Since the start of February, I have held a short-term fellowship with the Center for Advanced Studies Research Group ‘Migration and Mobility in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages’ at the University of Tübingen. Tomorrow (21 February 2020) I will be giving a paper for the bi-weekly seminar. The seminar lasts from 18.00 to 19.30, and the discussion will hopefully continue over beers in the pub afterward.
The focus of my time here is on revising my doctoral thesis for publication. I have already been busy reading to update the work’s bibliography, part of that revision process will be expanding coverage of a few topics which weren’t addressed to my satisfaction in earlier drafts. The first problem is the relationship between the idea of ‘Roman’ and ‘Christian.’ These terms were used interchangeably in some situations, but the significance of that interchangeability differed. To take one example, in eighth-century Miaphysite Syriac literature, ‘Roman’ could signify a Christian belonging to a church in ecumenical union with Constantinople. On the other hand, at the same time in Italy, ‘Roman’ could be used to signify affiliation with the bishop of Rome in opposition to the bishop of Constantinople. Same signifiers implying opposite significations. It’s messy, and I’m looking forward to working on it more.
The second problem I’ll be working on is the effect of gender on Roman identity. For this, I’ll be working from a core which was removed from my thesis at a very late stage, and which I want to find a way to reincorporate. At this point I’m thinking that I’ll be trying to explore the law – what the legal status of being a Roman meant for women, especially if and where alternative legal identities were available. I’m still in the early stages of thinking about how to revise this topic, so I’m hoping to spark some good ideas and discussion!
The slides which will accompany my talk can be found here. And thanks especially to Prof. Drs. Mischa Meier, Steffen Patzold, Sebastian Schmidt-Hoffner, and Thomas Kohl for organizing and hosting.
February 20th, 2020 by DC Whalin