A Forum for Exchanges on Ancient Studies at UCLA
December 5–6, 2023 | Royce Hall 306
Global Antiquity is convening a workshop titled (Re)envisioning Ancient Worlds. This event, held at UCLA over two days, December 5–6, 2023, will include invited speakers from the University of California and the greater Los Angeles area whose research focuses on the ancient worlds. Global Antiquity, while supportive of more traditional approaches to ancient studies, aims to encourage a broadminded and cross-disciplinary discourse on ancient worlds, foregrounding the equivalency of past human experiences. The present workshop seeks to promote reflection on a more equitable treatment of antiquity by emphasizing the diversity of the ancient worlds, the entanglement of past cultural achievements, and the relevance of these perspectives for the present. It is our hope that this may stimulate new models and methods to engage all actors of the ancient worlds across disciplinary boundaries, and inspire conversations on how the wholistic awareness of the past may engender a more empathic and accepting view of cultures in the present.
The event will feature speakers and topics covering a diverse array of ancient worlds, from West Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean to East Asia and the Americas. Themes explored over these two days include: the interconnectivity of ancient states and communities; diversity within established areas of inquiry; reception; pedagogy; and working across disciplines.
(Re)envisioning Ancient Worlds is graciously co-sponsored by the following departments, institutes, centers, and programs at UCLA: Asian Languages and Cultures, Art History, Classics, the CMRS Center for Early Global Studies, the UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, the Program in Indo-European Studies, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, the Pourdavoud Institute for the Study of the Iranian World, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture.