5th International Scientific Symposium Days of Justinian I, Skopje, November 17–18, 2017

The International scientific symposium “Days of Justinian I” is an annual interdisciplinary scholarly forum aimed at the presentation of the latest research followed by discussions on various aspects of Byzantine and Medieval Studies, that include the treatment and interpretation of cultural, historical and spiritual heritage in contemporary Europe. The Symposium is dedicated to Emperor Justinian I with the aim to address a broad range of issues related to Byzantium and the European Middle Ages, comprising the exploration of the cultural and historical legacy as an integrative component of the diversities and commonalities of Unified Europe.

This year the International Symposium “Days of Justinian I” chose a special thematic strand “Byzantium and the Slavs: Medieval and modern Perceptions and Receptions”, with the aim of discussing various aspects of the Slavic world and its legacy, from the Medieval and Modern perspective. The Symposium will address many issues concerning the Origins, Ethnicity, Identity, the State Formation of the Slavs and the relationships with Byzantium and Western Europe. The reception of the Slavic legacy in post-medieval Europe will also be explored and compared with the divergent visions of the Byzantine heritage, with the aim of defining their place within the frame of the European civilizational concept.

Тhe Symposium will embrace broader issues, geographical areas and chronological scope addressing the diverse aspects of religion, politics, ideology, identity, ethnicity, literary and artistic expression, political and cultural memory reflected in the historical and cultural legacy of the Slavia Orthodoxa, Slavia Romana and Byzantium.

Papers are welcomed on various topics that may include, but are not limited to the following areas of discussion:

• The origin of the Slavs reconsidered
• The emergence of the Slavs in Europe: Between migration and construction
• Slavic Ethnicity and identity:A reinterpretation
• Antiquity and the Slavs: Medieval and Modern receptions
• Byzantine and Western perceptions of the Slavic World
• Christianization of the Slavsand the concept of barbarism
• Slavia Orthodoxa and Slavia Romana: Political and ideological contexts
• State formation in the Middle Ages: Slavs, Byzantium and Western Europe
• Sharing the traditions in Europe: The reception of the mission of Sts. Cyril and Methodius
• Projecting the Middle Ages in the ideologies of Pan-Slavism and Yugoslavism
• Appropriation of the medieval past in 19th century Europe
• Imagining the Byzantine-Slavs rivalry in the 19thand 20thcentury Balkans
• The Slavic identity and the nationalism in Europe
• Literary Receptions of the Middle Ages
• Reinterpreting the archaeological evidence
• Reconstructing the messages of medieval visual narratives
• Languageand folklore
• Music and liturgical practices
• Heritage politics and the perception of the Past
• Preserving the cultural heritage: Restoration and protection