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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
Organiser:Hervin Fernández-Aceves, School of History, University of Leeds
Moderator/Chair:Hervin Fernández-Aceves, School of History, University of Leeds
Paper 1310-aPrimitivism and the Concept of the Noble Savage in the Works and Thought of Dio Chrysostom
(Language: English)
Ioannis Papadopoulos, School of History, University of Leeds
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)
Michael Burrows, School of History, University of Leeds
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)
Otávio Luiz Vieira Pinto, School of History, University of Leeds / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
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.