Vienna Dialogues: People on the Move and the Ideas they Bring: Mobility of Ideas, Motifs and Texts in Byzantium and Beyond, Universität Wien, May 29–30, 2015
Vienna Dialogues: Conversation and Cooperation began in 2011 with the aim to create a platform for the exchange of research and ideas in Byzantine studies among scholars in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe in the hope of identifying a common theme for further collaborations.
In four successful meetings that saw the participation of historians, philologists, theologians, archaeologists, and art historians from Switzerland to Ukraine and from Latvia to Cyprus, a common theme emerged: mobility of people, of objects and of ideas.
This broad concept addresses social and political issues (e.g. vertical mobility in Byzantine society, non-sedentary peoples within and outside of Byzantium, diplomatic travel and gift exchange), but also deals with questions of migration and trade and their cultural impact (e.g. the spread of artistic or literary motifs, the dissemination of religious movements).
Ultimately, the exploration of mobility in Byzantium and beyond will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of its cultural and political role within the global middle ages, at the intersection between Europe and Asia.