Professor Nathanael Andrade (University of Binghamton) and Professor Rubina Raja (Aarhus University)
Dates: 18-19 December 2023
Time: 9:00-17:00
Venue: The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, H.C. Andersens Boulevard 35, DK-1553 Copenhagen
A windfall of recent scholarship has cast new light on the roles and aspirations of peasants, craftsmen, and the enslaved in the ancient economy, along with the activity of ‘invisible’ actors more generally. Even so, the weight of past and present research on the ancient economy (or economies) has focused on large-scale agrarian production, long-distance commerce, and monetary exchange in some combination. The emphasis is understandable insofar as these phenomena tend to be most visible in the written and material sources. But the ancient economy was built upon the work, exchanges, aspirations, materials, and traditions of people who largely remain invisible to us. These included rural peasants, nomads, the enslaved, and both labourers and vendors who eked a daily existence. They include people whose livelihoods depended on the agrarian production, commerce, and monetary exchanges undertaken by others. How do we account for them as historical actors, individually or collectively? How do we comprehend their actions and decisions that impacted the economy but did not leave surviving traces that we normally define as ‘economic’? How do we measure and usefully discuss the impact that the ancient economy, whether defined by local, regional, or ‘global’ contexts, had on their quotidian routines and decision-making?
With the environmental, social, and cultural factors that gave structure to economic enterprise as a point of departure, this conference seeks to address how the quotidian behaviours and strategies of ancient people largely invisible to us shaped economic life, and vice versa. One key area of focus is the impact that practices determined by environmental or social factors, including caravan trading, religious practice, competition for cultural capital, mobility and transhumanism, or maritime commerce had on local, regional and wider economies and their largely invisible actors. Another is the effect that the quotidian routines of the invisible, including peasants, nomads, and daily labourers and vendors, had on local economies and the formation of broader structures and patterns in the ancient economy writ large.
To such ends, we seek experts who can present on the following topics and themes for which we aim to organize sessions:
Please book your own travel to Copenhagen, and we will reimburse you after your stay. Please note that we can only reimburse economy-class tickets booked directly through an airline and not via a search engine.
As soon as you have organised your travel, please forward your itinerary to Christina Levisen (levisen@cas.au.dk), so that the hotel booking can be confirmed.
After the event, you will receive a link to AU’s online travel reimbursement form. It is important that you keep your receipts, as you will need to provide documentation for expenses.
Please complete the expense claim before 31 December 2023.
Comfort Hotel Vesterbro
Vesterbrogade 23/29
1620 Copenhagen
Phone: +45 33 78 80 00
A speakers’ dinner will be held on 18 December, and we will of course cater for you during the event. The speakers' dinner will take place at:
Restaurant Noi
Nobis Hotel Copenhagen
H. C. Andersens Blvd. 34
1574 Copenhagen
If you have any dietary restrictions (incl. allergies), please let Christina Levisen (levisen@cas.au.dk) know no later than 27 November, so that the restaurant/caterers can be notified.
 | Professor Nathanael Andrade Email: nandrade@binghamton.edu |
 | Professor Rubina Raja Email: rubina.raja@cas.au.dk |
