of perspectives and disciplines.
The topic of the eighth colloquium, to be held at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, June 19-21, 2014, will be: Landscapes of Value.
Modern concerns with the environment and the place humans occupy in the natural world have led to better understanding of the complex ways in which humans interact with and construct space. How do we map the landscape and give it meaning? What is the relationship between the world of mountains, rivers, plains and rocks, and the human presence in these landscapes? How we occupy or use the natural world around us is influenced by, and in turn shapes, epistemologies of time and every other aspect of culture. The landscape is an integral component in human perceptions of the differences between wild and civilized, and nomadic and agricultural, just as these in turn give shape to ideas of identity, belonging, foreignness and gender. Undoubtedly for the Greeks and Romans the landscape was the primary location for articulating the subtle and fluid relationship between the human and the divine.
This conference is designed to investigate these questions in relation to the rich tradition of imbuing the landscape of the Greek and Roman worlds with meaning. From the location of Minoan peak sanctuaries, through the intimate practical yet mystical meaning of the Valley of the Muses to Hesiod, to the elusive place of landscape in pastoral poetry, every aspect of ancient Mediterranean culture interacted in powerful and significant ways with the landscape.
For the eighth Penn-Leiden colloquium, the Organizing Committee invites abstracts for papers (30 minutes) that address ‘landscapes of value’ along these lines, hoping to bring together researchers in all areas of classical studies, including literature, philosophy, linguistics, history, and visual and material culture, and to discover the significant points of intersection and difference between these areas of focus. Abstracts should address explicitly the notion of landscapes of value.
Selected papers will be considered for publication by Brill Publishers. Those interested in presenting a paper are requested to submit a 1-page abstract, by email no later than Friday December 20th, 2013. Contact (please copy both with email correspondence):
Dr. John Bintliff, Faculteit Archeologie, Mediterranean Archaeology, Academiegebouw, Rapenburg 71, 2311 GJ Leiden, Room number c101. Email: [email protected]
Prof. Jeremy McInerney, American School of Classical Studies, 54 Odos Souidias, Athens, GR 106-76, Greece. Email: [email protected]
