Call for contributions for a forthcoming edited volume of papers
Experiencing Space and Place in the Roman World
We are looking for proposals for papers examining issues of space and
place in the Roman world. Over the last five years the editors have
organised several sessions at conferences covering this subject. We
have now decided to pull together these discussions into one place
along with additional contributions to offer a snapshot of current
thinking on this topic.
The landscape of the late Roman Republic, Roman Empire and Late
Antiquity was divided, re-divided and subdivided in endless and
varying ways, ranging from the creation of provinces and civitates,
to the imposition of a road network, to the planning of new towns, to
the layout of individual buildings. The overlapping historical
processes involved can be seen as the transformation of geographic or
geometric `spaces' into `places', which have specific, and often
localised, cultural meanings. Such activity, though, did not take
place in a `virgin landscape' and actually represents a complex and
non-uniform interaction. The processes involved created an array of
cultural and material landscapes at different levels. These are
reflected in the archaeological data as settlement patterns, artefact
distributions, and relict features. The individuals and groups
involved in or affected by these processes would have had different
experiences depending on their role in the creation and maintenance
of these cultural landscapes.
We are seeking contributions which explore the processes of the
defining, re-defining (or even un-defining) of places within the
landscape. We are not seeking papers that focus on the technologies
of measurement and division, but rather those which instead consider
what the division of space into particular arrangements can tell us
about the people experiencing this process, whether as imposers,
receivers, or simply observers.
Possible topics might include, but are not limited to:
• The construction of spatial knowledge in the past, such as
the creation and use of maps and itineraries or cadastral land
division. Who made use of these technologies and why?
• The development of the ethnic landscape, particularly in
relation to the `assisted' migrations of peoples, such as the
Germanic tribes during the reign of Augustus
• Ideological divisions of the world, such as Roman vs.
Barbarian, Gaul, or Greek, and how these perceptions may have
impacted the creation of territories and boundaries
• Experiences of the landscape, arising from and including the
impacts of visibility, or the methods and costs of travel and
transport
• Patterns in the landscape, e.g., settlement patterns or the
distribution of imports, and what this might imply about the
underlying social processes
• The nature of different experiences of space at different
scales, such as urban space, domestic space, or within military bases
• The maritime viewpoint
• The way in which differing perspectives interacted; whether
combining, conquering or operating independently
If you would like to be part of this or have any questions please get
in touch with us at romanspaceandplace AT googlemail.com. We require
abstracts for your proposed contribution no later than 31st October
2008. Final papers will be due in early 2009. This volume will be
subject to peer review and we plan for it to be published in late
2009.
--
Ben Croxford and Jason Lucas
Experiencing Space and Place in the Roman World
romanspaceandplace AT googlemail.com
Experiencing Space and Place in the Roman World
We are looking for proposals for papers examining issues of space and
place in the Roman world. Over the last five years the editors have
organised several sessions at conferences covering this subject. We
have now decided to pull together these discussions into one place
along with additional contributions to offer a snapshot of current
thinking on this topic.
The landscape of the late Roman Republic, Roman Empire and Late
Antiquity was divided, re-divided and subdivided in endless and
varying ways, ranging from the creation of provinces and civitates,
to the imposition of a road network, to the planning of new towns, to
the layout of individual buildings. The overlapping historical
processes involved can be seen as the transformation of geographic or
geometric `spaces' into `places', which have specific, and often
localised, cultural meanings. Such activity, though, did not take
place in a `virgin landscape' and actually represents a complex and
non-uniform interaction. The processes involved created an array of
cultural and material landscapes at different levels. These are
reflected in the archaeological data as settlement patterns, artefact
distributions, and relict features. The individuals and groups
involved in or affected by these processes would have had different
experiences depending on their role in the creation and maintenance
of these cultural landscapes.
We are seeking contributions which explore the processes of the
defining, re-defining (or even un-defining) of places within the
landscape. We are not seeking papers that focus on the technologies
of measurement and division, but rather those which instead consider
what the division of space into particular arrangements can tell us
about the people experiencing this process, whether as imposers,
receivers, or simply observers.
Possible topics might include, but are not limited to:
• The construction of spatial knowledge in the past, such as
the creation and use of maps and itineraries or cadastral land
division. Who made use of these technologies and why?
• The development of the ethnic landscape, particularly in
relation to the `assisted' migrations of peoples, such as the
Germanic tribes during the reign of Augustus
• Ideological divisions of the world, such as Roman vs.
Barbarian, Gaul, or Greek, and how these perceptions may have
impacted the creation of territories and boundaries
• Experiences of the landscape, arising from and including the
impacts of visibility, or the methods and costs of travel and
transport
• Patterns in the landscape, e.g., settlement patterns or the
distribution of imports, and what this might imply about the
underlying social processes
• The nature of different experiences of space at different
scales, such as urban space, domestic space, or within military bases
• The maritime viewpoint
• The way in which differing perspectives interacted; whether
combining, conquering or operating independently
If you would like to be part of this or have any questions please get
in touch with us at romanspaceandplace AT googlemail.com. We require
abstracts for your proposed contribution no later than 31st October
2008. Final papers will be due in early 2009. This volume will be
subject to peer review and we plan for it to be published in late
2009.
--
Ben Croxford and Jason Lucas
Experiencing Space and Place in the Roman World
romanspaceandplace AT googlemail.com