Colloquia Ceranea V

Colloquia Ceranea V 

Call for papers

11-13 May 2023

We have great pleasure in inviting you to the fifth edition of the international scholarly
conference Colloquia Ceranea, organised by the Waldemar Ceran Research Centre for the
History and Culture of the Mediterranean Area and South-East Europe “Ceraneum”, University
of Lodz, Poland, 11-13 May 2023.

In recent years we have organised the symposium in various ways, each time doing our utmost
to arrange everything in the best possible manner. As for the upcoming edition, having analysed
the results of the survey conducted during the Colloquia Ceranea IV and, profiting from our own
experience, we have come to the conclusion that the Colloquia Ceranea V Conference will be
held in a hybrid mode, as it makes the event more accessible for both the speakers as well as
the audience.

However, as our meetings are always accompanied by lively discussions, which, naturally, are
problematic for the full involvement of online participants and since we are planning a few
events in addition to the main sessions, we would like to kindly encourage you to take part in
the Colloquia Ceranea V in person.
 

Plenary lectures will be delivered by:
Prof. John Haldon (University of Princeton)
Prof. John Wilkins (University of Exeter)
Dr. Maria Leontsini and Dr. Ilias Anagnostakis (National Hellenic Research Foundation)

As it is customary, we would encourage the participants to focus on issues covering the main
research fields of the Ceraneum Centre, i.e. food and medicine from Antiquity to the Early
Modern Period, history and culture of Byzantium and the Slavic World in the Middle Ages. Though
the agenda of the symposium will be, as always, shaped ultimately by your proposals, we would
like to inspire you with the three following thematic areas 2023:
 

Byzantium in times of turmoil (late 7th - early 8th c.) – new perspectives
Between the last reign of the Heraclian dynasty and the rise of the Isaurians (Syrians), the empire
found itself in crisis. Despite its political, military, economic, cultural aspects having been studied
and interpreted by many scholars throughout the last century, new research has changed many
earlier assumptions, and it is now worth reflecting once again on those pivotal years. Was it a
crisis of state or of imperial power? To what extent did it involve the provinces? Did nature and
climate changes influence the situation? What were its consequences for the social groups, cities
and villages, economy and culture? How were the geopolitical circumstances transformed? Was
the political elite entirely replaced and what can be said about the newcomers? These are only a
few of the topics we propose to address.

History of medicine and food:
The history of ancient and Byzantine medicine is an important branch of knowledge, which
predominantly provides us with data on the most common illnesses of that time, their
treatments, the patients and the doctors but it can also, if appropriately researched into, reveal
aspects of social and economic history.
 

In the forthcoming Colloquia Ceranea we welcome papers discussing both, purely medical issues as
well as those inspired by the non-medical related data found in medical writings, e.g.
• The reception of Galen’s output in Byzantium and beyond the Greco-Roman world;
• Ancient medical knowledge preserved in Byzantine medical treatises;
• Ancient and Byzantine pharmacopoeia;
• Baths and bathing in ancient and Byzantine therapeutic procedures;
• Women in the light of ancient and Byzantine medical treatises;
• Everyday life reflected in ancient and Byzantine medical treatises;
• Ancient and Byzantine medical treatises as a source of knowledge on social disparities.
 

We are also looking forward to talks linking medicine and food history (e.g. dietetics or food
therapy). Furthermore, we intend to introduce a debate on everyday foodstuffs and food taboos
in the ancient and Byzantine Mediterranean in the context of literary sources (e.g. medical,
culinary, agronomic, etc.) and archaeological materials.

Religious culture, identity and diversity
The Byzantine and Slavic worlds provide a wealth of fascinating examples to explore the social
manifestations of religious identity and diversity. Questions of faith, dogma and piety were at the
heart of medieval people’s concerns. Contact with people having alternative beliefs or practises
gave rise to a range of reactions: building bridges or walls. When we follow these reactions in the
historical plane: we find debates and tumults; persecutions, periods of tolerance or unity-building.

The literary manifestations of these contacts are also noteworthy: sermons that exploited fear or
disgust of strangers to build group cohesiveness, sharp polemics or emotionally neutral
descriptions. The Colloquia Ceranea primarily hosts scholars dealing with heresies, polemics,
monastic culture and its literature, but we remain open to scholars working on other aspects of
religiosity: liturgy, sacred architecture, pilgrimage movements, ecclesiastical administration, the
development of theology and the transformation of religious writing: hagiography, homiletics, etc.

As always, we await papers discussing other research fields, such as:
• material culture and everyday life;
• historical and political geography;
• historiography;
• peace and war studies;
• society, mores and social norms;
• education;
• language;
• art and visual culture;
• political culture and ideology;
• the state and its organization.
 

INDIVIDUAL AND PANEL SUBMISSIONS:
You are encouraged to submit your proposals of a thematic group (or thematic groups) organised
around one specific topic (i.e. thematic panels). Each panel should consist of a minimum of 3
speakers. Individual submissions are also welcome. Proposals for panel topics (including the list of
panel speakers) as well as individual submissions should be sent by January 31, 2023 to:
colloquia.ceranea@uni.lodz.pl.

Application forms:
Individual submission: www.ceraneum.uni.lodz.pl
Panel submission: www.ceraneum.uni.lodz.pl
Although we expect the majority of papers to be delivered in English, other languages are also
acceptable, provided that the speaker prepares an English hand-out (or multimedia
presentation) outlining the main points of the talk.
 

CONFERENCE PUBLICATION:
Selected conference papers will be published in article format in “Studia Ceranea”, a yearly
journal indexed in Scopus, the Web of Science Core Collection (Emerging Sources Citation Index),
EBSCOhost, and a number of other databases.
The deadline for submitting papers to “Studia Ceranea” is May 31, 2023.
However, if you are not able to finish by that time, there will still be the possibility to deliver
your text by December 31, 2023, so that it would be published in the volume covering 2024.
You will find all editorial instructions on the journal’s website: Studia Ceranea. Editorial
Instructions
 

CONFERENCE FEE:
In-person participants will be charged a 250 PLN (Polish zloty) conference fee, which will cover
organisational costs, including lunches and coffee break snacks.
For on-line participants the fee will be 100 PLN.
Please note: if your university is unable to cover the conference fee, there may be the possibility
to have it reduced or waived.
 

CONFERENCE SECRETARIES
Dr. Krzysztof Jagusiak
Dr. Karolina Krzeszewska
Dr. Zofia Rzeźnicka
Dr. Jan Mikołaj Wolski
If you have any question, please contact us at colloquia.ceranea@uni.lodz.pl.