The Byzantine Neighborhood: Urban Space and Political Action, Byzantine Studies Colloquium, Dumbarton Oaks, November 17, 2017
The role of neighborhoods in late antique and Byzantine cities remains little studied. This colloquium aims at a multidisciplinary investigation of neighborhoods as spatial, social, and political entities that mediate between communities and the state, and thus contribute to the establishment and maintenance of political sovereignty.
Drawing on archaeology, architecture, administrative history, and literature, speakers will investigate how Byzantines defined, organized, and conceptualized their neighborhoods, and how forms of collectivity that were shaped in neighborhoods translated to political action. The resulting conversations should contribute to a new understanding of Byzantine political and social life at the local level.
Colloquiarchs
Benjamin Anderson, Cornell University
Fotini Kondyli, University of Virginia