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- Thank you for an excellent conference in Helsinki! Click here for a recap of the event.
The Connected Past – Helsinki, 12-15 September 2023
Registration for the Connected Past Helsinki is now open!
Please visit our registration page to register and pay the relevant conference fee:
- Early bird (15.06.23-31.07.23), student*: 35 EUR
- Early bird (15.06.23-31.07.23), regular: 55 EUR
- Late bird (01.08.23-31.08.23), student*: 45 EUR
- Late bird (01.08.23-31.08.23), regular: 75 EUR
*Please note: student pricing includes active graduate (MA, PhD) and undergraduate students. If you are a postdoctoral researcher, please select the “regular” option.
The fees include: coffee and access to the workshop (12-13 Sept.), conference (13-15 Sept.), opening night reception (13 Sept.) and keynote (14. Sept.). Dinners are not included, but a lunch will be offered on full conference days (14-15 September). Allergy friendly, vegan, and vegetarian options will be provided, but please note any allergies on the registration form.
See below for the conference schedule. A more detailed schedule of talks will be posted in due time.
September 12, 2023
Workshop Day 1
Main Building (Unioninkatu 34) – Studium 1 (F3020) (3rd floor)
September 13, 2023
Workshop Day 2 & first day of talks
Porthania (Yliopistonkatu 3) – P674 (6th floor)
Opening Night Reception
Main Building Agora (Unioninkatu 34)
September 14 and 15, 2023
Second and third day of talks
Porthania (Yliopistonkatu 3) – Suomen Laki Hall (1st floor)
Please note that this year, we will have 1½ days for the workshop, followed by 2½ days for the conference. Poster sessions will be held concurrently on September 14 & 15.
The opening night reception hosted by the University of Helsinki is free of charge, but please remember to mark it on the registration form. This is solely to gauge the number of expected attendees. NB: The University of Helsinki serves exclusively vegan food at all university catered receptions.
The workshop (on Visone and R) requires pre-registration as the number of participants is limited. If you want to secure a spot, we encourage you should to register as soon as possible.
Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with us at: connectedpasthelsinki@gmail.com.
Theme: Digital Methods for Studying Networks and Complexity in the Humanities
The last decade has seen an explosion in the application of digital methods in the humanities from LiDAR scanning of archaeological features, 3D models for visualizing artefacts, to network science applications for exploring interaction and mobility, and even textual data. Despite many cross-disciplinary successes, the reality remains that many of these new tools of analysis are borrowed from other disciplines – computer science, sociology, physics, and/or ecology – highlighting the need for building cross-disciplinary bridges. This is especially true for historians and archaeologists working diachronically across large geographic areas and time periods, with incomplete and fragmentary data requiring thinking outside the box. This conference aims to do just that, with a focus on recent and current work conducted on the east Mediterranean and the ancient Near East.
By bringing together scholars from a wide range of fields and academic disciplines, our goal is to engage in friendly and informal dialogue on the application of digital methods for studying networks and complexity in past societies. In addition to the two days of talks, we also offer a series of hands-on workshops in the two days leading up to the conference, through which you can further develop your skills and broaden your digital horizons.
Although our focus is on the eastern Mediterranean and the ancient Near East, we welcome any contribution that discuss, address, and/or explore historical and archaeological networks from a wide range of digital perspectives. What new approaches or tools have you been using to explore your data and what collaborations (if any) did you find most fruitful in this goal?
Contributions can include, but are not limited to:
- New digital methods or tools for studying historical, archaeological, or lexical datasets
- Modelling – spatial, statistical, material datasets
- Geospatial analysis, methods, and applications
- Exploring trade routes, mobility, interaction, migration of people, things and ideas
- Integration of spatial and material datasets
- Diachronic, multi-scalar analyses using digital methods
- Traditional SNA applied to historical datasets
- Agent Based Modelling (ABM)
- Digital materiality
- Text mining and analysis
- Novel visualization methods and analysis of datasets
- Digital methods and community archaeology/heritage management in the Middle East
- ANE imperial dynamics and social networks
Please submit your abstract (max. 300 words) to ConnectedPastHelsinki@gmail.com by 30 April 2023. Unsure if your paper topic would be a good fit? Send us an email, and we will be happy to clarify.
The Connected Past 2023 will take place in Helsinki on September 12 – 15, hosted by the Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires (ANEE) at the University of Helsinki. Conference registration will open in May, with more detailed information on offered workshops. We endeavour to provide fair and accessible registration fees. Registration costs will range from 25-50 euros (concessionary, regular).
The conference is organized by Paula Gheorghiade, Lena Tambs & Jason Silverman.