The 17th meeting
of the quinquennial conference of the Associazione Internazionale
di Archeologia Classica will be held in Rome in September 2008
on the theme of ‘Meetings between Cultures in the Ancient
Mediterranean’. This represents the 50th anniversary of
the first conference organised by AIAC in Rome in 1958.
The conference will be organized strictly around a single theme,
but a broad one, of the meetings and interactions of cultures
across the Mediterranean world in antiquity. The material cultures
of the ancient Mediterranean, its artefacts, structures, settlements
and landscapes, whatever the region and whatever the period,
show the impact of the dense networks of exchange enabled by
the Mediterranean sea, and spreading to the surrounding areas.
‘Connectivity’ takes multiple forms: the exchange
of artefacts,materials, ideas, beliefs, technologies, and styles;
the movement of populations through migration, colonisation,
and slavery; the extension and contestation of zones of power
within and between which exchange could be enabled or restricted.
Through such contacts, identities might be defined, redefined,
imposed, or contested.
This set of archaeological themes touches on numerous issues
of importance in the contemporary Mediterranean and the modern
world. It coincides with the declaration by the European Union
of 2008 as the ‘European Year of Intercultural Dialogue’.
The conference
will seek to approach this theme from the widest possible range
of angles, embracing all archaeological disciplines, from landscape
archaeology to urbanism to art history to study of ceramics
and
material culture; and covering all areas of the Mediterranean,
extending to the areas under the control of or in closest contact
with Mediterranean powers (including all provinces of the Roman
Empire).
The official Languages of the Congress will be English, French,
German, Spanish and Italian. Proposals are invited for sessions,
consisting of up to 6 short papers on closely related themes.
Each session will last 2 hours, including 10-15 minute presentations
of each paper, and a 15 minute discussion by a nominated discussant.
Proposals for sessions should include the name of an organiser
who will take responsibility for contacting other session members,
a theme, an abstract of no more than 200 words describing the
theme and its relevance to the theme of the congress, and names
and paper titles of at least two and not more than six speakers.
The AIAC Organising Committee in Rome may add further speakers
to a session where the number is below six. Each session will
have a discussant; names of suitable discussants may be proposed
by the organiser. Proposals should be received by 31 May 2007;
notification will be sent of acceptance or rejection by 1 August
2007. Proposals will be assessed by members of the AIAC Directive
Committee in Rome; those not bearing a clear relationship to
the theme of the conference will not be accepted.
The following suggested topics are intended to be illustrative;
proposals need not be limited to them.
Themes which compare aspects of the same topic in different
periods or geographical areas are encouraged.
Proposals for
individual papers may be submitted at the same time, though
the Committee will accept proposals for individual papers up
to 1 July 2007. Where these proposals are accepted, the Committee
will assign papers either to sessions already accepted, or put
together new ones. In order to secure precirculation and publication,
complete texts of all papers must be received in digital form
by 31 July 2008.
These will be made available electronically to all registered
participants on the AIAC website.
For further information, please contact AIACCongress2008@gmail.com,
or visit www.aiac.org.
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