Lost in Space? Environmental and Place Transformations during the Middle Ages, M4C Postgraduate Colloquium, September 8, 2022

How have the relationships of humans to the spaces they live and work in changed over time? Daily activities are carried out in spaces, and in our transit (such as from home to workplace) or in our performing of particular tasks these spaces can be transformed and rearranged. From the physical transformation of the environment to the symbolic creation of place, these lived and worked spaces are reflective of the dynamic relationship between beings and their surroundings, and of broader cultural and social trends. In Lost in Space, we seek to stimulate debate and reflection around the often radical transformations that reshaped the political, cultural, and economic maps of the Mediterranean and European world after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the establishment of medieval structures and kingdoms. Space is here understood broadly, in the different scales it can be approached from (land use, urban, domestic), and in the focus from which it can be studied (symbolic, religious, functional, transitional). 

The conference will follow the model of 'inverted classroom', in which the panelists will upload a pre-recorded presentation of their papers (no longer than 20 minutes), for participants to watch prior to the conference. This approach helps to priortise interactions and discussion between the author and the participants on the day of the conference. Topic can include, but are not limited to: 

• Land and landscape use and reuse
• Urban images and planning
• The creation of place
• Domestic and private space
• Material culture connected to our understanding of space and place
• Religious and sacred landscape