Source: The Byzness.
The fourth century was a pivotal age in the history of
the Roman Empire, an age of transition: New residencies of imperial power
emerged in both West and East, with Constantinople as upcoming principal court
and stage for imperial triumphs and celebrations. The attitude of the emperors
towards Christianity changed from proscription to prescription, though
religious belief and practice – Christian as well as traditional – were still diverse.
Rome‟s ever-growing status as the Christian city culminated in its claim for
primacy over other sees in the early 380s. The political division between East
and West after the death of Theodosius I, in 395, would, in retrospect, be a
definitive end to administrative unity.
The concepts of concordia and discordia pervade
late-antique textual and visual as well as material sources. Romans developed
and exploited these notions with fairly different (geo-)political, religious,
geographical and social ambitions in mind: some strove for unity within the
empire, others pursued unity within Christianity. There were advocates for
unity among „real‟ Romans opposed to threatening „barbarians‟ and agents for (a
cultural) unity within the senatorial aristocracy. And there were those who
rejected these initiatives for uniformity and opted for separation: the split
of the empire in 395 was final, but it was certainly not the first division. Besides
occasional geographical separate entities, the Latin speaking West and the
Greek oriented East had been polarized in intellectual and theological matters.
From a religious perspective, Christian and traditional groups rejected or
extricated themselves from the binding Christian doctrine, some going
underground as „heretics‟, others as monks dwelling in isolated places. At the
same time, traditional cults still persisted or revived, of which Mithraism is
but one example. In all cases, people used the concepts of unity and discord in
constructing their identity. As a result, the Roman Empire in late antiquity
was – maybe more than other periods in
its history – characterised by its many identities and different groups trying
to control the empire.
This conference seeks to explore the degree of unity
and discord between East and West in the fourth century from different angles.
Therefore we invite scholars of all fields working on Late Antiquity to present
their views on the topic. Our hope is that
this meeting will prompt a dynamic interchange among scholars with a focus on ancient history, literature,
archaeology, architecture, religion, law and
philosophy, (but also on) cultural memory and identity building.
Comparisons of political, social or cultural phenomena
in the Eastern and Western part of the Empire are as much appreciated as
papers which discuss fourth century
views on unity (or separation). With this conference, we hope to deepen our
understanding of the complexities of unity and discord in the late Roman
empire.
Practicalities
Organisation: drs. Roald Dijkstra and drs. Sanne van
Poppel, Radboud University Nijmegen
Location: Radboud University Nijmegen (the
Netherlands)
Date: 24-26 October 2012
Papers are accepted in English, German or French (30
minutes length).
The conference opens with a keynote lectureby prof.
dr. David Potter (University of Michigan) on the 24th, followed by a reception,
for both of which everyone is cordially invited. There will be an optional
dinner afterwards (on own expenses). Confirmed speakers are offered hotel accommodation
for two nights (24 & 25 October) and conference meals (breakfast, lunch and
refreshments; dinner on the 25th). Given our restricted budget, we kindly ask
participants to declare travel expenses at their own institution.
Abstract (500 words) should be sent in before 1 May 2012 to unity@let.ru.nl. 15 May at the latest, you
will be informed about your admission to the conference. For further questions,
please mail to the address mentioned above.
Confirmed speakers:
Dr. Jan Willem Drijvers (University of Groningen) -
tba
Prof. dr. Christian Gnilka em. (Westfälische
Wilhelms-Universität Münster) - “Die Reichsidee des
Prudentius”
Prof. dr. Mark Humphries (Swansea University) -
"The Centre and the Centrifuge: Imperial Unity
and Civil War in the Fourth Century"
Prof. dr. Hervé
Inglebert (Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense) - "Concordia,
Romania et
Ecclesia catholica
: les discours de l'unité romaine au IVe siècle"
Prof. dr. David Potter (University of Michigan) -
"Can we measure the might of Rome?"
Dr. Alexander Skinner (Cardiff University) -
“Aristocrats and Imperial Service: Observations on
an East-West Contrast”
Prof. dr. Paul Stephenson (Radboud University
Nijmegen) - tba
Chairs:
prof. dr. Sible de
Blaauw (Radboud University Nijmegen)
prof. dr. Bas ter
Haar Romeny (Leiden University)
dr. Daniëlle Slootjes (Radboud University Nijmegen)