WORKSHOP: MEET THE NEW GODS, SAME AS THE OLD GODS?: ROMAN RELIGION, MASS MEDIA AND IMPERIAL POWER
Call For Papers
Workshop: “Meet the New Gods, Same as the Old Gods?: Roman Religion, Mass Media and Imperial Power”
29 April 2023
University of Newcastle (NSW)
The death of Queen Elizabeth II, head of the Church of England and “defender of the faith”, reminds all Australians of the links among religion, imperial politics and mass media expressed in coins, processions, and public statues. Scholars have long recognized the continuities of time and space across the Roman empire of all these mechanisms of imperial power and communication, from the formation of Rome’s overseas empire in the 3rd century BCE into Late Antiquity. However, the conversion of emperors and their mass media to Christianity has been seen as a watershed break with centuries of tradition, with the gods, rituals and hence mass media of Roman and Hellenic religion wholly replaced or displaced within the course of the 4th and 5th centuries. This workshop aims to recover and restore nuance to the continuities across the centuries of Roman imperial power and its religious expression in the ancient mass media.
Titles and short abstracts (250 words max) of research papers of 10 to 20 minutes are invited by email to ryan.strickler@newcastle.edu.au. Deadline for Submissions is 31 March 2023.
The organizers encourage submissions from Australia- and New Zealand-based scholars at all stages (including postgraduates) on topics including, but not limited to: coinage before or after Constantine; the new cults of the Tetrarchs; the role of personifications in Roman imperial media; the changing role of portrait statues of emperors in the 4th century; the use of incense in imperial and Christian ritual; the titles of the emperors, and how those were announced; the development of imperial ceremonial; or the Christianization of weddings, funerals, or other public ceremonies.
Confirmed speakers/organizers:
Dr Ryan Strickler (Newcastle)
Prof Bronwen Neil (Macquarie)
Dr Amelia R. Brown (UQ)
Dr Estelle Strazdins (ANU)
Keynote Lecture by Associate Professor Tom Stevenson (UQ)
‘Popular responses to the assassination of Julius Caesar (44-42 BCE): Media, religion, emotion’
Abstract: In the months following Caesar’s assassination on 15 March 44 BCE, it seems that the tyrannicides Brutus and Cassius, and their followers, were surprised by the depth of popular feeling in favour of Caesar. They were surprised by the people’s use of violence, but more fundamentally by their acceptance of Caesar as father and god. The aim of this paper, in light of recent influence from media studies, is to investigate with fresh eyes some of the means by which the Roman people experienced these ideas, some of the ways they acted on them, and some of the reasons why they accepted them as strongly as they did. Elements of the people seem to have been invested in Caesar’s divine status far more than they were ever invested in any political offices or legal powers he held during his career. The attraction of the charismatic or ideological or divine aspects of his power continues to demand our attention.
58TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON MEDIEVAL STUDIES
The 58th International Congress on Medieval Studies takes place 11-13 May 2023.
Hybrid Format
The 58th International Congress on Medieval Studies will include traditional in-person sessions, virtual sessions via our online platform and some new blended-format sessions that make it possible for speakers to present and audiences to attend both in-person and online. We welcome proposals for sessions and papers both from scholars planning to attend ICMS on the ground here in Kalamazoo and those attending virtually from around the world.
The portal for session proposals is now open. The deadline for session proposals is 1 June 2022.
LEEDS IMC 2023: NETWORKS & ENTANGLEMENTS
3-6 July 2023
Congress website and call for papers.
Paper proposal deadline: 31 August 2022
Session proposal deadline: 30 September 2022
The IMC provides an interdisciplinary forum for the discussion of all aspects of Medieval Studies. Proposals on any topic related to the Middle Ages are welcome, while every year the IMC also chooses a special thematic focus. In 2023 this is ‘Networks and Entanglements’.
CALL FOR SESSIONS: MARY JAHARIS CENTER SPONSORED PANEL, 2023 INTERNATIONAL MEDIEVAL CONGRESS
To encourage the integration of Byzantine studies within the scholarly community and medieval studies in particular, the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture seeks proposals for a Mary Jaharis Center sponsored session at the 2023 International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, July 3–6, 2023. We invite session proposals on any topic relevant to Byzantine studies.
The thematic strand for the 2023 IMC is “Networks and Entanglements.” See the IMC Call for Papers (https://www.imc.leeds.ac.uk/imc-2023/) for additional information about the theme and suggested areas of discussion.
Session proposals must be submitted through the Mary Jaharis Center web site (https://maryjahariscenter.org/sponsored-sessions/imc-2023). The deadline for submission is September 6, 2022. Proposals should include title, 100-word session abstract, session moderator and academic affiliation, information about the three papers to be presented in the session, for each paper: name of presenter and academic affiliation, proposed paper title, and 100-word abstract, and organizer’s CV
The session organizer may act as the moderator or present a paper. Participants may only present papers in one session.
Applicants will be contacted by mid-September about the status of their proposal.
If the proposed session is approved, the Mary Jaharis Center will reimburse a maximum of 4 session participants (presenters and moderator) up to $800 maximum for European residents and up to $1400 maximum for those coming from outside Europe. Funding is through reimbursement only; advance funding cannot be provided. Eligible expenses include conference registration, transportation, and food and lodging. Receipts are required for reimbursement. For scholars participating remotely, the Mary Jaharis Center will reimburse participants for conference registration.
Please contact Brandie Ratliff (mjcbac@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture with any questions.
CALL FOR SESSIONS: MARY JAHARIS CENTER SPONSORED PANEL, 49TH ANNUAL BYZANTINE STUDIES CONFERENCE
As part of its ongoing commitment to Byzantine studies, the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture seeks proposals for a Mary Jaharis Center sponsored session at the 49th Annual Byzantine Studies Conference to be held at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, October 26–29, 2023. We invite session proposals on any topic relevant to Byzantine studies.
The conference will be in-person only.
Session proposals must be submitted through the Mary Jaharis Center website. The deadline for submission is April 3, 2023.
If the proposed session is accepted, the Mary Jaharis Center will reimburse a maximum of 5 session participants (presenters and chair) up to $800 maximum for scholars based in North America and up to $1400 maximum for those coming from outside North America. Funding is through reimbursement only; advance funding cannot be provided. Eligible expenses include conference registration, transportation, and food and lodging. Receipts are required for reimbursement. Participants must participate in the conference in-person to receive funding. The Mary Jaharis Center regrets that it cannot reimburse participants who have last-minute cancellations and are unable to attend the conference.
For further details and submission instructions, please visit https://maryjahariscenter.org/sponsored-sessions/49th-bsc.
Please contact Brandie Ratliff (mjcbac@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture with any questions.