Encounters with Elites in the Ancient World. Leadership, Lifestyles, Legitimacy (project completed)
Researchers: Hans Beck and Julián Gallego plus 22 researchers from 11 countries. See also the website of Programa de Estudios sobre las Formas de Sociedad y las Configuraciones Estatales de la Antigüedad (PEFSCEA)
Sponsors: The Anneliese Maier Award Program, Humboldt Foundation. The John MacNaughton Chair of Classics, McGill University. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas, Argentina. Agencia Nacional de Promocion Cientifica y Tecnologica, Argentina.
Research event: August 30 to September 1, 2017, Centro Cultural Paco Urondo, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Download conference program: click here (pdf).
Historical scholarship on ruling elites has witnessed a quantum leap in recent years. Research in the field is also informed by public knowledge gained through current political experience that discloses how elites navigate media communication to secure support for their respective agenda.
In ancient Mediterranean history, the interplay between social status and political organization is a commonplace. But only in the course of the cultural turn have scholars begun to explore the multiple cross-connections within this binary. In this vein of inquiry, the public performance of elites, their communication strategies, their usage of economic, cultural as well as symbolic capitals, the realms of their action, and the differentiation of their public roles have all come under the scrutiny of scholarship. To flesh out the interface between society and politics, the conference focuses on three vectors of elite distinction in ancient Greece and Rome: the communication of leadership and leadership roles; elite distinction through local and global lifestyles; and the discursive strategies of securing legitimacy.
The conference aims at the advancement of academic knowledge and its impact on society. It will also explore new opportunities for global networking.
