IMC 2016: Sessions
Session 1310: Not all Roads Lead to Rome: Barbarians, Nomads, Outlaws, and the Antithesis of the Roman World
Wednesday 6 July 2016, 16.30-18.00
Sponsor: | Cooperative Centre for the Centrality of Peripheries |
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Organiser: | Hervin Fernández-Aceves, School of History, University of Leeds |
Moderator/Chair: | Hervin Fernández-Aceves, School of History, University of Leeds |
Paper 1310-a | Primitivism and the Concept of the Noble Savage in the Works and Thought of Dio Chrysostom (Language: English) Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Mentalities, Political Thought |
Paper 1310-b | 'Better to Live Free as a Barbarian than as a Slave under Rome': The Rhetoric and Reality of Lower-Class Alignment with Barbarians during the 4th and 5th Centuries (Language: English) Index terms: Mentalities, Political Thought, Social History |
Paper 1310-c | 'Father Gradivus, Who Rules over the Getic Fields': Jordanes and the Ontological Question of Nomadic and Pastoral Societies (Language: English) Index terms: Mentalities, Political Thought, Rhetoric |
Abstract | The aim of this session is to discuss theoretical and existential aspects of the often tense balance between the Roman world and peripheral forces - in ethnic, cultural, and social ways. Papers will cover the rise of the 'noble savage' archetype amidst growing pessimism towards Roman customs; the echoes of this ideal perspective in the sixth century, when the contact with a myriad of nomadic tribes shook parts of the Empire; and how these foreign tribes emanated an aura of fostering hope for those who saw themselves alienated from Roman authority, like bandits and outlaws. Overall, this session will question the hegemony of Roman culture and bring concurrent, sometimes antagonistic existential forces to light. |