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THEORIZING CONTACTS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, 8-9 December 2017
We live in a multicultural world, in which every community develops in constant interaction with others. A series of theoretical models have been developed to explain these contacts, which in recent years have been utilized to understand the ancient world. In the context of the Roman empire, these theories are typically used to examine the interactions of various indigenous populations with their rulers. These kinds of studies were once grouped under the heading “Romanization”, though the increased questioning of the term’s validity has given rise to a diverse range of alternatives. These are often drawn from modern theoretical backgrounds: multiculturalism and multilingualism are two recent concepts employed in this realm.
The aim of this conference is to assess the validity and scope of a variety of some of these models, with a particular focus on multilingualism and multiculturalism. By promoting and facilitating dialogue between disciplines, we shall aim to provide effective tools for different fields’ approaches in parallel (e.g. historical and linguistic). This has already been done very successfully in a few cases (e.g. ‘code-switching’), though greater interaction remains a desideratum. It is hoped that the participants will thereby open the discussion for a ‘theory of contact’ in the Roman world.
The Atlas Project of Roman Aqueducts (ROMAQ) is an initiative to collect published information about Roman aqueducts from the period of 400 BC to 400 AD. The project website was developed between 2004 and 2011, but the database and other efforts do not appear to have been actively updated since 2013. As it stands, the project’s scope is limited to large aqueducts that served cities and towns, excluding smaller aqueducts that served areas like villas and mines. The need for such a project, as the authors highlight on the landing page, is four-fold:
- aqueducts are important as cultural heritage;
- bibliographic resources on aqueducts are in many languages and can be difficult to access;
- aqueducts provide data for scientific topics like hydrology, geology, and engineering;
- aqueducts are vulnerable to destruction.
The ROMAQ team particularly hoped that the compilation of information about aqueducts and their locations might reduce intentional and accidental damage.
The ROMAQ website has three parts: a map, the database of aqueducts, and a list of references.
The Map
Presidential Letter
June 19, 2017
Dear Colleagues,
Recent weeks and months have seen an increase in the cultural tensions in our nation—and, indeed, the world. It is not uncommon now for disagreements to escalate quickly into verbal attacks, threats of violence, and even—as recently took place in Washington, DC—actual violence. Unquestionably, this tendency has been facilitated by social media. But our digital media are only a means or instrument. More troubling is the mentality fueling the rush to attack, across the political spectrum; and that is an unwillingness to verify information, weigh arguments, and attempt to make independent, rationally-grounded judgments. These habits of mind are the very bedrock of learning and of scholarship; they are the principles on which the SCS, as a learned society, is founded and which we have a duty to uphold and protect.
Beginning on Monday, June 26, the SCS Placement Service will enter its yearly maintenance session. That means that no new jobs will be posted and no jobs digests will be sent to subscribers for approximately two weeks. All job ads placed prior to June 26 will be made public so that they are still accessible.
We hope to reopen the Service after two weeks on Monday, July 10th. During the maintenance period we will implement some much-needed and frequently requested improvements, the details of which will be laid out in full when the Service reopens.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Placement Coordinator Erik Shell at erik.shell@nyu.edu
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The American Numismatic Society has released a free article from their ANS Magazine publication discussing the relationship between the American Numismatic Society and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
You can read the article here: http://numismatics.org/pocketchange/neh-issue/
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(Photo: "2010 Logo fof the United States National Endowment for the Humanities" by the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities, in the public domain)
This article was originally published in Amphora 12.1. It has been edited slightly to adhere to current SCS blog conventions.
It is a great time to be a fan of both the classical world and heavy metal music: the two have never overlapped to the extent that they do right now. Consider, for example, the fact that in 2013 not one but two Italian metal bands, Heimdall and Stormlord, released concept albums based on Vergil’s Aeneid.
But this overlap is not a new phenomenon—in fact, far from it. Heavy metal music has drawn on the classical world almost from its very beginnings, and this interest in the classical world is part of a larger obsession with other times and places—both real and imagined— that is a defining characteristic of the genre. And since metal is a conservative genre (there are clear forefathers to whom almost all subsequent bands owe and acknowledge their allegiance), the interest in these kinds of subjects by earlier bands sanctioned continuous use of them by all subsequent bands.
The Vergilian Society is soliciting proposals for the Third Annual Symposium Campanum, to take place at the Villa Vergiliana in Cuma in mid-October, 2018. We will consider proposals on any aspect of the history, archaeology, art and architecture, and geology of Italy and Sicily from the remotest antiquity to the Renaissance.
Each proposal should be prepared by the person who is intending to direct the symposium, or by the lead person if co-directors are envisioned. The successful director will have logistical assistance from the Vergilian Society’s Italian staff and from the executive committee; a set of guidelines is available to assist in planning.
Proposals should be 250-300 words in length, giving a brief rationale for the theme, some thoughts on what kinds of subjects are likely to be treated, and the names of several scholars who have worked on this theme and might be approached to participate. As international meetings, our symposia attract participants from all over the world, but since the Vergilian Society is an Italian-American cultural association, we are especially interested in seeing solid participation from scholars in these two countries.
Proposals should be submitted electronically by September 21, 2017 (new deadline!) to the president of the Vergilian Society, James O’Hara, at jimohara@unc.edu.
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The Celtic Conference in Classics in Montreal (July 19-21, 2017) has set its conference program. The panels and their speakers can be found at www.celticconferenceclassics.com. Panels cover a broad range of current debates in Classics including the problem of the fragmentary, epic and elegy, reception of classical drama, oratory and identity, ethnicity and imperialism, new directions in Plato, consciousness in Late Antiquity, and popular classics, to name a few. The CCC2017 cordially invites students, scholars, and interested parties to participate in the proceedings and enjoy collegial conversations on all things Classical.
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(Photo: "Empty Boardroom" by Reynermedia, licensed under CC BY 2.0)
Ruth Scodel, SCS delegate to the American Council of Learned Societies, has written up her report of the annual ACLS meeting.
You can read the full here.
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It is a pleasure to announce the tenth edition of Eleatica, International Session on Ancient Philosophy, to be held on 28th-30th September 2017 at the Fondazione Alario per Elea-Velia onlus (Ascea Marina, Salerno, Italy). This time the main lectures will be given by Prof. Livio Rossetti (Università di Perugia).
Here is the conference programme:
28th September 2017
09:00 a.m. Courtyard of Palazzo Alario: Registration.
10:00 a.m. Palazzo Alario, Sala Francesco Alario: Opening Ceremony
Marcello D’Aiuto (President of the Fondazione Alario per Elea-Velia onlus).
Stefania Giombini (Scientific Committee of Eleatica)
10:15 a.m. De Novis Libris, in quibus de Praesocraticis tractatur, Iudicia – Some new books on ancient philosophy
Chair: Omar Álvarez Salas (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
04:00 p.m. 1st Lecture. Livio Rossetti: La filosofia virtuale di Parmenide
Chair: Massimo Pulpito (Univ. Brasilia, Cátedra UNESCO Archai)
Discussant: Luis A. Bredlow (Universitat de Barcelona)
Open discussion
29th September 2017
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