The 2023 University of Pennsylvania Center for Ancient Studies Graduate Student Conference:
The Aftermaths of Conflict: Responses to Human and Material Trauma in the Ancient World
The Center for Ancient Studies at the University of Pennsylvania is proud to present our 14th annual
Graduate Student Conference, “The Aftermaths of Conflict: Responses to Human and Material Trauma in
the Ancient World.” The conference will be held at the University of Pennsylvania from Friday April 14th
— Saturday April 15th, 2023.
Conflict is an unfortunate truth of the human experience, and in the same way that contemporary political,
martial, or ideological conflicts affect the modern world, so too did such clashes leave marks on the
archaeological, historical, and literary records of the past. Scholars from diverse fields are encouraged to
explore a range of evidence from many ancient peoples that speaks to experiencing or processing trauma.
While the experience of conflict is ubiquitous, the nature of and responses to conflict vary considerably.
How did people in the past interact with and view each other during times of tension? How did
communities who faced conflict resist, rebuild, or relocate? In what ways did communities that expanded
their territory into new areas destroy or adapt parts of previous settlements? In what ways and to what
degree did powers impose their authority on new territories? How did enslaved individuals experience
conflict and how are they represented in records? What injuries or disabilities remained with individual
members of these communities and how were those affected treated by their society? What does our
evidence indicate about the psychological toll of trauma, in public and private contexts?
We welcome submissions from graduate students working in any discipline that helps inform our
understanding of the ancient world; interdisciplinary approaches too are very welcome. One of the key
objectives of this conference is to encourage fruitful, professional interaction and collaboration between
students and early career scholars in ancient studies that transcends disciplinary boundaries. Thus, the
event is meant to integrate a wide variety of disciplines, including but not limited to: Anthropology,
Ancient History, Archaeology, Art History, Classical Studies, and area studies programs. Possible topics
include, but are not limited to:
• Remembrance of post-conflict trauma – physical or emotional – in different media, including but
not limited to oral histories, literary traditions, and material culture
• Memorialization of resistance or commemoration of conflict
• Representations of enemies or the “other” and encounters with them in behavioral, racial, or
ethnic terms
• Destruction, disabilities and death during conflicts
• Post-conflict history of oppression, enslavement, and/or integration of the conquered
communities
• Rebuilding, rehabilitation, and migrations in the aftermath of conflicts
• Political and economic fallout from warfare
• Human remains as evidence of physical trauma or patterns of displacement following conflict
We encourage submissions related to material from all geographic regions.
Please send abstracts to cas.upenn@gmail.com no later than Monday February 27th (02/27/2023). Please
title your email “CAS 23 Abstract Submission” and include your name and institutional affiliation in the
body text of your email. Abstracts should be up to 250 words, include a title for the paper, and be
anonymous PDF files. Presentations should be no longer than 15 minutes.
Notifications will be given to all applicants by March 3rd. Limited funding will be available for speakers
to travel to Philadelphia. There is a strong preference for in-person attendance, but attendance on Zoom
can be accommodated.
If you have any questions regarding the conference, please contact the chair of the organizing committee,
Amelia Bensch-Schaus, at the same email address above.