(Re)envisioning Ancient Worlds

A Forum for Exchanges on Ancient Studies at UCLA

December 5–6, 2023 | Royce Hall 306

Global Antiquity would like to thank all who were able to attend this event. Unfortunately the dates of the workshop have now passed, but the program can still be downloaded here. Please check the Ancient Studies Calendar for future events.

Global Antiquity convened a workshop titled (Re)envisioning Ancient Worlds. This event, held at UCLA over two days, December 5–6, 2023, included invited speakers from the University of California and the greater Los Angeles area whose research focuses on the ancient worlds. Global Antiquity, while supportive of more traditional approaches to ancient studies, aims to encourage a broadminded and cross-disciplinary discourse on ancient worlds, foregrounding the equivalency of past human experiences. The present workshop sought to promote reflection on a more equitable treatment of antiquity by emphasizing the diversity of the ancient worlds, the entanglement of past cultural achievements, and the relevance of these perspectives for the present. It is our hope that this may stimulate new models and methods to engage all actors of the ancient worlds across disciplinary boundaries, and inspire conversations on how the wholistic awareness of the past may engender a more empathic and accepting view of cultures in the present.

The event featured speakers and topics covering a diverse array of ancient worlds, from West Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean to East Asia and the Americas. Themes explored over these two days included: the interconnectivity of ancient states and communities; diversity within established areas of inquiry; reception; pedagogy; and working across disciplines.

(Re)envisioning Ancient Worlds was graciously co-sponsored by the following departments, programs, institutes, and centers at UCLA: Asian Languages and Cultures, Art History, Classics, the CMRS Center for Early Global Studies, the UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, the Program in Indo-European Studies, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, the Pourdavoud Center for the Study of the Iranian World, and the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture.