17-18 June 2016
Department of Byzantine and
Modern Greek Studies, Vienna University
1010 Wien, Postgasse 7, Stiege 1,
Third Floor
‘Mobility and Migration’ are concepts
that open up broad new vistas on Byzantine history and culture—from social and
political issues (e.g. vertical mobility in Byzantine society, non-sedentary
peoples within and outside of Byzantium, diplomatic travel and gift exchange),
to questions of migration and trade and their cultural impact (e.g. the spread
of artistic or literary motifs, the dissemination of religious movements). Two
workshop-style conferences during 2016 are intended to lay the groundwork for
future study by focusing on different kinds of sources (June: textual sources,
November: material culture), the methodological challenges they pose and their
potential to contribute to a fuller and more nuanced understanding of social
permeability and intercultural contact in the Byzantine Middle Ages.
