XIX Finnish Symposium on Late Antiquity
Tvärminne, 15-16 October, 2010
FRIDAY 15 OCTOBER
9.00 Departure by coach from Helsinki
11.00 Arrival and accommodation
11.30 Lunch
12.30 Opening of the Symposium
12.45 Friday session I: Family
– Kate Cooper (Liverpool): The Transformation of the Roman Household at the End of Antiquity
– Christian Laes (Bryssel/Antwerp): Disabled Children in the Ancient World. Disability History and Late Antiquity Narrative
– Mariachiara Giorda (Torino): Retelling the Family: Blood Ties in Ancient Monasticism (IV-VI centuries)
14.30 Coffee break
15.15 Friday session II: Living Conditions
– Chris Wickham (Oxford): Rural realities: Spain and Sicily around 600
– Kalle Korhonen (Helsinki) Did the Fifth-Century Bishops of Rome Have a Language Policy? The Case of Paschasinus, Bishop of Marsala
– Margherita Carucci (Helsinki) Domestic Life in the Vandal Carthage
– Zbigniew T. Fiema (Helsinki) Rome Beyond the Frontiers: the Excavations at Mada’in Salih (ancient Hegra) in the Saudi Arabian Hijaz
SATURDAY 16 OCTOBER
08.00 Breakfast
09.30 Saturday session I : Religious Life
– Leslie Brubaker (Birmingham): Embedding Sacred Images in Everyday Life: Representation and Transformation of Culture in Byzantium
– Risto Auvinen (Helsinki) The Jewish Revolt of Egypt in 115-117 and the Rise of Egyptian Christianity
– Rita Lizzi (Perugia): The origin and the development of defensor ecclesiae
11.30 Lunch
12.30 Saturday session II : Philosophy and Literature
– Christophe Erismann (Helsinki) New Ways of Doing Philosophy in Late Antiquity
– Katarina Petrovicova (Brno) Seven Arts – Seven Maidens. Popularization of the Cycle of Liberal Arts in De Nuptis Philologiae et Mercurii by Martinus Capella
– Closing words and feedback
14.00 Coffee
14.30 Departure
c. 16.30 Arrival in Helsinki
The XIX Finnish Symposium on Late Antiquity will be organized on October 15-16, 2010. The aim of the symposium is to bring together students and scholars with an interest in Late Antiquity from a variety of universities and disciplines. This year, we explore the aspects of depression, recovery and renaissance related to the every-day life and literate culture. Our main aim is to stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue between philology, archaeology, history, theology and other disciplines that deal with Late Antiquity.
The symposium will be organized in the premises of a zoological research station operated by the University of Helsinki at a beautiful location at Tvärminne on the southern coast of Finland. Its organizers are the Centre of Excellence in Ancient Greek Written Sources together with an interdisciplinary organizing committee (Ville Vuolanto, Maijastina Kahlos, Päivi Vähäkangas). The seminar fee of 50 euros will cover transportation from Helsinki to Tvärminne and back, as well as accommodation, meals, coffee and sauna at Tvärminne. Especially for the PhD students it is possible to apply for a reduced conference fee of 25 €. The seminar fee is charged on the coach on the way to Tvärminne. For persons not needing transportation and not staying the night at Tvärminne, no fee is charged. Upon applying for participation, you are kindly asked to update your contact information and to inform us about food allergies and special diets etc. If you choose to act as a commentator (see below), let us know of this also.
The Finnish Symposium on Late Antiquity is organized annually since 1992. It started as a Finnish-language seminar for postgraduate students. However, over the years, more and more papers were presented by established scholars. This year, for the second time, we have not only invited speakers, but have had an international CFP. In keeping with the symposium’s traditions, we encourage not only senior, but also junior scholars and postgraduate students to participate. As usual, commentators for the presentations will be recruited amongst the registrated participants. There is room for c. 25 persons, and precedence in attending the seminar is given to those, who are willing to comment on the papers – to read one of the presentations before the seminar and prepare a couple of well-pondered questions for the speaker. No exhaustive expertise on the topic of the paper is demanded.