Universal History
Conference on Universal History: call for papersManchester, June 21-2, 2007.
A mode of the utmost value to those who are studiously inclined (Diodorus
Siculus 1.3.6)
Universal History is a type of history that attempts to explain the world beyond
the immediate surroundings of the author. It reflects a desire to synthesise
the mass of written and oral knowledge about the past and perhaps to introduce
a systematic interpretation. The purpose of this conference is to re-examine
the notion of Universal Historiography with a focus on its appearance in the
Greek and Roman world. Our attention will be directed not only at those
historians well-established as practitioners of Universal Historiography
(Ephorus, Polybius, Diodorus Siculus, Pompeius Trogus, Velleius Paterculus,
Ammianus Marcellinus etc.), we also welcome interpretations of other historians
and ancient writers as Universal Historiographers and their employment of ideas
and concepts familiar to Universal Historiography. We will be open to papers
(30 mins) on any aspect of the subject, in particular definitions, the
evidential basis, content and form, the intellectual context and reception of
the subject. While this conference will focus on antiquity (600BC - AD600)
proposals for papers are welcomed from other periods; we are particularly
interested in the impact that ancient concepts of Universal Historiography on
its later manifestations.
For more information, contact Andy Fear (andrew.fear@manchester.ac.uk) and Peter
Liddel (peter.liddel@manchester.ac.uk).
[seen on the Classicists list]