Workshop: 'Media of Connectivity and Community Formation in the Ancient Mediterranean.'

About

How were connectivity and community experienced and maintained in a world before phones, TV, the Internet, and social media? The ancient Mediterranean was vibrant with communication: not just between people among one another, but also between cities; between emperors or kings and their subjects; between mortals and their gods; and even between the living and the dead – with these different types of connectivity always strengthening communities, both local and large- scale.

The media available for forging these connections were not nearly as fast or high-tech as those we have at our disposal today. Yet, the ancient inhabitants of the Mediterranean made strategic use of their own communication instruments. To better understand both connectivity and community formation in the ancient world, this symposium focuses on different types of media that were used for communication around the ancient Mediterranean. We invite speakers to draw attention to a broad spectrum of media that were used to forge connections, including but not limited to: inscriptions, letters, other documents, language(s), coins, monuments, buildings, burial goods, spaces, places, rituals, festivals, and other events.