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VERSION:2.0
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UID:DUEVENT6994
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20130525T180007Z
DTSTART:20100322T090000Z
DTEND:20100323T140000Z
STATUS:CONFIRMED
TRANSP:OPAQUE
LOCATION:Department of Classics & Ancient History, Ritson Room, 22nd - 23r
 d March 2010
SUMMARY:Water and Identity in the Ancient World: a workshop
DESCRIPTION:The workshop, a joint venture of the Departments of Classics &
 amp; Ancient History and of Archaeology sponsored by the IAS (Durham) and 
 by the CAMNE, will focus on the ancient Mediterranean and the 'outer Atlan
 tic', in a comparative and multidisciplinary perspective; the aim is to en
 hance our understanding of how water functions as a defining element of co
 mmunal identity, from antiquity to the present. Detailed programme hereLar
 ge expanses of water have played a key role in the emergence and consolida
 tion of political and cultural identities. The ancient Greeks, for instanc
 e, conceived of themselves and their colonies as 'frogs around the pond' o
 f the Mediterranean, which served as an 'ecumenical' water-way for travel,
  commerce, and exploration. Insularity, or island existence, is an importa
 nt element of Greek and Roman geographical thought. Indeed, the contrast b
 etween land-based and water-based power defined major periods in Greek and
  Roman history, whether we think of the Persian wars, the protracted strug
 gle for hegemony between Athens and Sparta, or the rise and expansion of R
 ome. In the wake of the conflict with Persia, the watershed between Europe
  and Asia marked by the Bosphorus - a strait which forms the boundary betw
 een the European part of Turkey and its Asian part - took on added ideolog
 ical significance, which it has not lost to this day. In Roman times, the 
 Rhine, which marked the border to unconquered Germany, constituted the lim
 its of Rome's imperial reach. Before it became incorporated into the empir
 e, Britain was detached by the ocean and was sometimes identified with ult
 ima Thule. From the Greek and Roman point of view, water played a key role
  in the contact zone at the frontier between civilization and barbarity. T
 his workshop will study the geopolitics of the ancient Mediterranean and n
 orth western Europe (both in their uniting and their dividing facets), in 
 dialogue with experts from various periods and cultures. The individual da
 ys of the workshop will focus on the ancient Mediterranean (first day) and
  the 'outer Atlantic' (second day), linking the two aspects through a comp
 arative perspective. The workshop thus aims to enhance our understanding o
 f how water functions as a defining element of communal identity, from ant
 iquity to the present. Themes that will be discussed include the importanc
 e of water in the ancient Egyptians' perception of their identity; the mea
 ning of the 'Bitter sea' as a boundary for the Persian empire; Greek notio
 ns of insularity; the role of rivers in the definition of the territory an
 d of colonial identities in the Greek colonies of Southern Italy; the isla
 nd identity of Britain and the role of the Rhine in defining the edge of R
 oman imperial territory. The workshop will include papers by some of the l
 eading experts in the field of Mediterranean studies (Nicholas Purcell, Ox
 ford), Greek insularity (Christy Constantakopoulou, Birkbeck), Greek colon
 ization (Mario Lombardo, Lecce) and Roman identities in the Atlantic regio
 n (David Braund, Exeter). Other speakers include: Adam Rogers (Leicester),
  Martin Pratt (Durham, Geography), Johannes Haubold (Durham, Classics), Pe
 nny Wilson (Durham, Archaeology) and Robin Skeates (Durham, Archaeology). 
 The two-day workshop is open to all but numbers are restricted so please c
 ontact the organizers if you wish to attend.
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