Congress
Program
The Byzantine Empire, situated at the crossroads of three continents, has recently been recognized as a central actor in the “global Middle Ages.” This recognition opens up numerous opportunities to view Byzantium, its Roman heritage, and its cultural influence far beyond its political and chronological boundaries. Vienna, as the congress venue, is particularly suited for discussing the relationships between the Byzantine Empire and Central Europe from various perspectives, with a focus on the mobility of people and objects. The program therefore includes not only core Byzantine topics but also addresses the reception of Byzantine culture in modern times, the scientific study of the Byzantine Middle Ages, the political and cultural identity of Byzantines—including questions of ethnicity and gender—and the complex cultural entanglements of literary production.
The program is being continually expanded. The plenary lectures, round tables, and thematic sessions were approved by the Intercongrès of the Association Internationale des Études Byzantines in April 2024. Submissions for free communications (single papers or group submissions, with a total of over 200 90-minute sessions available) and posters are open until April 30, 2025. Detailed versions of the plenary lectures will be published on the website prior to the congress.
Inaugural lecture
Maximilien Durand, Director, Department of Byzantine and Eastern Christian Art, Louvre Museum, Paris
Plenary Sessions
1. Byzantium lost and found
Helena Bodin, Mertkan Karaca, Maria-Rosaria Marchionibus, Przemysław Marciniak
2. Romanitas beyond Byzantium. Diffusion and impact of ideas of Rome in a „post-Roman” world
Rebecca Darley, Verena Krebs, Li Qiang, Roland Scheel
3. The beasts, the crops and the bones. Biological perspectives on the Byzantine world
Chryssa Bourbou, Michael Decker, Tristan Schmidt, Sylvie Yona Waksman
4. Byzantine diversities
Mirela Ivanova, Christian Laes, Charis Messis, Dorothea Weltecke
5. Reading Byzantine literature across the centuries
Floris Bernard, Federica Ciccolella, Markéta Kulhánková, Georgi Parpulov
6. Byzantium in Central Europe
Petre Guran, Sebastian Kolditz, Petra Melichar, Alice Isabella Sullivan