An international postgraduate conference on „Visual Culture in the Classical World“ is to be held at CUFA on 16-17 November 2019.
PeClA 2019 is a two‐day conference in Classical Archaeology and Classics aimed at postgraduate / doctoral students traditionally offering a space for presenting research results, discussion, and an exchange of ideas, in a friendly and supportive environment. This year’s theme of the conference is:
VISUAL CULTURE IN THE CLASSICAL WORLD
The study of classical artworks marks the beginning of the scientific discipline of Classical Archaeology and is inextricably linked to the person of Johann Joachim Winckelmann. He promoted the material remains – and their visual aspect in particular – as being invaluable for the interpretation of ancient cultures alongside the written sources. Accordingly, the classical research developed a broad range of analytical methods to address this topic in the past, from the ‘positivistic’ classification of the Roman portraits to the ‘structuralist’ contextualisation of the Attic vase images. However, these studies started gradually giving way to the more anthropological, social and natural science approaches since the late
1970s. It was only in the last decade that the interest in visual aspect of the material remains arouse again under the new categories of image science (Bildwissenschaften) and visual culture studies. Therefore, the primary aim of the conference will be to address all the possible facets of the visual culture of the ancient world, from the Bronze Age to the Late Antiquity.
While the commonly used means of iconography, iconology and reception are welcomed, we would like to explore whether and how the contemporary approaches to the visual culture – the natural sciences inclusive – can contribute to the study of ancient societies; we seek to discuss the semantic level of the use of specific themes in distinct contexts, the variations in the depiction schemes and their evolvement depending on external influences (i.e. the medium as well as cultural influences), the social meaning of decorative principles or the interrelation between the visual aspects and the room/space use within an urban area. These and further questions should allow us to understand the visual culture as an inherent part of the ancient world relating to its functional, chronological and social context.
Conceived broadly, this theme gives young scholars the full opportunity to present and discuss their opinions and thoughts applicable to the theme. Papers from postgraduates in all stages of their research, both theoretical and practical are welcome.
Keynote lectures:
Prof. Dr. François Lissarrague
ANHIMA (Anthropologie et Histoire des Mondes Antiques)
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris
Dr. Polly Lohmann
Institut für Klassische Archäologie
Ruprecht‐Karls‐Universität Heidelberg
Conference language: English (preferably), German, French, Italian
The organisers: Jana Staničová – Zuzana Jamrichová – Josef Souček – Peter Pavúk – Marek Verčík
