Call for Papers: Bridging the Gap

In commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, John Cabot University’s Programs in Classical Studies & Art History present:

BRIDGING THE GAP: Over an old Pons Milvius between a new Pontifex Maximus and an eternal S.P.Q.R. May 24-25, 2012 Rome, Italy

While all scholars recognize that history is grey, human beings seem ever more comfortable with imagining things in black and white. Roman and Greek Classicists are more inclined to focus upon the period leading up to the adventus Constantini than to consider its repercussions on the Roman world and later periods of human existence. Medievalists, patristic scholars, and theologians overlook significant insights otherwise gleaned from a deeper investigation of classical antiquity and similarly remain in a realm removed both from their historical antecedents as well as humanity’s current reality. Contemporary cultural-anthropologists, modern historians, scholars of jurisprudence and law, political scientists, and sociologists rehash problems already addressed throughout history – even if unresolved – without consideration of errors and contributions with which every human epoch is replete. This conference intends to bridge these gaps and contends no better place to start than the dawn of a new direction, that fateful afternoon in Rome on October 28th, 312. The conference organizers seek to re-address issues concerning the resounding effects of Constantine’s victory over Maxentius on the future of antiquity, the development of western civilization, and the residuals that remain to this day in an ever more globalized world.

This call for papers is interested in scholarly research that offers novel re-examinations of established conceptions and misconceptions relating to the Pax Constantiniana, its developmental precedents, and its later repercussions. Abstract proposals in English or Italian are not to exceed 300 words (including footnotes) and are due February 15th, 2012. Areas include: 1) Classical Studies including archaeology, art history, numismatics, and philology; 2) Religious and Social Studies including philosophy, patristic sciences and theology, cultural anthropology, and sociology; and 3) History of Ideas including economics, human rights, jurisprudence and international law, and political science.

John Cabot University
Via della Lungara, 233
00165 Rome, Italy
(+39) 06 6819121