South Italy, Sicily and the Mediterranean: Cultural Interactions Conference

conference-image17th - 21st July 2012 - Melbourne, Australia

This conference will focus on the movement of people and interactions of culture in the Mediterranean region of Southern Italy and Sicily from antiquity until the present. The program will include exhibitions at the Hellenic Museum and the Museo Italiano of ancient Greek vases from Southern Italy and Sicily as well as other pieces from the collection of the Trendall Research Centre. It will also include a tour of the world-class resources held at the A.D. Trendall Research Centre at La Trobe University. This inter-disciplinary conference seeks to foster critical analysis of geographical and chronological interconnections in Southern Italy and Sicily. Consideration of cultural interaction, population movements, and changing religious and philosophical ideas over a period of approximately 3000 years will prompt scholarly discussion around continuity and change over time in this region of the Mediterranean.

This conference will be hosted by the Centre for Greek Studies and the A.D. Trendall Research Centre for Ancient Mediterranean Studies, La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. The conference will run between 17th and 21st July 2012 at the Museo Italiano, located in the heart of Melbourne's Italian precinct in Carlton. The conference will not take place on the La Trobe University Campus although a tour of the A.D. Trendall Research Centre will be available to those wishing to view the resources.

Registration / Accommodation

You can register for this event online or complete the Conference Registration Form offline and send to Sarah Midford by post, email, or fax.

Attn: Sarah Midford
School of Historical and European Studies
La Trobe University
Melbourne 3086
AUSTRALIA
Fax: +61 3 9479 2879
Email: s.midford@latrobe.edu.au

Need Accommodation? Take a look at our recommended accomodation options in Melbourne.

Location

Museo Italiano
199 Faraday Street
Carlton VIC 3053

Confirmed Keynote Speakers

  • Professor David Abulafia, Professorial Fellow of Gonville and Caius College and Professor of Mediterranean History at Cambridge University
  • Associate Professor Mia Fuller, Associate Professor of Italian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley
  • Professor Sebastiano Tusa, Professor of Palaeontology at the University Suor Orsola Benincasa of Naples
  • Professor Roger Wilson, Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire and Director of the Centre for the Study of Ancient Sicily at the University of British Columbia

Call for Papers

Papers focusing on Southern Italy and Sicily are invited from any discipline. Please submit 300 word abstracts to Sarah Midford at s.midford@latrobe.edu.au before 6th February 2012. Papers will be programmed into 30 minute timeslots and should be no longer than 20 minutes. Graduate student papers are most welcome. Some themes may include, but are not limited to:

  • The ancient Greeks in South Italy and Sicily
  • The Romans in South Italy and Sicily
  • Greek and Roman Culture in South Italy and Sicily
  • Sicily's place in relation to South Italy
  • Migration to and from South Italy and Sicily
  • Islamic rule in South Italy and Sicily
  • Colonisation in South Italy and Sicily
  • Spain and Southern Italy and Sicily
  • South Italy and Sicily in the 20th century & beyond
  • South Italy and Sicily in the Modern Mediterranean
  • Trade between South Italy and other states and Sicily

Further Information

For more information about this even contact Sarah Midford (s.midford@latrobe.edu.au).

The conference will include a tour of the local wine country, a conference dinner in Melbourne's 'Little Italy' as well as other functions related to the conference.

Conference Partners

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