Global Antiquity: Making Progress?

Our conference asks what ancient historians stand to gain and/or lose by placing Greece and Rome in a planetary context. As a working hypothesis, we propose on the one hand that taking a global perspective will undermine many of the claims about Greco-Roman uniqueness that have been central to the modern vision of Classical studies since it took shape in the eighteenth century; but on the other hand, we also expect that incorporating Greece and Rome more fully into theories about worldwide cultural evolution will show that these classical civilizations played disproportionate roles.

To explore these questions, the conference brings together scholars applying varied methods to different kinds of evidence drawn from all over the ancient planet. We are asking experts on different times and places to share their expertise and debate insights, but also to focus on a more concrete question: seen from a global perspective, does it make sense to revive older ideas about progress as a central theme in ancient history – and if so, what does progress even mean?

We hope that all involved will leave our conference with new ideas and a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing ancient history in the twenty-first century. We also hope that the event will serve as a stepping-stone toward continuing conversations and connections.

Morning: Making connections

9.15 - 10.15

Introductory session: Objectives

·       the organizers

10.15 - 10.45

Break

10.45 - 12.15

Contacts - connectivities - exchanges: Cultural & intellectual developments in West Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean (coordinator: Reviel Netz)

·       Reviel Netz (Stanford)

·       Francesca Rochberg (UC Berkeley)

·       Kathryn Stevens (Oxford)

·       Marc van de Mieroop (Columbia)

12.15 - 1.30

Lunch

Afternoon: Units of engagement

1.30 - 3.00

Comparison as a globalizing approach (coordinator: Walter Scheidel)

·       Anthony Barbieri (UC Santa Barbara)

·       Gary Feinman (Field Museum)

·       Walter Scheidel (Stanford)

·       Yiqun Zhou (Stanford)

3.00 - 3.30

Break

3.30-5.00

The problem of scale (coordinator: Ian Morris)

·       Karine Chemla (CNRS)

·       Gary Feinman (Field Museum)

·       Kyle Harper (U Oklahoma)

·       Dan Hoyer (Seshat Project)

Morning: Progress in ancient history

9.00 - 10.30

What is/was there progress? (Coordinator: Reviel Netz)

·       Karine Chemla (CNRS)

·       Kyle Harper (U Oklahoma)

·       Ian Morris (Stanford)

·       Julia Adeney Thomas (Notre Dame)

10.30 - 11.00

Break

11.00 - 12.30

Cities as progress? (Coordinator: Ian Morris)

·       Justin Jennings (U Toronto)

·       Roderick MacIntosh (Yale)

·       Monica Smith (UCLA)

·       Marc van de Mieroop (Columbia)

12.30 - 1.45

Lunch

Afternoon: Progress among ancient historians

1.45 - 3.30

Fostering cooperation (Coordinator: Walter Scheidel)

·       Dan Hoyer (Seshat Project)

·       Josephine Quinn (Oxford/Cambridge)

·       Rahim Shayegan (UCLA)

·       Sören Stark (ISAW NYU)

·       Greg Woolf (UCLA/ISAW NYU)

3.30 - 4.00

Break 

4.00 - 5.00

Concluding session: The future of research & teaching

·       everyone