“Re-Thinking Globalisation in the Ancient World” is a three-day international and multi-disciplinary conference that will take place in Lampeter, Wales, UK, on 8-10 May 2018 and aims to explore approaches to the theme of ‘globalisation’ across the ancient world, c. 1200 BCE to 700 CE, from a methodological, cultural, social, and economic perspective.
Methodological issues relating to the theme of ‘globalisation’ will be analysed in different contexts, notably the application of this concept in different regions and different periods of the ancient world. For example, one can scrutinise such a concept in the multi-ethnic Seleukid Empire, explore globalizing tendencies in ancient China, the Inca empire or pharaonic Egypt, study concepts of local identities in the ‘global world’ of the Roman Empire, consider models like ‘Mediterranisation’ and ‘Oikoumenisation’, or explore interaction and cultural exchange between the Roman world, Africa, Southern Asia and China.
Call for papers
We are inviting papers that will broadly fit one or more of the following themes for any region across the ancient world and from any disciplinary perspective. We will also consider significant methodological papers from other periods.
Proposed sessions so far:
-Globalisation in Antiquity – a valid approach?
-Empires and the concept of Globalisation
-Migration and diaspora
-Shaping local identities in a ‘global world’
-Individual and regional responses to globalisation across the ancient world
-The Indian Ocean and the movement of goods, ideas and peoples
-How connected was the Afro-Eurasian world?
-“Visual Koiné” – Iconographies across the ancient world, from the Sasanian Empire, South Arabia to China (organised by Katharina Meinecke & Fabio Guidetti – TOPOI, Berlin)
-Globalisation and local identities from the Hellenistic period to late Antiquity: the view from the Aegean (organised by Anna Kouremenos (University of Tübingen) & Alkiviadis Ginalis (Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz and Austrian Academy of Sciences))
-“Industrial Zeitgeist” – to be confirmed
Proposals
If you are interested in entangled worlds, aspects of interconnectivity, migration, and diasporas, the concepts of globalisation, glocalisation, oikumenisation, etc. in any period prior to circa 700CE, be it in Asia, Europe, Africa or the Americas, then please send us your proposals in the next 9 days. The call for papers is still open and we do accept papers in languages other than English.
Please send a short abstract of no more than 400 words for your paper, plus a short CV, to the session organisers.
Languages: Apart from English and Welsh, papers in French, Spanish, Italian, German, etc. are of course welcome. We would also ask delegates who wish to present papers in languages other than English to consider providing their abstract, PowerPoint presentations and other visual media in English for the benefit of all conference delegates (simultaneous translation of papers into English will only be available for papers in Welsh).
Conference fee to cover tea, coffee, reception and lunch:
£45 (£30 for students and speakers; free for UWTSD students)
We have applied for funding to reimburse speakers’ expenses (e.g., accommodation and travel expenses), but we cannot promise you any reimbursement at the moment; we will keep you posted. For PhD students, there are lots of funding opportunities to attend conferences (see for example the Thomas Wiedemann Memorial Fund)
Accommdation will be available on the Lampeter campus (en-suite rooms in student halls) for approximately £30 pounds per night including breakfast (details to be confirmed). But you are free to make your own arrangements. We will advertise prices for on-campus accommodation very soon and we will also add a booking form to this website.
Organisers and contact details:
Please feel free to contact us anytime:
Dr Matthew Cobb – [email protected]
Assoc.-Prof. Ralph Haeussler – [email protected]
For more information, follow us on Facebook, @globallampeter, contact us by email, or visit our website (with information on the conference sessions, on accommodation, etc.):
http://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/humanit
