Roman Mobilities and their Afterlives

The programme offers an advanced undergraduate and postgraduate seminar on ancient Roman culture through the lens of “mobility”.

The developments of Roman culture as it moved across Europe demand multidisciplinary reflection on research questions relating to identity, the relationship between contemporary culture and local histories, and the different approaches to the past demanded by varied source materials.

The added dimension for 2027 responds to the context of the Iberian peninsula: the 2027 edition will focus on the interactions between Rome and Hispania, in their cultural and artistic dimensions (architecture, shows, manuscripts, religion, etc.).

Central to this programme has been the investigation of Roman Civilisation through its encounters with other cultures and of the interaction between the centre of empire and its extremities. The investigation has been emphasising the ambivalent processes of cultural appropriation, exchange, and dominance in the self-definition of communities under Roman rule as Rome confronted a wide range of cultures: Greeks, other ancient Mediterranean and Black Sea communities, including those in North Africa, Spain, Gaul, and Briton.

This year, the online seminars will keep exploring mobility through case studies: the portability of religious rites; the dynamics of change in ancient religion, including the imperial cult; the role of translation in the transmission of philosophical and scientific ideas; the transmission of culture through language; the cultural transference of literary, rhetorical, and artistic motifs; the performative power of the moving body; the ethical dimension of travel; the status of citizens subject to relegation and exile; military mobility; mobility and monuments.

The BIP will place a new focus on issues of cultural heritage, its preservation, restoration, and management. These will be of special relevance to the mobility element in Hispania, a province which is particularly rich in Roman vestiges.

At the heart of this programme is the desire to provide a space for critical thinking to an array of students from different countries and backgrounds and to generate an ongoing debate about the timeliness of studying ancient cultural discourses in the present moment.

By focusing on the extremely mobile nature of ancient Rome in terms of space and time, we will question traditional claims about the legacy of Roman imperialism in the creation of European values and propose more innovative methods for exploring this dialectic from a broad interdisciplinary perspective, always counting on the added value of our Alliance’s goals regarding issues of multiculturalism and civic approach.

• Latin Language and Literature; 
  
• Roman History and archeology; 
• Culture and religion of ancient Rome (including the imperial cult);
• Transmission of Philosophical and scientific ideas; 
• Cultural transference of literary, rhetorical, and artistic motifs; 
• Military mobility; 
• Mobility and monuments. 

By the end of the course, the students will be able to:

• demonstrate in-depth knowledge on ancient Roman culture and society from synchronic and diachronic perspectives;
• apply multi-disciplinary concepts in the Humanities to draw conclusions on the cultural idea of "mobility";
• critically discuss aspects of identity and cultural status in ancient Rome and the provinces;
• identify the value of case studies in approaching broader topics;
• incorporate first-hand exploration of visual and material culture;
• draw critical parallels between ancient and modern cultures;
• develop collaborative research with peers from other nationalities and fields of study;
• compose an outreach project about the topic to be addressed to non-academic audiences;
• communicate orally to refine individual and group conclusions relating to the topics of the course.

The physical mobility part will take place between 23-27 April 2027 in Madrid and other significant Roman areas in Spain. 

Archaeological sites and institutions include:

• Alcalá de Henares (Complutum, Antiquarium and Museo Arqueológico Regional, Casa de Hyppolitus);
• Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Madrid);
• Yacimiento de Segóbriga;
• Yacimiento de Noheda.

The virtual module will take place on Fridays, between 26 February - 28 May 2027 at 2 PM CET on Moodle and Zoom (each session will last around 2,5 hours). The in-person week will divide the online sessions into two parts.

During the first online period, each lecture will be followed by an interactive discussion and will be devoted to a specific topic that relates to the notion of Roman "mobility". It will include a "meet and greet" dynamic as well as a theoretical introduction to the critical methodologies selected by the instructors, followed by a final debate and clarifications. Topics to be addressed will include:

• Mobility, Nation, and Culture: Greek education and philosophy in ancient Rome
• Exile, social mobility, and the exclusion from the citizen body in ancient Rome
• Mobility in Latin: semantics and pragmatics
• Mobility and language contacts through the Roman Empire
• Ritual movements of persons and animals in Roman Religion
• Religious practices and mobility on the edges of the Empire
• The moving body and Roman dance
• The mobility between Morocco and Spain during Roman Antiquity
• Military mobility throughout the Roman empire
• Roman material culture as evidence of the mobility of people and commercial goods

Note: These sessions will take place on 26 Feb.; 5 and 12 March; 2, 9 and 16 Apr.

During the second virtual part, students will be working on their final group project, accompanied by assigned lecturers. The final oral presentation of their projects will take place during the last virtual part.

Note: These sessions will take place on 14, 21 and 28 May.

The assessment will include:

• individual written portfolio consisting of two sections - the online seminars and further exploration of the key themes that most interest the student (c. 3000 words): 50% of the course's grade;
• group work: research and design of collaborative poster or presentation, delivered at the end of the visit to Madrid: 40% of the course’s grade;
• individual presentation on a topic chosen as part of a team: 10% of the course's grade.

Motivation Letter

CV

Students will be evaluated based on:

• their interest in Antiquity or ancient Rome;
• link between the course topic and the student's cursus or project;
• elementary Latin as an added value.

• Zoa Alonso Fernández (UAM) is Profesora Contratada Doctora in the department of Classical Philology. Her research scrutinizes the role of dance and movement in ancient Rome, paying a special attention to the implications of the dancing body in the Roman constructions of gender, sex and ethnicity. 
• Valentin Bottez (UB) has been a lecturer in the Department of Ancient History, Archaeology and Art History since 2015. He has directed excavations on the Histria archaeological site in the district of Constanța since 2013. His researchinterest includes ancient urbanism and topography, early Christianity, and Roman religion. 
• Pedro Duarte (AMU) is a lecturer in Latin language and Literature, and a specialist in Latin semantics and lexicology. His work focusses on technicisms in Latin and the language of Roman collectors, and also on the linguistic issues relating to ancient encyclopaedic practice. 
• Giorgio Ferri (SUR) is Tenure Track Researcher in History of Religions at the Department of History, Anthropology,Religions, Art History, Media and Performing Arts. His main research interest is Roman religion, from its early stages to the first Christian emperors. 
• Sanaa Hassab (Hassan II University - Cassablanca) is professeure habilitée and vice-Dean. She works on themes related to Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and heritage, focusing on periods of transition, mobility and acculturation in the Mediterranean area. Her work also explores the contribution of cultural heritage to economic development, and theuse of new technologies (including VR and AR) for the dissemination and safeguarding of this heritage. 
• Alexandra Lițu (UB) is senior lecturer in Ancient History and a Vice-Dean of the Faculty of History. She is chercheur associée at Villa Noël, Centre Régional Francophone d'Études Avancées en Sciences Sociales. Her research interests cover Greek religion, epigraphy and colonisation, Homer, and Digital Humanities. 
• Sabine Luciani (AMU) is professor of Latin language and Literature. She specializes in the history of Roman and Hellenistic philosophy and in Latin literature. In numerous publications, she has explored Lucretius, Roman Epicureanism, the Christian reception of Hellenistic philosophy, Roman philosophy of time, and Cicero’s anthropological thinking. 
• Florica (Bohîlțea) Mihuț (UB) is senior lecturer at the Faculty of History, PhD in History (since 2003), head of the Centre of Comparative History for Ancient Societies (CICSA). Her articles and books concern the social and political history of Ancient Rome, Roman Art, and recently, Romanian ethnography.
• Adrastos Omissi (UoG) is Lecturer of Latin Literature. He is a  historian specializing in the political history of the Later Roman Empire, with a focus on civil war, court culture, and the construction of imperial legitimacy.
• Javier Salido Domínguez (UAM) is Lecturer of Archaeology. His research interests focus on Roman economy, archaeology, and medieval landscape studies, directing projects at El Rebollar - El Boalo and Castillo Viejo de Manzanares el Real (Madrid).
• Luis Unceta Gómez (UAM) is Senior Lecturer of Latin Philology. His research interests focus on Latin semantics, pragmatics, and linguistic politeness. His second research line focuses on classical reception in contemporary popular culture.