The migration of people, objects and ideas was vital in shaping the ancient world. Men, women and children moved around the ancient world, some drawn by opportunities abroad, some forced by need or calamity, and some enslaved and brought to foreign lands against their will. With them they brought ideas about the human experience (including migration), and about the divine, as well as technologies for navigating and improving both the physical world and what lay beyond.
Migration is here understood as a permanent or semi-permanent change of residence. Today, as millions of people around the world make that change, migration continues to shape the political, economic, social and cultural worlds we inhabit. The 20th Europaeum Classics Colloquium gives researchers in the fields of ancient history, literature, archaeology and philosophy the opportunity to consider this important subject within the ancient world. The colloquium seeks to facilitate a discussion about the theoretical and methodological challenges regarding the study of migration and perceptions of the foreigner.
This year’s colloquium will be an in-person event at the University of Copenhagen’s Faculty of the Humanities. The event will be hosted by Dr Christian A Thomsen of the University of Copenhagen. It will take a broad view of migration in sociopolitical, literary and aesthetic terms.
In addition, two colloquium participants will be invited to arrive early and participate in a preceding conference, Moving the Ancient Greek World, which takes place on 24-25 June.
How to apply
We invite applications from master’s and doctoral students from within the Europaeum network. We welcome applications from those who wish to present a 15-minute paper as well as those who wish to participate without giving a paper.
Paper topics could include (but are not limited to): documentary evidence for migration, travel, or international relations; the spread of religious practices, objects, or beliefs; migration and gender and/or wealth; foreignness in Greek and Roman society; problems of locating migrants in the archaeological or historical record; metaphors of migrants or migration in ancient literature.
Presentations will be grouped into thematical panels. Participants will be invited to comment on others’ work.
The deadline for submission of applications and abstracts is 5 April 2022. All submissions should be sent to office@europaeum.org. The following documents should be submitted, all by the deadline:
- a completed application form
- a CV
- a statement of purpose (max 500 words) giving details of your academic interests and what you would expect to gain from attending this event
- a reference from your supervisor/academic advisor
- an abstract (up to 500 words) if you are proposing to present a paper
Applicants should also indicate in their application whether they might also be interested to participate in the preceding conference, Moving the Ancient Greek World.