Circulations, Connections and Social Dynamics: the Central and Western Mediterranean (VIII–XV C), University of Catania, July 11–15, 2016
The Ecole française de Rome, University of Catania, Casa de Velázquez, CIHAM-UMR 5648, Orient CIHAM-UMR 5648, Orient & Méditerranée-UMR 8167, and Méditerranée-UMR 8167 are calling for applications for a doctoral workshop on the subject, Circulations, Connections and Social Dynamics: the Central and Western Mediterranean between Christian and Muslim Spheres, to be held at the Università degli Catania, 11-15 July 2016.
The workshop is dedicated to an analysis of the different contexts in which contact took place: these were marked by conquest, the replacement of the ruling elite, the development of material culture and the accompanying processes of social transformation; equally important are diplomatic, commercial, artistic and intellectual relations, as well as representations of alterity. Shared spaces, i.e. frontier zones, milieux of interaction etc. will also be under scrutiny. Confronting and discussing different constellations as well as various scholarly approaches from various fields of specialization (e.g.: processes of Islamicization, notions of “reconquest”, shared cultures and practices) will allow to avoid adherence to one single paradigm of interpretation. Juxtaposing reflections about material culture and representations, about archaeological and textual evidence will provide further opportunities to question preconceived ideas.
The aim of comparing different types of sources and fields of research dedicated to the conceptualization of contact and its effects is to reflect about the most appropriate models to describe and iterpret different kinds of contact between Christian and Muslim spheres in the western and central Mediterranean. Recent scholarship has proposed diverse paradigms ranging from cultural transfer via connected/shared histories to the notion of transculturality. All of these paradigms insist on the dynamics that characterize processes of social transformation that either precede or result from situations of contact as such, the latter including scientific revolutions and technical developments, shifts in the relation between knowledge and the mutual appreciation of “the other”, evolving perceptions of space and its inhabitants, changes in taste and the appreciation of style, transformations with regards to aspects of daily life (diet, clothing, hygiene, behaviour etc.), as well as juridical and political norms.
The conference papers should be given in French and Italian; if they are presented in Spanish or English, they should be accompanied by a powerpoint presentation in French or Italian.
The Workshop will include two sections during the first 4 days. The doctoral seminar will proceed as follows: in the mornings, a lecture on the themes of the workshop will be delivered by a scholar and discussed by a discussant; the afternoons will be dedicated to the presentations from doctoral and postdoctoral students on their own research, three each day. Theses presentations (20 minutes each) will be discussed by the scholars and debated by all present.
The French School of Rome is offering 12 scholarships for junior researchers (doctoral and postdoctoral students from the European Community, and outside of the EU), which have done or are in the process of undertaking research on the topics and problems related to circulations, connections and social dynamics in the central and western Mediterranean between Christian and Muslim spheres (7th-15th C). These scholarships cover the entire cost of the stay.