[Discussion] CONF./CFP- Eurasian Archaeology, University of Chicago, April 2005

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

CONF./CFP- Eurasian Archaeology, University of Chicago, April 2005

FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS

The Second University of Chicago Eurasian Archaeology Conference
Social Orders and Social Landscapes:
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Eurasian Archaeology
April 15-16, 2005 http://acc.spc.uchicago.edu/eurasianconference

In the last decade Eurasia has become more accessible to archaeological
researchers in the West. New research projects and the engagement with
previously unknown data sets are now allowing for broad revisions in our
understanding of the past in the vast Eurasian landmass, which stretches
from the Carpathian Mountains to the Korean Peninsula. But despite this
new prominence, opportunities for archaeologists to meet and discuss
their preliminary research and aspirations for future archaeological
investigations in this area remain extremely limited. The Second
University of Chicago Eurasian Archaeology Conference is being organized
in order to provide the next generation of archaeologists with a forum
to share their views with each other and with established researchers.

The theme for this conference will be "Social Orders and Social
Landscapes: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Eurasian Archaeology."
Recent archaeological research in Eurasia has been focused on
reinterpreting archaeological culture complexes as something which is
greater than its material parts. As a result there has been a shift in
the scales of research from broad overarching comparisons of culture
groups to a more nuanced understanding of how people lived in their
local environment and interacted with their near and distant neighbors.
Social orders and social landscapes reflect the intertwined nature of
unique political, economic, and ecological configurations. With this
theme we will continue to break apart the geographically bounded
definition of Eurasia, in challenging participants to reflect upon how
past societies interacted across changing landscapes and social
boundaries. The conference will provide a forum for graduate students
and other scholars of Eurasian Archaeology to discuss this new and
promising approach.

The first Eurasian Archaeology Conference, held in 2002, successfully
brought together more than 60 graduate student and faculty. We hope that
the second conference will widen the scope of participants by
encouraging archaeologists as well as researchers from a variety of
related disciplines (such as art history, geology, and paleoecology) to
attend. In addition, we extend the invitation to participate not only to
scholars working in Eurasia, but to those whose research is in regions
that have been historically linked to the area: Eastern Europe, the Near
East, and East Asia. The first conference had a truly international
scope with scholars from Russia, Spain, Ukraine, the United States, and
Turkey in attendance. Please help us to make the second conference even
more diverse.

If you wish to attend the conference, either to present a paper or as a
member of the audience, please complete and return the Participant Form
to Laura Popova at lmsoikke@uchicago.edu by December 31, 2004. Those
wishing to present a paper must include a title and abstract for the
paper in English, and the full name of all co-authors, with
institutional affiliations, mailing addresses, and e-mail addresses.
Graduate students are strongly encouraged to participate. Papers must be
presented in English, and will be selected for presentation based on how
closely they fit to the overall theme of the conference.

If you have questions, please see the conference website
<http://acc.spc.uchicago.edu/eurasianconference> or write to Laura
Popova at
lmsoikke@uchicago.edu.


Distrib. by: Central-Eurasia-L - Announcement List for Central Eurasian
Studies