Session 22: From Past to Current Knowledge: the ROOTS of Knowledge Transfer from the Perspective of Ancient Studies

24.–29. March 2025

Submission Deadline: 15.10.2024

The presentations are scheduled for 15 minutes plus 5 minutes of discussion. Poster presentations are also possible. Abstracts are limited to 2,500 characters (incl. spaces) and may include up to 5 references.

Abstracts can only be submitted via the conference website: www.kielconference.uni-kiel.de

About the Session:

Knowledge and the transfer of knowledge are an essential part of human interaction, from individuals to collectives. Knowledge has been approached very diff erently in various disciplines of Ancient Studies. From Prehistory, Classics, and Literary Studies to Historical Studies, completely different focal themes and methods are applied. From Natural Sciences to Humanities, from material remains to literary sources, an array of perspectives on ancient actors and their material remains is employed. And although interdisciplinarity between fields from the Humanities is rarely acknowledged, it bears great potential. We would like to take advantage of the variety of thoughts and ideas from these fields and join them in an interdisciplinary session focusing on the topic of knowledge and knowledge transfer in ancient and more recent times. We believe that a joint discussion on the topic, with contributions from mainly – but not exclusively – humanities-based disciplines, will greatly enhance our understanding of the concept and the development of this cultural phenomenon.

Our goal in this session is not only to discuss different diachronic perspectives on knowledge in Ancient Studies but also to identify distinct routes of knowledge transfer and interaction, along with obstacles, boundaries, and marginal areas of knowledge. In Prehistory, for example, we investigate whether this concept can expand the discussion beyond traditional terms of mobility and exchange. In Classics, there is a broad discussion about the content and criteria of knowledge in different genres of ancient literature.

We welcome studies from the wide field of Ancient Studies (e.g., Pre- and Protohistory, Classics, and History), including more recent ethnographic and ethnohistorical studies as well as philosophical contributions, with no limitation to certain time periods or geographical areas. The session is also open to theoretical contributions that conceptualize knowledge and knowledge transfer as well as to case studies from different fields that approach the topic.

For further details, please visit: www.kielconference.uni-kiel.de.

Johanna Brinkmann (Cluster of Excellence ROOTS, Kiel University), Stefania Fiori (Cluster of Excellence ROOTS, Kiel University), Samantha Philips (Cluster of Excellence ROOTS, Kiel University), Andreas Schwab (Cluster of Excellence ROOTS, Kiel University).