The Roman Civil Wars of 49-30 BCE: Analysing the Breakdown of Models
Publications (e.g. Armitage 2017) and conferences (e.g. Kavala 2014) dedicated to the theme of Roman civil wars have been constantly on the increase in recent years. If intellectual life reflects its historical moment, then the phenomenon may be a consequence of both the disappearance of a bipolar international model and the breakdown of the twentieth-century socio-economic basis for the consensus needed for stable parliamentary government. Reflecting upon the current moment, but limited to a discussion of the Roman civil wars of 49-30 BCE, the proposed conference aims to gather scholars from around the world to discuss the breakdown in political and cognitive models that is associated with that particular moment in history. This is a discussion that can usefully be undertaken by widening the scope of investigation and focussing upon not only “minor” characters (e.g. Roucillus and Egus), but also people’s documented difficulty in distinguishing between true and false reports (e.g. Caesar’s alleged descent upon Rome with his Gallic cavalry) as they sought to determine what course to take.An international workshop will take place at Córdoba, Spain, on 21-23 June 2018. Situated along the Guadalquivir river and commanding the plains of Andalusia, the city of Cordova offers an attractive venue for the theme of the Roman civil wars of 49-30 BCE. Involved in the campaigns of 49 and 45 BCE, the city has an excellent archaeological site and museum collection, aside from being a cultural centre of note as a result of its later history. Three days of round-table discussions will be accompanied by excursions to nearby archaeological sites and conference dinners in the evening. The keynote address will be delivered by Prof. Cristina Rosillo-López. The workshop will involve scholars specialising in Classics and Ancient History and aims to appeal to relatively young scholars and be internationally representative. We look forward to welcoming experts in the discipline as well as younger, emerging scholars. Colleagues are invited to submit an abstract of 300-400 words and a one-page CV by 15 February 2018..
Please send your abstracts to the organizers (Richard Westall, Hannah Cornwell, and Lindsay Driediger-Murphy) at the following address: cordoba-2018@googlegroups.com. Confirmation of receipt should come within 3-4 working days, and a preliminary programme will be announced as of 15 March 2018.