Timelessness, 7th Annual Koç University Archaeology & History of Art Graduate Research Symposium, Koç University, March 29, 2019

Koç University’s Department of Archaeology and History of Art (ARHA) is pleased to announce “Timelessness,” its seventh annual Graduate Student Research Symposium, on March 29th, 2019 at The Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED), located on İstiklal Caddesi in the Taksim District of Istanbul, Turkey.

Timelessness—a state of eternal existence.

While true timelessness may be unattainable, the desire to hold onto the transient is a condition not unfamiliar to history, and remnants of the past inhabit the objects and ideas that have somehow avoided the inevitable demise that comes with time. Crucial to the study of art and material culture is the transcendence of temporal limitations by beliefs, images and tangible material and the ways in which these evolve and attain new significances. Nothing is invariable, yet we manage to find a certain constancy amidst the impermanence of existence.

This symposium seeks to encourage a diverse range of perspectives and disciplines concerned with a span of subjects, areas and periods of research as they relate to the theme of timelessness. Paper topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Change and continuity of the tangible: cycles, recurrence, reform, reproduction, and reinterpretation of landscapes, objects, people, and images
• Transformation and perpetuity of meaning: changes in ideas, techniques, and beliefs; manifestations of cultural memory
• Appropriation, transformation and translation across contexts: spolia, forgery, displacement, and commodification
• Displaying time and timelessness: preservation, conservation, restoration, and exhibition of objects
• Shifting identities: Authorship, authenticity, and cultural accumulation

Students of archaeology, art history, history, cultural heritage, museum studies and related fields are invited to present research related to Anatolia and its neighboring regions, including the Mediterranean, Aegean, Black Sea, Balkans, the Levant and the Ancient Near East, from earliest prehistoric times through the Bronze and Iron Ages, the Classical, Byzantine and Ottoman periods, and into contemporary times.

All graduate students are encouraged to apply, including Masters and Ph.D. students at any stage. The conference will be held in English.