A study day on exchanges in ancient worlds will take place at the Sorbonne (Paris, France) on April 27, 2024. This study day is intended for both doctoral students and young researchers as well as more experienced researchers. It will take place in person and french proficiency is required (but communication can be in english).
Far from being isolated, ancient worlds were traversed by various exchanges, understood as acts of reciprocity consisting in giving and receiving goods, commodities, services, knowledge, and even individuals, among multiple parties. We will focus on both the ways of thinking and conceptualizing exchanges and their forms, objects, actors and stakes. Exchanges are also opportunities for encounters that can contribute to generating more or
less lasting connections. In this sense, they involve specific knowledge that allows access, interaction, and exchange with the Other. We will inquire whether exchanges can contribute to the success of a meeting. Finally, exchanges contribute to connecting worlds,
beyond political, social, cultural, and even ontological boundaries (e.g., relationships with the divine world or the underworld).
On the occasion of the approaching centenary of the publication of Marcel Mauss’s Essay on the Gift, this study day proposes to address the question of exchanges based on various documentary records, not limited to the Mediterranean Antiquity, and approaches inspired by the social sciences. Contributions pertaining to ancient Egypt, Sudan, Mesopotamia, China, India are most welcome.
Proposals (in english or in french) are to be submitted by December 4, 2023, to the following address: [email protected]
CFP (french) online: https://calenda.org/1095433
The organizing team:
Manon Courtois, PhD candidate, Sorbonne University
Bénédicte Ferran, PhD candidate, Sorbonne University
Baudouin Luzianovich, PhD candidate, Sorbonne University & IFAO
Marina Passat, PhD candidate, Sorbonne University
