III International Symposium "Days of Justinian I,” Skopje, October 30–31, 2015
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 Heritage of Europe: Connecting the Cultures.” Ever since the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans, Byzantium was constantly rediscovered and imagined. The invention of “Byzantinism” in Western European discourse in the eighteenth century, served to delimitate and separate “oriental”, “despotic” and “backward” Byzantium from the civilized Europe. This cultural bias in the Western academy and politicians led to the marginalization of Byzantine studies in the scholarly and political discourse in Western Europe. Conversely Byzantium was and still being exploited in Balkans within the projected Slav-Greek struggle for historical and cultural legacy. Byzantium’s multiple reincarnations served different purposes and produced many misconceptions. However, the Real Byzantium was in constant contacts with different cultures and peoples in the wider region of Europe, Caucasus and the Muslim world. Accordingly the aim of the Symposium is to initiate scholarly debate to define Byzantium’s place in the cultural history and imagination, giving it the central role in the relationships between East and West, Christianity and Islam, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, and the ancient and medieval world. Аdressing broader discussions and geographical areas in exploring various aspects of heritage, religion, ideology, identity, political and cultural memory, the Symposium will assess the core challenges of the contemporary scholarly discourse on Byzantium and Medieval Europe and its appropriation in the European history and culture.
Papers are welcomed on various topics that may include, but are not limited to the following areas of discussion:
- Byzantium in the European civilizational concept
- Medieval Europe and Byzantium: divisions and interactions
- Byzantium and the West: Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy
- Byzantium and the East: Christianity and Islam
- Appropriation of the legacies of Byzantium and Medieval Europe
- Byzantium and the Medieval Europe in the modern political discourse
- Byzantium and the Medieval Europe: Politics, war, diplomacy
- Byzantine missions: Spreading the word in Europe
- Justinian and the European heritage
- Projecting the Medieval past in Modern Europe
- Interpreting the Empires: The myth of the Third Rome
- Representation of Byzantium in art, literature, music and material culture
- Imagining Byzantium in 19th and 20th century Balkans
- Byzantium in the Eastern Europe: historical and cultural paradigms
- Byzantium and the Medieval Europe: Bridging the East and West
- Preserving the cultural heritage: Interpretation, restoration and protection
- Cultural and historical legacy as a factor of interaction and dialogue between different cultures in Europe