The Mediterranean, in various literatures, is perceived as infinite: a sphere of unseen possibilities. Both the sea and its shores are intractably connected and in constant flux.
Whether the Mediterranean facilitates cultural and ethnic interplay, or whether we view it as a barrier that separates civilizations and traditions, a close study of Mediterranean economic exchange can be revealing. The history of transportation and commercial activities tells stories of man and culture; the nature of individuals and societies; problems inherent in shipping routes, and currencies. Commercial activity, for the purpose of this conference, is the method of mapping, reading and comprehending the Mediterranean world, and dialogue with societies beyond its internal shores.
The conference organizers seek thought-provoking papers that explore the role of commerce, the function and space of exchange and the relevance of shipping routes across the 'Mediterranean worlds' during different historical periods. We invite participation in an interdisciplinary conference, revolving around the following themes:
- A Basin of Connectivity and Conflict
- Communication and Transport
- Speculative Seas: Trade Systems, Commodities and Prices
- Caravans of the Mediterranean
- The Peninsula and the Island
- Globalizing the Mediterranean: Inter-national traders, companies and agencies.
- Mapping the Mediterranean Commerce
- History through weights and measures: History of Trade
- Crossing the Trade Roads
- Risks and hazards of Passing the Mediterranean
- Roads and trade stations
- Lands of Desire: Warring for Trade in the Mediterranean
- Advertising and Commodity in the Mediterranean History
- Ports, hybrid cultures and cosmopolitan societies
- Traders of Byzantium: in and beyond Constantinople
- Art and Science: Transmediterranean Impact on Visual Culture
- Interchanges of Culture: Sicily, Southern Italy and the Transmediterranean from 1050 to 1250