This doctoral workshop aims to explore how interpersonal and emotional relationships are represented through an interdisciplinary approach, bridging Archaeology, History, and Art History.

Argument

The doctoral workshop No Man is an Island. Representing Relationships from Prehistory to the Contemporary Age, organized by the Ph.D. Program in Archaeology, Art History and History of the University of Verona, aims to explore how interpersonal and emotional relationships are represented through an interdisciplinary approach, bridging Archaeology, History, and Art History.

Friendship, kinship, reverence, subordination, affection, and conflict will be analyzed through archival, material, and artistic sources, offering fresh research perspectives. Inspired by international studies on emotions and affect in historical contexts, this method seeks to connect past and present, delving into the social dynamics of ancient and contemporary societies, while engaging with historiographical perspectives on these topics. By examining material and documentary evidence, we aim to explore the many expressions of interpersonal bonds, reflecting on how  specific emotional patterns persist over time, while others evolve in response to social, cultural, and technological transformations.

Below are suggested research areas for paper proposals (not exclusive):

• Archaeology and Ancient History: Emotional expressions in various archaeological contexts; study of rituals in prehistoric civilizations; representations of familial bonds in funerary monuments and inscriptions; devotion to deities through rituals and votive dedications; the bond between leaders and the people, represented in statues and coins.
• Historical Sciences: Sources for the history of ties and relationships (narrative sources, documentary sources, ego documents); study of the transformation of affective manifestations and conflicts over time; influence of emotions on the representation of historical dynamics; historiographical approaches to the history of bonds and strifes.
• Art History: Iconographies of interpersonal connections; case studies reflecting ideal or real relationships in religious or civic contexts; representation of emotional inclusivity; critical approaches to social structures in relation to cultural transformations; the use of technology and mass communication as tools to amplify or distort emotions.
• Performing Arts: Representations of interpersonal relationships in ancient, Renaissance, and contemporary theater; social and cultural revolutions affecting onstage emotions and their effects on audiences and theater criticism; the body as an expressive tool in performing arts.
• Museology: Affective narratives and the transformation of social contexts through exhibitions and collections; curatorial practices for emotional inclusivity.

Paper Submission Guidelines

This conference, scheduled in Verona on March 20-21 2025, invites doctoral candidates and early-career researchers (Ph.D. holders up to the 2019/2020 academic year) to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue.

Proposals (approx. 300 words) should comprise a brief bibliography, five keywords, and a short biography including university or institutional affiliation. Submissions may be in Italian or English and must be sent in *.pdf format to convegnodottorale.univr@gmail.com

no later than December 20, 2024.

• The Scientific Committee will review proposals and notify applicants by January 20, 2025.
• Presentations will be in person, with a duration of 20 minutes.
• The conference will be held at AULA SPA - Silos di Ponente, Santa Marta Campus, University of Verona, via Cantarane 24, Verona.
• Proceedings of the conference are planned for publication, with editorial guidelines to be provided later by the Organizing Committee.

Scientific and Organizing Committee

• Jessica Bianchera, Contemporary Art History and Museology
• Michele Faustini, Modern Art History
• Arianna Favaretto Cortese, Medieval Art History
• Silvia Geraci, Roman History
• Giuseppe Maltese, Protohistoric Archaeology
• Giulia Saccomani, History of Christianity and Churches
• Samuele Virga, Modern History.