CFP: “Minoan Archaeology. Challenges and Perspectives for the 21st Century”

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CONFERENCE
MINOAN ARCHAEOLOGY. CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES FOR THE 21st CENTURY, 23-27 March 2011, Institute of Classical Archaeology, University of Heidelberg

SCOPE OF CONFERENCE
The archaeology of Minoan Crete can now look back on more than 100 years of intensive research in which this field of scientific enquiry has experienced many changes and developments in quite different academic traditions. The turn of the new century which coincided with the completion of 100 years of archaeological research on the island has triggered several retrospective and prospective looks at the objectives, methods, deficits and potentials of our discipline. We would like to take the occasion of the 625th anniversary of the University of Heidelberg as an opportunity for organising an international conference for early career researchers which shall provide an innovative platform for discussing the past, the present and above all the future of Minoan Archaeology.

The main objective of this meeting will be to provide a common basis for future discussion by consenting to the precise meaning of some important theoretical terms and by identifying collective concerns in an attempt to approach new agendas for future research. Young researchers which will represent the main body of the conference participants shall be given the opportunity to present papers and engage themselves in an intellectual dialogue with some of the most distinguished senior colleagues of our discipline who will be invited to attend the conference as keynote speakers. Approaches focusing on comprehensive objectives, grounded on innovative and promising theoretical and methodological concepts shall be presented with the aim to reflect on the scopes of current research and set forth the trajectories for future Minoan Archaeology.

SUGGESTED THEMES
The topics of the conference focus on theoretical and methodological approaches. The design of the sessions is deliberately not based on material categories. Instead, the focus is on questions/issues pertaining to recent concerns of social and cultural studies. Thus, a de-contextualised approach to the different object groups shall be avoided and a re-integration of the respective objects into their original context is prompted. The key issues include but are not limited to materiality, practices, and discourses and shall be explored within the following fields:

Social Interaction/Communication: pictorial media, written media, administration, rituals, feasts, spaces/places of communal practice, self-representation, ideology, religion
Social Structures: gender, social boundaries, political institutions, households, social stratification
Cultural Processes: diachronic development of palatial society, emergence of palatial Institutions, influence of foreign cultures
Foreign Contacts: cultural interaction, emulation, trade, travel, diplomatic relationships, economic expansion
Environment/Living space: architecture, settlements, landscapes, seascapes, natural resources, geomorphology, climate, natural disasters
Economic Strategies: modes of production, modes of exchange, subsistence, storage
Technologies: lithic industries, metallurgy, ceramic production, processing of raw materials, mining, tools
Legacy of Minoan Culture: antiquity, modern times

CONFERENCE FORMAT
The conference addresses young researchers (Post-Docs and PhD candidates at an advanced stage of their dissertation) who will have the opportunity to present and discuss perspectives and methodical approaches applied in their own work in an international setting. Each paper will be allotted a 30 minute time slot: 20 minutes for reading the paper and 10 minutes dedicated to discussion. For the last day a final discussion in the form of a round table will be organised. Conference language is English.

It is intended to make the conference also accessible as a live-stream on the web. More information on this will follow soon on:
http://www.propylaeum.de/klassische-archaeologie/fachservice/MinArch2011.html

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
The conference will invite keynote speakers to give an introductory lecture to each session and chair the Round Table discussion. Information about invited speakers will be available soon.

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
We are intending to prepare an edited volume of conference papers for publication, within one year after the conference. Thus, participants are strongly encouraged to submit their publication-ready version of their paper already during the conference (March 2011). The ultimate deadline is 31 May 2011. Guidelines for publication will be made available soon on our conference website:
http://www.propylaeum.de/klassische-archaeologie/fachservice/MinArch2011.html

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
Please submit the application form and paper proposal of 300 words to MinArch AT zaw.uni-heidelberg.de until 15 July 2010. If you do not plan to give a paper, but would like to register your interest, please get in touch! For further questions or comments regarding the conference, please contact us at the same address.

FEES AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Participation in the conference is free. Accommodation expenses will be covered. Travel expenses cannot be covered.

ORGANISERS
Prof. Dr. Diamantis Panagiotopoulos, Sarah Cappel, Ute Günkel-Maschek, Torben Keßler, Yasemin Leylek, Noach Vander Beken, Eva Wacha

CONTACT
Ute Günkel-Maschek, M.A. & Sarah Cappel, M.A.
Institut für Klassische Archäologie
Universität Heidelberg
Marstallhof 4
69117 Heidelberg
Email: MinArch AT zaw.uni-heidelberg.de