News Archive: 2018 to 2021

Talk in Hamburg - postponed to the summer 2022

December 14, 2021: Guest lecture at the University of Hamburg on “Der Kopais Korridor in Boiotien. Ökokritische Begegnungen mit einer antiken Umwelt”

ΕΠΙΧΩΡΙΟΣ

December 7, 2021 - POSTPONED TO February 8, 2022: Dr. Lieve Donnellan (University of Melbourne) will present on “New Research in Haliartos (Boiotia): Revisiting Greek urban architecture and urbanism”

18:00 s.t. ZOOM. Please subscribe to our epichoric mailing list to receive zoom access codes.

New Hermes

December 2, 2021: Hermes Heft 149/4 is out, check it our here.

DAI Rome Conference

November 11 to 12, 2021: The German Archaeological Institute in Rome hosts the inaugural meeting of its new TransAreaNetwork Mediterranean Archaeology (TANMed). Then title of the first conference is “Mediterranean Archaeology: Space and Scale” (event is on zoom).

Postscript to Conference in Italy

November 11, 2021: Elena Franchi’s interview with me on ancient Greek federalism has been published in UniTrentoMag (Italian and English), go to the website here. There is also a PDF file. Thank you, Elena, this was fun!

Humboldtkolleg in Italy

October 26 to 27, 2021: Elena Franchi runs an international conference at the University of Trento: “Neighborhood in the Greek Federal State: Cooperation, Competition and Local-regional Tension”. Happy to participate - in person - with a paper on the Kopais corridor in Boiotia. There will be also a round table conversation on “Federalism: Cooperation and Competition, Past and Present”. Here is the program poster.

Field Research

October 18 to 19, 2021: Hike to Nestor’s Cave, Koryphasion, and subsequently to Ano Englianos to clarify the convoluted local topograhy of the Voidokilia lagoon and surroundings. Arrows accentuate viewsheds between palace and bay area. As for the cave, no cattle to be found!

New Series Launch (CUP)

October 7, 2021: We are happy to announce the launch of a new series with Cambridge University Press:

Antiquity in Global Context

Series Editors: Hans Beck (Münster University), Tamar Hodos (University of Bristol), and Carlos Noreña (University of California Berkeley)

Advisory Board: Naman Ahuja (Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi), Monica Aneni (University of Ibadan), Catalina Balmaceda (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Hyun Jin Kim (University of Melbourne), Jinyu Liu (DePauw University), Rebecca Martin (Boston University), Naoise Mac Sweeney (University of Vienna), and Griet Vankeerberghen (McGill University Montreal)

Antiquity in Global Context promotes new narratives of the ancient world that complement the traditional picture of Greece and Rome. The series publishes research defined by innovative contextual approaches, both comparative and connective. Comparative studies investigate the states, societies, and cultures of the ancient world in an explicitly comparative framework, drawing primarily on Mediterranean and Eurasian cases, but also turning, where appropriate, to case studies from elsewhere around the globe. Connective studies situate the ancient Greek and Roman past in broader Eurasian and North African contexts, examining human and material connections with early China, the Indian Ocean world, and the adjacent regions of West Asia and the African continent. This comparative and connective conception of antiquity provides a broad and dynamic platform for new understandings of our global age, grounded in the history and experience of the deep past. It fosters scholarly dialogues relevant not only to the intellectual opportunities but also to the political and ethical challenges generated by the forces of globalization. If you would like to discuss a book proposal, please contact the series editors!

Deutscher Historikertag

October 5 to 8, 2021: 53. German Historikertag “Deutungskämpfe” in Munich, held one year after the initial schedule for the fall 2020 was suspended. Much of this is still online, including our panel “Lokale Deutungshoheit im klassischen Griechenland”, organized by myself and Uwe Walter: October 6, 18:45 to 20:30. Registration is required!

Here is the link to the conference website.

Deutsch-Griechische Gesellschaft

October 2, 2021: The German-Greek Society Münster holds its annual outreach seminar at the Ludgerihaus Münster. Topic this year is “1821 - We are all Greeks”. Event is organized by my chair and held in person, here is the program.

New Hermes

September 8, 2021: Hermes Heft 149/3 is out, check it our here.

Conference Panel

September 1, 2021: The European Academy of Religion hosts its annual conference in Münster (hybrid format). Here is a link to the event website. Happy to host a panel, together with Egyptologist Angelika Lohwasser, on “The Local Horizon of Religion in Antiquity”

Section 1: Alexandra von Lieven (WWU Münster), Local variations of pan-Egyptian myths; Marian Helm (WWU Münster), Tracing Greek religion: ritual rifts in the Saronic region; Jan Bremmer (University of Groningen), Hera on Samos: between the local and the global; Sophia Nomicos (WWU Münster), Burial practice in ancient Greece: reconstructing mortuary diversity

Section 2: Patrick Sänger (WWU Münster), Saint Hermione: Local memorial figure of Ephesian Christianity with universal claim; Johannes Hahn (WWU Münster), Strategies of local religious identity within a universal church in Late Antiquity; Anna Falke (WWU Münster), Churches in Jerash after the Islamic conquest; Adam Łajtar (Warsaw University), Local elements in Nubian Christianity

New Postdoc

September 1, 2021: Roy van Wijk starts a two-year SNF postdoc at my chair. He has earned his PhD under the supervision of Fabienne Marchand at the Université de Fribourg with a thesis on Thebes and Athens in the Archaic and Classical periods. His postdoc project is entitled 'Take me to the River: Religious Communications in the Asopos-corridor in Boiotia'.

Welcome to Münster, dear Roy!

Something Completely Different

August 12, 2021: I just explored this from the Muses Estate in Askri which today figures under the regional appellation Thiviakos. What an exciting encounter with Hesiod’s world!

Program Release

August 6, 2021: The program for Beyond Mysteries. The Hybrid History of Ancient Eleusis has been released!

International Conference

July 12 to 14, 2021: Münster University hosts the international conference “Globalisation in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity: Theory and Practice”. The event is hybrid, on-site venue: Vom Stein Haus, Schlossplatz. Here is the program. My own contribution is entitled “Globalizing Hellenistic Culture”.

New Publication

July 1, 2021: The conference volume of “Encounters with Ancient Elites” is out (Buenos Aires 2017, see archived projects). Thank you to the contributors, translators, and participants in a truly memorable event!

Hans Beck, Julián Gallego, Carlos García Mac Gaw, and Francisco Pina Polo (eds): Encuentros con las élites del mundo antiguo. Liderazgo, estilos de vida, legitimidad. Estudios del Mediterráneo Antiguo, PEFSCEA Nº 21. Miño y Dávila editores, Buenos Aires 2021.

ΕΠΙΧΩΡΙΟΣ

June 22, 2021: Dr. Yannis Lolos (University of Thessaly) will present on “New Research on Hellenistic and Roman Sikyon”

18:00 s.t. ZOOM. Please subscribe to our epichoric mailing list to receive zoom access codes.

EMCC Coordinator Meeting and Student Seminar

June 16 to 18, 2021: The University of Toulouse hosts the annual EMCC coordinator and biannual student seminar meetings - alas, online. The European Master in Classical Cultures is an international integrated MA degree course delivered by an ever expanding pool of participating universities, currently 13 partner institutions in 9 countries. Prospective students, please contact me via email for more info and visit the website.

Fun Video

June 17, 2021: Thanks for bringing this video clip from 2012 from WatchMojo to my attention, I must have forgotten about it: Five Top Trivia Facts about the Ancient Olympic Games!

New Hermes

May 10, 2021: The new Hermes is out, 149/2 (2021). Click here for contents. Uwe Walter commented on the article by Francho Pina Polo on “Sallust’s Epistulae ad Caesarem” in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, read more here.

ΕΠΙΧΩΡΙΟΣ

May 4, 2021: Dr. Anton Bonnier (Uppsala) will present on “The Kalaureia Excavation Project: New investigations in the city outside of the sanctuary of Poseidon”

18:00 s.t. ZOOM. Please subscribe to our epichoric mailing list to receive zoom access codes.

International Colloquium, Trento

April 30, 2021: Elena Franchi hosts “From Conflict Resolution to Cooperation: Some Case Studies in Central Greece and in the Peloponnese” at Trento University, Italy, with participants Angela Ganter, Emma Aston, and Kaja Harter-Uibopuu. Happy to deliver a paper on the crafting of a federal space in the Kopais basin in Boiotia. Here is the full program. The colloquium is part of a cycle of webinars at Trento U, entitled Federalism and Conflict Resolution in Greek Antiquity.

Debating Early Rome

April 28, 2021: New research hub ‘Debating Early Rome’ kicks off with its inaugural meeting. Designed as a multinational network with organizers in Münster, Auckland, and Fribourg, the series engages in current debates about the early republic. It aims to bring together different perspectives, approaches, and academic cultures in a joint group of experts. Read more here.

Departmental Duty

April 1, 2021: For the sake of public record keeping, this marks the beginning of my two year-term as department chair.

International Conference in Würzburg

March 26 and 30 to 31, 2021: DFG Forschungsgruppe Lokale Selbstregelungen im Kontext schwacher Staatlichkeit zwischen Antike und Moderne (LoSAM) holds an international conference on “Self-Governance in Antiquity. Local Groups, the City and the State” (Zoom). Happy to participate with a paper on “Nomos, King of All. Local meaning and nomological self-regulation in ancient Greece”. Here is the conference program.

New Publication - Sophia Nomicos

March 10, 2021: Sophia Nomicos has published her PhD thesis: Laurion. Montan- und siedlungsarchäologische Studien zum antiken Blei-Silberbergbau. Raw Materials, Innovation, Technology of Ancient Cultures - RITaK 7. Congratulations, Sophia!

PhD Defence at McGill

March 9, 2021: Chandra Giroux has passed her oral PhD exam. Her thesis is entitled “Plutarch’s Chaironeia. The Local Horizon of World Empire.”

It’s been a tremendous privilege and joy all around to supervise Chandra, and see how she produced a truly entangled narrative, radiating out from parochial Chaironeia into the world of the Roman Empire and back. Heartfelt congratulations, Dr. Chandra Giroux!

Reading Group UCal Riverside

March 6, 2021: Grad Student Caucus at UC Riverside has read collectively through “Localism and the Ancient Greek City-State”. Happy to meet with them for an online session - curious to hear what they have to say. Thanks to John Haberstroh for the invitation!

New Team Member

March 1, 2021: Dr. Julietta Steinhauer from University College London will join forces with a WiRE Fellowship from Münster University. Her expertise in religious practice and priesthoods on Delos makes her a key partner in our ongoing exploration of localism and religion in the Saronic (and adjacent regions). Here is the link to her website.

Welcome, Julietta!

New Hermes

February 26, 2021: The new Hermes Heft is out, 149/1 (2021). Click here for contents.

New Publication

January 31, 2021: “Rulers and Ruled in Ancient Greece, Rome, and China” has published with Cambridge University Press! With co-editor Griet Vankeerberghen, I am extremely grateful to contributors for their willingness to think along this journey, often roaming through academic realms far beyond daily comfort zones; to the members of and in participants in Global Antiquities for their scholarly curiosity; and to Yan P. Lin for his generous financial support which is foundational to the research network. An online book launch party is scheduled for February 9, 2021 @ 16:00 Berlin time.

Next stop: “Place and Performance in Ancient Greece, Rome, and China”!

EMCC Annual Lecture

January 28, 2021: Professor Massimo Nafissi (Perugia) delivers the first Annual EMCC Lecture (19:00, ZOOM) on the topic “Heracles, Bellerophon, and the Spartan Kingship”

ΕΠΙΧΩΡΙΟΣ

January 19, 2021: Dr. Michael Kerschner (ÖAI and Leiden) will present on “Weihreliefs im Kontext. Neue Forschungen zum Felsheiligtum von Meter, Zeus und Apollon in Ephesos”

18:00, ZOOM. Please subscribe to our epichoric mailing list to receive zoom access codes.

January 11, 2021: Elected Corresponding Member of the German Archaeological Institute. Thank you to the Kommission für Alte Geschichte und Epigraphik in Munich to support the selection. Happy New Year!

ΕΠΙΧΩΡΙΟΣ

December 16, 2020: Prof. Dr. S. Vlizos (Korfu) will present on “Das spartanische Heiligtum des Apollon Amyklaios. Neuentdeckung und aktuelle Forschungen”

18:15, ZOOM. Please subscribe to our epichoric mailing list to receive zoom access codes.

December 11, 2020: The fourth instalment of Hermes 148 (2020) is out, click here for more info.

Guest Lecture

December 10, 2020: Guest lecture in the Collegium Classicum at Goethe University in Frankfurt: “Was ist lokale Religion im antiken Griechenland?” Looking forward to visiting the department in Frankfurt (if only in person) after such a long time.

Special Guest Visit

December 2, 2020: Professor Dr. Angela Ganter, collaborator of ‘Localism and Religion,’ delivers a guest lecture in our research seminar series:

“Geld, Kulte, Waffen, oder: Wie lokal war regionale Integration im frühklassischen Arkadien?”

18:15, ZOOM. Please subscribe to our departmental mailing list for guest lectures and special events to receive zoom access codes.

WWU Interview

November 12, 2020: Interview with Wissen⎮Leben: Die Zeitung der WWU Münster about all sorts of local stuff, click here for more.

ΕΠΙΧΩΡΙΟΣ

November 10, 2020: Lauch of new lecture series on current research in Greece: ΕΠΙΧΩΡΙΟΣ. Focused on the axis of new archaeological discoveries and their local and topographical contexts, the series features scholars from a diverse international background, united by their experience on the ground. Lectures are delivered in a carbon footprint-friendly manner via Zoom and are open to audiences at WWU and beyond. Click here for more info.

First event: Susan Lupack, New work around the Sanctuary of Hera at Perachora (November 10, 12:00, via Zoom). Open to all audiences!

Münster School of Ancient Cultures

October 28 to 30, 2020: The Münster School of Ancient Cultures hosts its inaugural international workshop Beyond Borders. Migration, Exchange, and Communication in the Ancient World. What a fantastic initiative! In addition to sharpening research profiles and producing excellent scholarship, MSAC will allow PhD students to engage in transcultural conversations with peers and mentors, in Münster and beyond. Looking forward to the meeting!

New Publication

October 19, 2020: The Dancing Floor of Ares. Local Conflict and Regional Violence in Central Greece (eds. Fabienne Marchand and Hans Beck) is out. Published as the first volume in the all-new supplemental series to Ancient History Bulletin, the volume assembles the papers from two one-day workshops in Montreal and Fribourg. In accordance with journal policies, the publication is Gold Open Access: articles can be accessed free of charge and contributors are free to upload their papers to platforms as they please. Click here for PDF of my article on the Battle of Koroneia.

Thanks to the contributors, to AHB series editor Tim Howe, and to long-time collaborator Fabienne Marchand.

Global Antiquities Workshop

October 15 and 16, 2020: Global Antiquities runs its third international symposium, entitled “Place and Performance in Ancient Greece, Rome, and China.”

The event is part of and in fact concludes a workshop series that was initiated in 2014 and continued in 2017. The 2020 gathering with participants from the Canada, the US, China, the UK, and Germany, is subject to different circumstances, obviously: event is held on zoom. Please click here for the program. Interested audiences should contact Griet Vankeerberghen or me for online access codes. Looking forward to catching up with you!

Interesting Review

October 2, 2020: I’m typically not paying much attention to reviews but here is one on Beck and Funke, Federalism in Greek Antiquity that will not be noticed by many readers, published in Vestnik drevnei istorii. Google translate will do the job, if need be. Thank you, Dr. Sizov, for your thoughtful and critical engagement.

Center Historische Landeskunde

October 1, 2020: Research Center “Historische Landeskunde des antiken Griechenland” has launched its new website!

Sabbatical Leave

October 1, 2020: Beginning of my sabbatical, which runs through March 2021. That’s good news, no?

Globalization Interview, Brazil

September 30, 2020: Hélade in Brazil has published a special issue on Mediterranean connectivity that includes an interview on “Reflections on the Global and the Local in the Ancient World”. Read more here, or here in Portuguese. Thanks much to Juliana Figueira da Hora, Postdoc at the University of São Paulo, for her questions and translation!

September 9, 2020: The third instalment of Hermes 148 (2020) is out, click here for TOC and abstracts.

Localism is out

July 31, 2020: Localism and the Ancient Greek City-State has published with The University of Chicago Press. The volume is available in paperback, hardcover, and various electronic formats (PDF, HTML, kindle, ibooks, etc). Here is the Amazon link to the paperback edition (thanks to the press for moderate pricing!).

Very many people from a variety of places offered input and lent advice to bring this project to completion, including:

Sheila Ager, Darin Barney, John Bintliff, Jordan Christopher, Rolando del Maestro, Christian Fron, Peter Funke, Chandra Giroux, Katherine Grandjean, Pam Hall, Kathleen Holden, Karl-J. Hölkeskamp, Naomi Kaloudis, Julia Kindt, Achim Lichtenberger, Heather Loube, Susan Lupack, Irad Malkin, Fabienne Marchand, Nicholas May, Alex McAuley, Jeremy McInerney, Nancy Pedri, Marcel Piérart, Ruben Post, Albert Schachter, Sebastian Scharff, Darian Totten, Connor Trainor, Salvatore Tufano, Faith Wallis, Georgios Zachos, and Pamela Zinn. Thanks tons to all of you!

Click here for front matter and teaser. Also, although this publication concludes the Parochial Polis Research Network, there will be more stuff on localism in the future. Take this as a promise or a threat…

Oldenbourg Grundriss

July 30, 2020: Happy to join the editorial board of Oldenbourg Grundriss der Geschichte (OGG) as responsible editor for Ancient History.

EXC Religion and Politics

June 27, 2020: I have joined Münster’s Cluster of Excellence ‘Religion and Politics’ with a project on ‘Localism and Religion in Ancient Greece’. Collaborators in Münster include Sophia Nomicos and Marian Helm, plus a team of colleagues from Germany and abroad. The project will commence in the fall - details to be announced soon!

EMCC Meeting

June 26, 2020: This year’s annual meeting of members and coordinators of the European Master Program in Classical Cultures is held on Zoom, 1:30 to 5:00 pm. Happy to meet our colleagues and friends from Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Slovenia, Poland, and Turkey.

International Colloquium in Verona

June 15 to 16, 2020: International Spring Colloquium of the Joint Ghent-Verona doctoral program in Arts and Archaeology, held in Verona. Here is the program of the videoconference. Happy to participate!

June 11, 2020: The second instalment of Hermes 148 (2020) is out, click here for more info.

Guest Teaching 2.0

May 13, 2020: Alex McAuley from Cardiff University zooms in live into my online class on ‘The Hellenistic World’ to discuss with students what’s so special about the Seleucids: geopolitics and ethnic diversity, the role of women, and the (missed) opportunity to stay away from troubles in the West.

Thanks so much for making time in your schedule, dear Alex, this has been a real treat!

Cover Release and Publication Date

May 1, 2020: Cambridge University Press has released the cover of “Rulers and Ruled in Ancient Greece, Rome, and China”. The volume is scheduled for publication in December 2020 - tons of thanks to the contributors for their patience.

From the dust jacket: Situated on opposite flanks of Eurasia, ancient Mediterranean and Han-Chinese societies had a hazy understanding of each other’s existence. But they had no grounded knowledge about one another, nor was there any form of direct interaction. In other words, their historical trajectories were independent. In recent years, however, many similarities between both cultures have been detected, which has energized the field of comparative history.

The present volume adds to the debate a creative method of juxtaposing historical societies. Each contribution covers both ancient China and the Mediterranean in an accessible manner. Embarking from the observation that Greek, Roman, and Han-Chinese societies were governed by comparable features, the contributors to this volume explain the dynamic interplay between political rulers and the ruled masses in their culture specific manifestation as demos (Greece), populus (Rome), min (China).

Humboldt Social Media Campaign

April 24, 2020: Happy to support the campaign #ResearchAcrossBorders initiated by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

March 12, 2020: The first instalment of Hermes 148 (2020) is out, click here for TOC.

CAC/SCEC Annual Meeting in Victoria

February 27, 2020: The CAC/SCEC Annual Meeting organizing committee has accepted our panel proposal #Money and Religion in the Ancient Greek World#. Speakers include Chandra Giroux, Sophia Nomicos, Ruben Post, and Emma Buckingham. The conference takes place at the University of Victoria, May 6 to 8. BC, here we come! — ACTUALLY, WE DON’T. EVENT IS CANCELLED.

Durham Research Seminar

February 27, 2020: Looking forward to participate in the Durham Research Seminar with a paper on “What is local space in ancient Greece?”

The focus of my talk will be on the local horizon and its capacity to imprint on the embodied experience. Left is a little inspiration of how this will be approached.

Talk in Berlin

February 12 to 13, 2020: Guest lecture on “Kadmos in Sparta” at Humboldt University in Berlin plus research meeting in the Inscriptiones Graecae and visit to the Vorderasiatisches Museum to find out more about Hittite correspondences with a certain Eteokles - should be fun!

Deutsch-Griechische Gesellschaft

February 8-9, 2020: The annual Griechenland Seminar of the German-Greek Society Münster is on at the Liudgerihaus. The series is now in its 25th consecutive year. Here is the program. Happy to have joined the program committee to shape two action-packed days on the topic of local lifeworlds in Greece, across time and space. My own talk will be on the Temple of Poseidon at Kalauria and the Saronic Gulf. See you there!

International Plutarch Workshop

February 6 to 7, 2020: International workshop on “Plutarch: Cultural Practice in a Connected World” at WWU, organized by one of my PhD students at McGill, Chandra Giroux. Here is the program. Interested participants, please register with Chandra or me. The keynote of the event is open to the general public. It is delivered by Judith Mossman from Coventry, entitled:

The Colours on the Wings on the Sphinx: Plutarch, metaphor, and connectivity

February 5:00 to 7:00pm, Domplatz 23, room 102

Student Field Trip to Greece

January 29, 2020: The itinerary for the student field trip to Greece has been released. The tour is scheduled from September 21 to October 4, 2020. Destinations include Athens, Thebes, Delphi, Argos, Mycenae, Epidauros, Hermione and more. To find out more, please contact Sophia Nomicos or Hans Beck.

Guest Lecture

January 29, 2020: Guest Lecture “Kadmos in Sparta” in the Speakers Series Göttinger Althistorische Vorträge at Göttingen University.

Hermes Editorial

January 20, 2020: Happy to announce that I have joined Martin Hose (Munich) and Marcus Deufert (Leipzig) in the editorial of Hermes. Zeitschrift für Klassische Philologie (ed. Franz Steiner Publishers, Stuttgart), taking over in Ancient History from my dear friend Karl-J. Hölkeskamp. Hermes is now, in 2020, in its 148th volume of publication.

Two Guest Lectures in Germany

January 20 and 21, 2020: Two talks in the departmental speakers series of the University of Mainz and the Friedrich Alexander University in Erlangen. The latter also allows for a return to my dear old alma mater which is going to be exciting (for me in any case).

Talk and PhD Defense

January 14 to 18, 2020: Trip to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for a guest lecture on “Kadmos in Sparta” and public defense of my former MA student at McGill, Ruben Post, who has now submitted his PhD thesis on “The Achaian Koinon. An Economic History”. The thesis was written under the direction of Professor Jeremy McInerney.

More Brainpower

January 9, 2020: Privatdozent Dr. Christoph Michels has joined the Münster Department as Heisenberg Fellow to pursue his new research agenda on local knowledge cultures in ancient Athens and beyond. His office is located in F366. Welcome to the team, Christoph!

Special Exhibit

January 9, 2020: The special exhibit “Weltweit Unverzichtbar. Kleine Fächer für Große Themen” opens at the Archaeological Museum of WWU Münster (doors: 6:00pm). Flyer here.

The exhibit, sponsored by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, showcases the potential of so-called small disciplines to address big issues in society. Arranged in three rubrics “Migration, Kommunikation, Nachhaltigkeit,” it features various items on display from ancient Greek history also, put together by Klaus Zimmermann, Peter Funke, Patrick Sänger, and myself, including a vitrine on the Oath of Plataia.

Exhibit is open daily, do come along!

Conference in the Peloponnese

December 12 to 13, 2019: The International Conference “Memory and Impression. A Walk-Through in the Peloponnese” is held in Tegea. The gathering is co-sponsored by the KIKPE-Foundation in Athens. Here is the program.

What a lovely event to conclude the calendar of research gatherings in 2019!

Visiting PhD Student

December 4 to 12, 2019: Wentian Fu, one of my PhD students at McGill, visits Münster to advance his research on globalization discourses in Rome and China, exchange ideas with peers, network, and have some fun - hopefully! Welcome to Münster, dear Wentian!

Special Guest Visit

November 5 to 7, 2019: Professor Brendan Burke, University of Victoria and Interim Director of the Canadian Institute in Greece visits the department. Among other engagements, he will deliver a public lecture in our interdepartmental Forschungskolloquium on “Uncovering Ancient Eleon in Boeotia: New Discoveries from the Bronze Age through the Classical Periods“ (November 6, 18:00 to 20:00, F4).

Welcome to Münster, Brendan!

Guest Lecture in Regensburg

October 30, 2019: Looking forward to deliver a guest lecture in the lecture series “Europa. Das antike Erbe” at the University of Regensburg on “Föderalismus und lokale Lebenswelt im antiken Griechenland”.

Valedictory Lecture, Utrecht

October 11, 2019: Valedictory lecture Josine Blok, Professor of Ancient History and Classical Civilization, Faculty of the Humanities – Utrecht University: “Sortition and Democracy” (Academy Building, Domplein 29, 4:15 pm)

Thank you for a smashing lecture and lovely party, dear Josine!

New Team Member

October 1, 2019: Dr. Sophia Nomicos has taken up the position of Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin (half appointment), associated with my chair. A Greek field archaeologist by training - and by means of another appointment as Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin in the Department of Archaeology -, Sophia brings an exciting, superb research portfolio to our team. She is an expert on the Peloponnese and Southern Attika, where she had investigated the silver mines of Laureion (PhD Bochum).

Sophia’s appointment completes our workforce, that is, for now… Welcome, Dr. Nomicos!

Conference in Münster

September 26 to 27, 2019: Conference “Senat, Magistraturen und Konflikte nach Sulla” held under the aegis of Pierangelo Buongiorno and the PAROS Research Network. The program includes a panel with Peter Funke, Francho Pina Polo, Jean-Michel David, Federico Santangelo, and myself.

This should be fun, no?!

Talk at Humboldt Foundation

September 24, 2019: Lunch-time talk at the Humboldt Foundation Headquarters in Bonn on “Lokalismus und Heimat in antiken Griechenland.” Its been a pleasure to meet people there, including CEO Enno Aufderheide, Judith Wellen, Susanne Wittum, and Steffen Mehlich.

Thank you for the kind invitation all for coming to the talk!

Conference in Düsseldorf

September 20 to 21, 2019: Jan-Markus Kötter hosts a two-day international symposium on “Stabilität - Kontingenz - Innovation. Zur mangelnden Eindeutigkeit der mittleren römischen Republik” at Schloss Mickeln in Düsseldorf. Here is the program. Happy to join the group and participate in some of the conversations.

Saronic Gulf Sailing

August 28 to September 14, 2019: Our international team sails the Saronic region to examine sea routes and patterns of connectivity from a maritime and terrestrial perspective. The core group of researchers includes, from Münster, myself, Marian Helm and Sophia Nomicos, from King’s College London Irene Polinskaya, and from Cardiff University Alex McAuley.

Combined land and sailing itinerary: Athens, Megara, Krommyon, Isthmos, Corinth, Lechaion, Perachora, Isthmos, Kenchreai, Kalamianos, Epidauros, Poros, Kalaureia, Troizen, Hermione, Halieis, Hydra, Agistri, Aegina, Athens.

New TSO Volume

August 10, 2019: Salvatore Tufano’s book “Boiotia from Within. The Beginnings of Boiotian Historiography” has been published as Teiresias Supplements Online, volume 2.

Guest Researcher

July 1 to July 12, 2019: Dr. Julietta Steinhauer from University College London joins us to carry out her research on Delos and Hellenistic network economies. Welcome, Julietta.

Special Guest

July 1, 2019: Professor Robin Yates from McGill visits WWU to deliver a guest lecture in the departments of Ancient History and East Asian Studies. The title of his presentation is: “An Exploration of Slavery in the Early Chinese Empire with some comparisons with the Roman World.”

All welcome, and Happy Canada Day!

EMCC Coordinator Meeting and Student Seminar in Rome

June 17 to 21, 2019: Università Roma Tre and the German Archaeological Institute in Rome host the annual EMCC coordinator and biannual student seminar meetings. The European Master in Classical Cultures is an internationally integrated MA degree course that allows students to carry out their studies seamlessly between 12 participating universities in 8 European countries. Interested students, please contact me via email for more info.

This year’s student seminar included terrific presentations by students of their work in progress and site visits to the Capitoline Museums and the Crypta Balbi.

The seminar coincided with a ceremony in the German Embassy at Rome in recognition of the restitution of a youthful marble head, the so-called Head from Fondi, to the Republic of Italy as its rightful owner.

PhD Defense in Switzerland

May 20, 2019: Roy van Wijk defended his PhD thesis A Bittersweet Rivalry. The Interstate Relations between Athens and Boiotia during the Archaic and Classical Periods (550 to 323 BCE), submitted to the Faculty of Arts at the Université de Fribourg, in a most magnificent manner. Congratulations to Dr. van Wijk and his supervisor, Professor Fabienne Marchand. It’s been a tremendous privilege to serve on the PhD committee.

International Workshop (AMP Research)

May 13, 2019: What is entanglement, and how does it advance the narratives we craft as historians? I am happy to convene a one-day international workshop on “Entangled Greek History. Concepts, Contexts, Cases” to explore precisely this.

Here is the program.

Inaugural Lecture

May 10, 2019: My public inaugural lecture at WWU is scheduled for May 10, 2:00pm, at the Studiobühne (Domplatz 23). Do come along to find out “Warum wir eine neue griechische Geschichte brauchen.” Once you will have sat through the talk, there will be a reception after the event! Click here for details.

Postscript: Thank you to participants and visitors from near and (very) far - it’s been an amazing treat, on a very special day.

New Publication

May 6, 2019: “Ethnos and Koinon. Studies in Ancient Greek Ethnicity and Federalism” is out. The volume is based on a conference held at the European Cultural Center in Delphi and co-edited with Kostas Buraselis and Alex McAuley. Here is the link to the project page.

Many thanks to the contributors, also for their patience!

More Additions to the Team

April 1, 2019: Dr. Sebastian Scharff from Mannheim University picks up a new position as Faculty Lecturer with a teaching portfolio in Greek History. Eylihan Ayhan joins the chair as new Administrative Affairs Coordinator. Welcome to both!

Advisory Board

March 28, 2019: Happy to join the Advisory Board of a new series, Liverpool Studies in Ancient History.

New Team member

February 1, 2019: Dr. Marian Helm has taken up the position of Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, associated with my chair in Greek History. Marian brings to Münster a cutting-edge research profile on local perspectives and central places in pre-Roman Italy. His next project will take him to Classical Greece, where he will explore the entangled world of the Saronic region. Welcome to the team, dear Marian!

New Publication

January 3, 2019: New co-edited volume, with Karl-Joachim Hölkeskamp: “Verlierer und Aussteiger in der ‘Konkurrenz unter Anwesenden‘. Agonalität in der politischen Kultur des antiken Rom.“ Stuttgart (Franz Steiner Verlag), 2019. 224 p. Many thanks to the contributors Christoph Lundgreen, Egon Flaig, Elke Stein-Hölkeskamp, Francisco Pina Polo, Amy Russell, Matt Roller, and Andreas Klingenberg.

Here is the link to the publisher.

Touchdown in Münster

December 3, 2018: First day in Münster. Thank you to everyone for the extremely heartwarming welcome!

Conference in Sydney (AMP Research)

November 20 to 22, 2018: “Local Horizons of Ancient Greek Religion” at the University of Sydney, Australia. The conference is organized by Julia Kindt and myself, with 17 speakers from six countries. Here is the link to the conference website.

The conference is sponsored by the Australian Research Council and my Anneliese Maier Prize.

RSC Inauguration Ceremony

November 15 to 18, 2018: The Inauguration Ceremony for newly elected fellows of the Royal Society of Canada was held in the Marriott Harborfront Hotel in Halifax. What a festive event!

Changing Jobs

October 24, 2018: I have accepted the offer for the position of Professor of Greek History at Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster. From December 1, 2018, the new coordinates will be Seminar für Alte Geschichte, Domplatz 20-22, 48143 Münster, Germany (hans.beck@uni-muenster.de).

Global Antiquities Annual Outreach Lecture

October 18, 2018: This year’s annual outreach lecture of Global Antiquities will be delivered by Professor Kimberly Bowes (University of Pennsylvania): “The Roman 90%: Poor People in the Roman World”

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1380 Sherbrooke Street West, Le Salon, 5pm. All welcome, reception to follow!

Spoils Conference in Bochum (AMP Research) 

September 18 to 21, 2018: "Spoils in the Roman Republic: Boon and Bane" will be held at Ruhr Universität Bochum. The conference is organized by Marian Helm and Saskia Roselaar. Here is the conference info pack. My opening address, scheduled for 13:30 on the first day, will be on "Global Spoils on a Local Stage: the Case of Republican Rome". 

Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada

September 18, 2018: I am so happy to be elected into the Royal Society of Canada - what an honor! Thank you to my nominating team and everyone who has supported the nomination. The link to the RSC website is here. It also includes a complete list of the Class of 2018 Fellows.

The McGill Reporter also covered the induction of new fellows from McGill.

Conference in Santiago (AMP Research)

August 28 to 31, 2018: Conference on Libertas and Res Publica in Santiago de Chile. The title of my paper is "Freedom, whose freedom? Libertas and the Roman Mediterranean". Here is the conference program. 

POSTSCRIPT: Thank you Catalina Balmaceda and her team of graduate students for hosting a most stimulating event, with superb scholarly exchanges as well as delightful social gatherings. 

Festkolloquium für Karl-Joachim Hölkeskamp

July 25, 2018: Zum 65. Geburtstag von "KJH" richten Angela Ganter und ich ein Festkolloquium in der Thyssen Stiftung in Köln aus: "Eine Republik und ihr Forscher". Hier ist das Programm und mein kurzes Grußwort. Die Süddeutsche Zeitung hat tags danach berichtet. 

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, lieber Karl-Joachim!

Guest Lectures in Germany

July 17 and 18, 2018: I am looking forward to two invited lectures at the Universities of Heidelberg and Stuttgart. The topic is "Archestratos von Gela und die griechische Poliswelt." 

New Publication (AMP Research)

June 20, 2018: "Megarian Moments" is out, edited by Hans Beck and Philip J. Smith, with contributions from Sheila Ager, Kevin Solez, Klaus Freitag, Elke Stein-Hölkeskamp, David Yates, Jonathan Reeves, Daniel Tober, Alex McAuley, Matthias Haake, Franco De Angelis and Adrian Robu. Big thanks to Chandra Giroux for editorial assistance!

From the back cover: Situated near the main traffic artery in Central Greece and surrounded by poleis that were more powerful, the ancient city-state of Megara was often a punching bag of others. In neighbouring Athens in particular, the Megarians were subject to all sorts of slander and expressions of chauvinism. The people of Megara, by default, had their own assessment of the world and their role in it. A highway to others, the Megarid, was a rich source of meaning and orientation to its inhabitants. This local backdrop, often misunderstood as petty or irrelevant, constituted a unique local discourse environment. Rather than telling a narrative history of Megara – unravelling its local history, as it were –, this volume delves into the local discourse of this ancient city. The various contributions all shed light on the prevailing identity of place, on what it meant to be from Megara. In doing so, the book unpacks the vibrant local life in a Greek city-state. In their endeavour to break the code of a local discourse and recreate its environment, the editors and authors also invite readers to rethink approximations toward the pluriverse of poleis in Greek Antiquity. You can download the volume for free from Teiresias Supplements Online. 

Fieldwork in Greece (AMP Research)

May 25 to June 1, 2018: The first session of topographical and landscape-archaeological studies in 2018 includes examinations of sites in the Lower Kephissos Valley, Tanagra, Phlious, and the Southern Argolid.

International Workshop in Fribourg (AMP Research Event)

May 24, 2018: The second leg of "The Dancing Floor of Ares" (co-organized with Fabienne Marchand) will be held at the Université de Fribourg in Switzerland. Participants are Alex McAuley, Marcel Pierart, Elenca Franchi, Salvatore Tufano, and Laetitia Phialon.

Here is the program.   

International Conference in Waterloo (AMP Research Event)

April 25 to 28, 2018: The Conference "Localism in the Hellenistic World," co-hosted by Sheila Ager and myself, is on at the Delta Hotel in Waterloo. The event brings together 20 scholars from seven countries, thanks to sponsorship from SSHRC, the Waterloo Institute of Hellenistic Studies, and the Parochial Polis Research Network. 

Here is the program. 

Global Antiquities Research Talk 

March 29, 2018: Global Antiquities hosts a guest lecture by Professor Armin Selbitschka (LMU Munich) on "Global Players? Revisiting the First Emperor's Acrobat Figurines".

Leacock 808, 2:00 to 4:00 pm, all welcome! 

International Colloquium "Between Local and Translocal" (AMP Research) 

February 21 to 23, 2018: The Center for Advanced Studies, LMU Munich, hosts an international colloquium on "Between Local and Translocal: Founding, Inhabiting and Appropriating Settlements". I am happy to participate with a paper on "Localism and the Local in Ancient Greece – at Home and Overseas". 

Here is the program. 

Talk in Ottawa (AMP Research)

February 18, 2018: Talk before the American Institute of Archaeology Ottawa Society (Carleton University, Paterson Building, Room 303, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm) on "A Local History of Ancient Greece." Here is the poster of the lecture series.  

Love Talk 

February 12, 2018: Talk in the annual lecture series "Love in the Time of", organized by McGill's Arts Undergraduates Society. As ever, the series is scheduled in close convenience to Valentine's Day. My topic is "Sappho's Love". 

ARTS-W 215, 6:00 pm. All welome! 

New Publication

February 2, 2018: The volume from the Torino conference on Roman Oratory (see News Archive: April 15-17, 2015) has been published with Oxford UP: Christa Grey et al. (eds), Reading Republican Oratory. Reconstructions, Contexts, Receptions. It also includes my piece on "Of Fragments and Feelings. Roman Funeral Oratory Revisited" (pages 263-280). Thank you to the editors! 

New SSHRC Grant

January 22, 2018: We are delighted to report that our application for a Connection Grant from SSHRC to fund a conference on localism has been successful. The application was prepared by Professor Sheila Ager (Waterloo) as PI and myself as co-applicant.

With funding from SSHRC, the University of Waterloo, and the Parochial Polis Research Network at McGill, we will be able to hold an international conference on "Localism in the Hellenistic World" at the Waterloo Institute of Hellenistic Studies, April 26 to 28. The details will be announced soon, stay tuned.  

Visiting Speaker (Anneliese Maier Prize Research Event)

January 22 to 27, 2018: Professor John Bintliff (Leiden and Edinburgh) will visit Classical Studies at McGill for a public lecture, a presentation in our departmental Oberseminar series, and various research consultations with colleagues and students.

The public lecture is scheduled for January 23, 5:00 pm (ARTS-W 215), all are welcome! 

Global Antiquities Lecture

January 12, 2018: Global Antiquities invites you to a co-sponsored lecture by Professor Silvia Ferrara (La Sapienza, Rome): "The Invention of Writing"

ARTS 160, 4:00 to 5:30 pm. All welcome! Here is the event poster. 

SCS Annual Meeting

January 4 to 7, 2018: The Annual Meeting of the Society of Classical Studies is on at the Marriott Copley Place in Boston. Here is the link to the conference page. Looking forward to see many colleagues and friends! 

New Publication

January 1, 2018: Hans Beck, "The Discovery of Numa's Writings. Roman Sacral Law and the Early Historians." In: Kaj Sandberg and Christopher Smith (eds), Omnium Annalium Monumenta. Historical Writing and Historical Evidence in Republican Rome. Leiden and Boston: 90-112.

Thank you to the editors for pulling this together, it's been a terrific conference in Rome.