Please post and forward -- pardon the cross-postings
Call for Papers for the San Diego APA 2001:
Panel on REGIONAL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF GREEK RELIGION
Organized by Stephanie Larson <[log in to unmask]>, University
of Texas at Austin, and Irene
Polinskaya, Stanford University
Our panel is organized around a nexus of approaches to the study
of Greek religion which have gradually emerged over the last 20 years. We
call them "regional approaches." Such methods take into account the
differences in historical development in various parts of the Greek
world, abandoning pan-Greek assumptions in the study of cult and
ritual. On the other hand, "regional approaches" progress beyond
studies of individual cults to the consideration of cult systems
within a region and the relationships between them. In addition,
they view religion as a
social structure within the complex social life of a community, not as an
unrelated phenomenon. Representative studies of this kind include F.
Graf's Nordionische Kulte, A. Schachter's Cults of Boiotia, and M. Jost's
Sanctuaires et cultes d'Arcadie.
While the contribution of these approaches is significant in
shifting attention from the assumed unity of Greek religious phenomena to
specific local idiosyncrasies, the conceptual framework presently used to
discuss Greek religion on the local level remains underdeveloped. The
concepts "polis-religion," "boundaries" of local religious systems, and
"religious system" itself need revision, while other concepts should be
introduced, in order to clarify the distinctions between multiple elements
of the complex picture which emerges as a result of regional approaches.
Our panel is therefore interested in contributions concerning the
conceptual problems involved in recent regional studies in Greek religion.
The relationship between territory and cults in ancient Greece is
central question in regional studies. In this regard, two recent lines of
research in the Classics promise to advance the studies of local religious
systems in Greece. One line of research is inspired by the work of F. de
Polignac on the connections between territory, cults, and the rise of the
polis. However, his insightful models are based on pan-Greek assumptions,
and have to be carefully tested against the local data. The other line of
research is the progress of archaeological field surveys. Surveys rely
upon some of the same theoretical premises as "regional approaches," as
they demonstrate the importance of studying human interaction with the
environment in terms of local geo-ecological units. We therefore welcome
a discussion of the potential for applying field survey methodology to the
study of Greek religion, as well as critical evaluations of de Polignac's
views on territory and cults.
We also seek papers that define the major issues involved in study
of localized religious systems, such as: terminology and concepts
useful for the identification of local religious systems;
relationships between figures of local
pantheons; interplay between local divine figures and local
geography; connections
between local religious systems and such social institutions as
poleis and ethne.
We are also interested in discussing the ramifications of such regional
studies for the concept of pan-hellenism. Finally, we invite opinions on
the methodological question: should synchronic and diachronic approaches
be combined in the study of local religious systems?
We seek to explore these issues in the context of
the Greek world from the Late Geometric to Hellenistic periods. We
especially welcome multi-disciplinary approaches to the study of local cult
systems, approaches that make full use of contemporaneous literary and
archaeological material. We also encourage papers from a variety of
theoretical perspectives.
Please send an original and two copies of abstracts, 500-800 words
in length, by February 1, 2000 to the APA office.
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