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

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Distrib. by: Central-Eurasia-L - Announcement List for Central Eurasian
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CONF./CFP- Eurasian Archaeology Conf., University of Chicago, April 2005

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