eath, Disasters, Downturn. The Archaeology of Crises CFP

Graduate Archaeology at Oxford and the School of Archaeology at the
University of Oxford invite the submission of proposals for papers
and posters to an interdisciplinary conference titled "Death,
Disasters, Downturn. The Archaeology of Crises." Oxford, 24-25 April
2010.

"From plagues to economic collapses, natural disasters to the deaths
of loved ones, crisis, in its social, economic, psychological,
biological, and ecological manifestations has indelibly shaped human
existence. Since it is often in the breakdown of societies that the
structures which composed them become clearest, crises provide an
especially good window onto how groups have functioned historically.
It can affect entire communities or single individuals; it can be
confined to a singular time and space or it can reoccur episodically.
As some of the most fascinating moments in human history, isolated
cases or forms of crisis have been much-discussed among scholars
within single fields. Rarely, however, have such debates crossed the
boundaries of specific disciplines to be studied in a wider,
over-arching context."

The goal of this conference is to start a discussion about the
archaeological study of crises from across disciplines: sciences,
archaeology, anthropology, ancient history. The questions we will
raise are manifold: what constitutes a crisis? Which groups in the
past have been most affected by crises? How can the archaeological
record shed light on crises of various magnitudes? Most importantly,
how can the archaeology of crisis be used to shed light on societies
past and present?

Abstracts should not exceed 500 words in length and should be sent as
attachments (in PDF format) to: gao@arch.ox.ac.uk
Deadline for abstract submission: Sunday, 6 December 2009.
Selected papers will be published in a volume, as part of the GAO
monograph series.

For further information visit: the GAO website (
http://www.arch.ox.ac.uk/conferences/articles/gao-annual-conference.html
)