CfP Session “Roman Archaeology in the 21st Century”

25th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists

Bern, September 4-7, 2019

Two decades into the 21st century, the political and social framework of Europe is facing
multiple challenges with issues such as migration, growing political and social instabilities,
and economic uncertainties on the table. Against the backdrop of these current transformations,
Roman Archaeology could (rightly?) be considered an exclusive and elitist pastime by
detached academics. Our session thus aims at discussing two major topics:

(1) Who cares about the Roman past anyway?
In the light of demographic changes in Europe, we must consider to which parts of society
and to which audience Roman Archaeology is catering. Is the Roman past an identity marker
only for a white, indigenous, European, Western civilization? What role can Roman Archaeology
play in a society in quantitative and structural demographic transition? What strategies
might Roman Archaeology develop to include all strata of the population?

(2) What is the take on Roman Archaeology at grassroot level?
Certain methodological, theoretical and intellectual issues of current international scholarship,
such as the fragmentation of Archaeology into subdisciplines, growing language
barriers, or questions on the costly application of natural sciences and new technologies are
often only related to the realm of well-funded, higher-education research institutions. What
are the key issues that fall under the remit of local museums, archaeological parks, heritage
agencies and the large number of non-academics engaging in Roman Archaeology?

Interested non-academics from the re-enactment scene, field archaeologists and find officers
of regional heritage agencies, museum curators and managers, university faculty, and
political stakeholders are invited to share their perspectives about the current state, potentials
and limits of Roman Archaeology in the 21st century. The session aims at exploring Roman
Archaeology’s relevance today by giving a voice to all those involved in the discipline and by
gathering professionals from all backgrounds contributing to the study of the Roman World.

Important Information: Deadline for paper proposals February 14th. Submissions and
registration at https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2019

Organizers: Lawrence, Andrew (Switzerland/the Netherlands) – University of Berne, Institute
for Archaeological Sciences, Department Archaeology of the Roman Provinces/Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam, CLUE+; Murer, Cristina (Switzerland) – University of Berne, Historical
Institute, Department of Ancient History and Reception of History;
Krmnicek, Stefan (Germany) – University of Tübingen, Institute of Classical Archaeology.
Contact: andrew.lawrence@iaw.unibe.ch; cristina.murer@hist.unibe.ch;
stefan.krmnicek@uni-tuebingen.de