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CFP: Object Lessons Conference

Type: Calls For Papers [View all]
Posted by: University of Texas at Austin, the Swedish Institute of Classical Studies in Rome, and the American Academy in Rome
Deadline: Fri, August 22nd, 2025

Object Lessons:

Knowledge Organization and Antiquity in Institutional Teaching Collections across the Long Nineteenth Century (1750-1940)

Rome, Italy

April 8-11, 2026

[CFP Shortened for length. Contact for longer CFP or more information]

This conference will bring together scholars from various backgrounds to explore such collections in the context of the broader intellectual history of the period and the epistemological and classificatory transformations it witnessed. We hope the contextualization of these collections will also inspire discussion of their ethical use in the future. Although our center of focus is the classical world, we welcome contributions that discuss institutional teaching collections related to any aspect of antiquity, the middle ages, or archaeology. Some relevant topics may include:

Intellectual currents that drove changes in institutional collections and their modes of presentation

Individuals, collections, or institutions that drove changes at the regional, national, or international level

Provenance and the social contexts of the acquisition of teaching collections

How paradigm shifts or inflection points in approaches to antiquity transformed teaching collections

How important historical or geopolitical events precipitated such paradigm shifts

A historically informed biography of a specific collection that evolved with the times

The role played by a new technology or genre in transmitting knowledge in new ways

We especially welcome presentations by Ph.D. students and early-career scholars. We hope to lay the foundations for an international community of practice, seeding collaborations that will raise awareness of these collections at their home institutions while engaging with new technological possibilities for their dissemination and classification. We intend to publish the papers delivered at this conference as an edited volume that will spark a larger conversation about the role of teaching collections for classical art and archaeology in both the past and the future. 

Sessions will be held both at the American Academy and the Swedish Institute. Tours and some catering will be provided. We are seeking funding to subsidize travel and accommodation costs for participants. 

 

Submission Guidelines:

- Abstract length: 200 words

- Languages: English and Italian

- Deadline for submission: Friday, August 22nd

- Presentation format: Roughly 20-minute presentations, followed by discussion; format will be determined more precisely after we have a full roster of speakers

Please submit your abstract along with your name, your affiliation, and the title of your paper to Amber Kearns (akearns@austin.utexas.edu) by Friday, August 22nd.

 

We hope to inform all applicants by mid-September. 

For further inquiries, please contact Amber Kearns (email above) or Rabun Taylor (rmtaylor@austin.utexas.edu).

 

We look forward to your submissions and to an engaging conference!

 

Posted on Thu, August 7th, 2025
Expires on Fri, August 22nd, 2025

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