Communities are the cornerstone of any society, but Greek history is often focused on the communities of citizens. Studies of other groups are often defined by their opposition to this citizen community: citizen/foreigner, free/slave, male/female etc. Literary accounts, written predominantly by a wealthy male citizen elite, often emphasise these differences, but status distinctions are much less distinguishable outside of legalistic or ideological contexts. In visual culture it is difficult to discern these kinds of status differentials. In material culture it is almost impossible.
This conference aims to move away from these polarities to examine the formation of communities and the networks of interaction between different groups in the classical and early hellenistic periods. Status could be a fluid concept: slaves, foreigners and citizens worked side-by-side; they lived together, dedicated to the gods together, and were receptive to similar cultural impulses. The conference therefore aims to examine the following questions:
• What constituted a ‘community’ within the Greek world?
• What networks did people create, belong to, and destroy?
• How were different groups of people interconnected, and how did they negotiate the ‘boundaries’ between them?
• How did communities change in response to social, political, economic impulses?
• How can we use networks to access the lives and activities of people for whom little traditional evidence survives?
If you would like to attend, please email Dr. Claire Taylor.
We are able to offer a number of student bursaries covering the cost of accommodation on campus. If you would like to be considered please complete the application form and return it to Dr Claire Taylor, Dept of Classics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland, or alternatively email it to Dr Claire Taylor by 29 May 2009. Please ask your supervisor (or other appropriate referee) to send a short statement of support to the same address.
The conference will take place in room B6.002 (Classics seminar room), Classics Department, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin. For directions to College, see the travel information here.
A map of the campus is available here.
Unfortunately we are unable to provide accommodation, but rooms on campus can be booked here.
For further information, please contact Dr Claire Taylor (Trinity College Dublin) or Dr Kostas Vlassopoulos (University of Nottingham).
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