CALL. 01.03.2017: Cassius Dio: the Impact of Violence, War, and Civil War - Aalborg (Denmark)
The impact of war has long be recognised by scholars and recent years have seen an increasing interest in the civil-war periods in Roman history, mainly that of the Late Republic, especially with respect to the enormous impact of civil war on Roman society during the aftermath of the murder of Caesar. Combining this with recent trends in historiography, especially with the publication of The Fragments of the Roman Historians (2013), the collected volume on Appian‘s civil war narratives (Welch 2015), and the forthcoming volume on The Historiography of Late Republican Civil War (Lange & Vervaet 2018, HRE), may offer a perfect starting point for the study of Cassius Dio and the Impact of Violence, War, and Civil War. There is a certain amount of scholarship on Dio’s views of Roman external policy and expansion, focusing particularly on the speeches at the start of the Second Punic War and Caesar's Vesontio speech as well as various authorial statements. Dio’s description of foreign war is also essential for understanding civil strife and civil war (frg. 52.1), a subcategory of the broader phenomenon of war. Dio wanted to understand Roman history on its own terms, including war and civil strife and in the light of long-term experience, as part of the realities of power; he wanted to understand human nature (echoing Thucydides) and the leading (civil war) protagonists; it concerns also the impact of war and civil war, and the historian’s approach to it through narrative.
FECHA LÍMITE/DEADLINE/SCADENZA: 10/03/2017
FECHA CONGRESO/CONGRESS DATE/DATA CONGRESSO: 08-09-10/11/2017
LUGAR/LOCATION/LUOGO: Aalborg University (Aalborg, Denmark)
ORGANIZADOR/ORGANIZER/ORGANIZZATORE: Adam Kemezis; George Hinge; Jesper M. Madsen; Josiah Osgood; Carsten H. Lange
CALL:
This conference, part of the Cassius Dio Network Cassius Dio Between History and Politics, will provide the opportunity to explore Dio’s approaches to and views on violence, war and civil war, focusing on such topics as: • Dio’s own interpretation in writing the history of Rome, focusing specifically on the subjects of violence, war and civil war • Dio’s views of Roman external policy and expansion • Dio’s narrative of crisis and (civil) war in general • Dio’s models for writing history, including Thucydides • Etc.
Unfortunately we cannot subsidise transportation costs to and from Denmark. However, we will offer to pay for speakers’ accommodation, meals, and conference dinner. Abstracts should be 300 words maximum, for 30 minute papers to be delivered in English. The deadline for submission is 1 March 2017. Questions and proposals should be sent to: Carsten Hjort Lange History, Department of Culture and Global Studies, Aalborg University, Denmark. Email: lange@cgs.aau.dk www.brill.com/hre