Outline and Speakers

The aim of this interdisciplinary workshop is to analyze the elements of continuity, discontinuity and change within cities of the Mediterranean basin between Roman times and Late Antiquity.

In this transition period, substantial changes can be perceived within the urban fabric and surrounding territory, which led to a transformation of the city, its buildings, land management, urban topography and the perception of its spaces. These processes are related to many aspects of the urban space: political institutions, economy, methods of exploitation of  territory, religious contexts and society.

The transformation of urban space in different Mediterranean areas can be examined through two specific methodologies: the comparative study of literary sources and archaeological data (excavation and surveys) in order to reconstruct the urban space as space of social exchange and the observation of how spatial occupation and carrying capacity of urban territories develop over time and analysis of how all these factors have affected the growth of the cities.

The three sessions of our international workshop   will focus on the following main questions: (1) What impact did the numerous afore-mentioned changes that occurred between Roman Age and Late Antiquity have on the urban development of   western and Near Eastern cities? (2) How does religious buildings modify and craft already existing urban spaces  or create new ones overtime?

The international workshop connects key aspects of the DFG-Graduiertenkolleg 2337 "Metropolität in der Vormoderne" of the University of Regensburg with that of Centre for Urban Network Evolutions of the Aarhus University. The multidisciplinarity of our approach is given by various contributions coming from different areas of study.

Speakers

Michael Blömer | UrbNet, Aarhus University

Arabella Cortese | LMU Munich, DFG-GRK "Metropolität in der Vormoderne"

Yunus Demirci | Ecole Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jerusalem

Jon C. Cubas Diaz | University Göttingen

Christopher Paul Dickenson | UrbNet, Aarhus University

Giulia Fioratto | University of Regensburg, DFG-GRK "Metropolität in der Vormoderne"

Guido Furlan | University of Padova

Emanuele E. Intagliata | UrbNet, Aarhus University

Markus Löx | University of Regensburg, DFG-GRK "Metropolität in der Vormoderne"

Birte Poulsen | UrbNet, Aarhus University

Rubina Raja | UrbNet, Aarhus University

Ann Marie Yasin | University of Southern California