Kin and Clan in Roman Antiquity: New Perspectives on the Roman Family
Los Angeles, California
Organization: Loyola Marymount University
We invite submissions from historians, philologists, and archaeologists (including doctoral students) for a conference exploring new perspectives on Roman kinship, building upon the substantial body of work on familial structures and kin relations in Roman society. We seek to address overlooked or under-explored aspects of kinship, including but not limited to how Roman soldiers, mercenaries, enslaved and formerly enslaved individuals conceived and maintained kinship ties across legal and social divides. While any topic tied to Roman family or kinship structures is welcome to be considered, we are also interested in papers examining the evolution of kinship in Roman institutions such as collegia and the role of substances—breast milk, labor, and other shared elements—in forming both normative and non-normative kinship bonds. Topics related to the use of comparative historiography, non-normative kin relations, and digital humanities approaches are particularly welcome. Accepted proposals will be given a 30-minute slot to present their research at the conference, and will be invited to participate in the publication of proceedings to follow.
Jordan Christopher