CFP: CAS Grad Conference on Alcohol in the Ancient World (Penn, Feb. 24-25, 2017)

Call for Papers

Center for Ancient Studies Graduate Conference: “Alcohol in the Ancient World”

Deadline for Submissions: December 1, 2016

Conference Date: February 24-25, 2017
Conference Location: Penn Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Host: Center for Ancient Studies, University of Pennsylvania

Organizer: Darren Ashby (NELC, University of Pennsylvania)
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Patrick McGovern (Penn Museum)

Penn’s Center for Ancient Studies invites proposals of papers from graduate students in any discipline who are engaged in the study of alcohol in the pre-modern world.

Beer, wine, and other fermented beverages have played an important role in the social, political, economic, and religious lives of humans for thousands of years. The embedded nature of alcohol in human societies makes it a productive locus for research on a wide range of topics. Possible subjects include the role of alcohol in:

    •    Production technologies and techniques
    •    Consumption practices and contexts
    •    Visual and literary culture
    •    Law
    •    Medicine
    •    The construction and negotiation of identity and gender
    •    Trade and political economy
    •    Ritual

Research on the prohibition of alcohol in pre-modern societies is also encouraged. Who is prohibited and why? When and where do these prohibitions apply? What do they entail? How are they enforced and how are they circumvented?

Applications should include a title and an abstract of no more than 250 words that summarizes the work, identifies the methodology, and states the primary conclusions. CAS encourages interdisciplinary research that utilizes multiple sources of evidence, including material culture, texts, iconography, experimental and ethnographic studies, and archaeometry.

Send all materials to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject heading CAS Abstract: APPLICANT NAME. Please include your affiliation in the body of the email. Deadline for abstracts is December 1, 2016. Applicants will be notified of the status of their paper by the middle of December.

The Center for Ancient Studies strives to bring together scholars from different disciplines engaged in the study of pre-modern cultures. Our Center aims to model an expansive and global vision of the study of the ancient world, spanning Greco-Roman cultures and the Near East but also pre-modern Asia, Africa, and the Americas. For more information see http://www.sas.upenn.edu/ancient/.