About

Introduction - From Contemporaneity to Antiquity: A Reflective Path

The symposium "From Contemporaneity to Antiquity" positions itself as a semiannual interdisciplinary forum for scholarly reflection, uniting academics from diverse contexts within the Lusophone world — including Portugal, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, and East Timor. While these territories are shaped by distinct realities and challenges, they are united by a common language, which carries with it a shared historical and cultural memory.

The symposium aims to address contemporary pressing issues through the lens of a broad historical perspective, underpinned by the contributions of Classical Studies. This approach provides a reflective and distanced horizon, offering innovative insights into current crises. The dynamics of the present day, intensified by phenomena such as pandemics, migration, climate change, political radicalism, and multifaceted conflicts, necessitate profound reflection on the concepts of time and memory. Engaging with Ancient History is not a mere nostalgic return to a distant past, but rather an opportunity to analyse the present through an alternative and distinctive framework.

By gathering scholars from across the Lusophone world, alongside distinguished academic guests whose voices resonate within a global context marked by turmoil, the symposium aspires to enrich discussions with the diversities and complexities inherent in each territory. Furthermore, it seeks to identify commonalities and shared strategies for confronting the uncertainties and vulnerabilities of the present. Each session of the symposium offers a reflective space, beginning with contemporary, modern, or ancient themes, to engage with the major dilemmas of both the present and the future.

The event "From Contemporaneity to Antiquity: Dialogues on the Present, Past, and Future" was held between 5 June and 31 July 2024. It convened 73 researchers from diverse academic fields across 22 sessions, fostering interdisciplinary discussions on the multiple dimensions of contemporary global challenges.

Key themes explored during the symposium included: Body Culture and Movement, History of Education, History of Judaism and Christianity, Criticism, Text Editing, and Paleography, Sexual Violence, Childhood and Youth, Controversy and Argumentation, Motherhood and Family Conflicts, Gender and Sexuality, Language Teaching, Humour and Politics, Rhetoric and Discourse, Mental and Physical Health, Israel: Past and Present, Environmental Challenges, Literacy, Ethnography and Agency, Sexual Violence and Family Conflicts, Law and Its Artistic Reverberations, Subaltern Studies and Imperialism, Food and Health, and Social Practices, Memories, and Histories of Coastal and River Populations. The symposium concluded with a reflective discussion on Ethics in Scientific Research.

All conference sessions are available for viewing here.

The second symposium "From Contemporaneity to Antiquity: Cultural Agency and Identities" will take place from 24 March to 16 April 2025. Its primary aim is to unite scholars from a wide range of disciplines in an interdisciplinary exploration of cultural identities, with a focus on their construction, transformation, and re-signification. This event adopts a holistic approach, which is not confined to the examination of a single theme. Rather, it strives to bring together researchers from various fields, fostering an enriching dialogue between Antiquity and the contemporary world.

A central feature of the symposium will be the contribution of Professor Irad Malkin, who has been invited to present themes from his paper "Egalitarianism and the Foundation of Greek Poleis", published in Rome and the Colonial City (edited by S. Greaves and A. Wallace-Hadrill). Malkin’s research, which examines the processes of foundation and political organisation in the Greek poleis, is closely aligned with the symposium's focus. His work offers invaluable insights into how these ancient social organisations can inform contemporary issues such as migration, territorial organisation, and spatial occupation. One key aspect of the discussions will be the reflection on migration, particularly in light of the newly founded cities in Angola and Mozambique, with contributions from scholars at higher education institutions in these countries. Moreover, Dr Malkin’s lecture will lay the groundwork for the theme of the following symposium: Migrations, Yesterday and Today.

For the opening lecture, Professor Delfim Leão has been invited to explore the concept of Greek law, Greek cultural identities, and democracy. His contribution will be crucial to the debate surrounding how ancient Greek concepts of law and identity shaped the democratic and political foundations of the modern world. Leão will contextualise the interplay between law and Greek cultural identities, encouraging reflection on the political organisation of the ancient poleis and their relevance for contemporary discussions on governance, rights, and democracy. This analysis will provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on the continuities and transformations in political practices, particularly in relation to contemporary challenges concerning migration and territorial organisation.

Thus, the symposium provides a unique platform for reflecting on forms of social organisation, memory, and identity, both in Antiquity and in contemporary societies, with particular emphasis on the complex global issues of migration and territorial occupation.

The event will be held in person at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra, managed by an organising committee responsible for the scientific and administrative guidance of the symposium, alongside an executive committee tasked with operationalising all activities. Additionally, the symposium will be streamed remotely via Streamyard, a digital studio, and broadcast live on YouTube and Facebook. This format was chosen due to connectivity limitations, especially in rural regions of Angola and Mozambique, where bandwidth is insufficient for Zoom to function effectively. Consequently, participants will gather in physical locations, interacting through projection screens. In the previous event, 17 such connection points were established.

One week before the event, the speaker who will be presenting their lecture online will receive a personal access key for the Streamyard studio. To ensure a smooth presentation, we kindly request that the speaker follows the guidelines below:

1. Accessing Streamyard:
   • The speaker should log into the Streamyard studio 15 minutes before the start of the lecture. This will allow sufficient time for testing equipment, making necessary adjustments, and ensuring everything is functioning correctly prior to the commencement of the presentation.
2. Equipment Preparation:
   • Test your microphone and camera before the conference. Streamyard provides a live preview where you can adjust these settings to ensure both audio and video quality are optimal.
   • Ensure that your presentation environment is well-lit and free from distractions or background noise. Front lighting is essential for good visibility.
   • If possible, use headphones with a microphone to avoid echo or background noise during the broadcast.
3. Audience Interaction:
   • During the lecture, if audience interaction is permitted, the speaker can respond to questions or comments via the live chat, according to the event’s guidelines.
   • Should the speaker have slides or other presentation materials, these can be shared directly via the Streamyard platform.
4. Duration and Formatting of the Presentation:
   • Please adhere to the designated time for your presentation. Streamyard provides a timer to assist in managing the presentation time.
   • We recommend using slides in PowerPoint or Keynote, which can be easily shared through the platform.

Required Texts

For the organisation and dissemination of the event, we kindly ask that you submit the following texts prior to your presentation:

• Title of the Lecture
• Abstract (maximum of 300 words)
• At least 5 keywords related to the topic of your presentation

Publication

Should you agree to contribute to the international publication of the event, we request that the full text be submitted by 13 October 2025. The text will be reviewed for inclusion in the official symposium publication.

We greatly appreciate your cooperation and remain at your disposal for any further questions or assistance – email: brian.kibuuka@uc.pt

The themes addressed in the "From Contemporaneity to Antiquity" symposium delve into the ongoing negotiation and re-signification of cultural identities across time, spanning from the ancient world to the present. Through topics such as Justice, Law, and Democracy: Yesterday and Today, Slavery in Ancient Greece and Contemporary Slavery, and Cultural Memory and Identity – Indigenous, Native, and Migrant Peoples, the symposium underscores the enduring influence of ancient social structures, myths, and practices in shaping modern societal debates.

Themes including Religion and Violence, Feminisms and Feminine Writings, and Gender and Patriarchy further highlight the continuity of struggles for equality and the negotiation of identity, thereby bridging the gap between past and contemporary concerns. The focus on Africanities in Antiquity and Contemporaneity, Mythology and Art, and Spatialities, Subalternities, and Resistances provides critical insights into the cultural legacies of the ancient world and their ongoing impact on contemporary conflicts and resistance movements.

Ultimately, the symposium serves as a platform for scholars to reflect on how ancient concepts of identity, belonging, and power continue to reverberate in modern discussions surrounding migration, territoriality, and political organisation. It sets the stage for the forthcoming symposium on Migrations, which will delve deeper into the historical and contemporary dynamics of migration and identity.

List of themes:

• Justice, Law, and Democracy: Yesterday and Today
• Cultural Agency: From Ancient Times to Contemporary Negotiations of Identity
• Slavery in Ancient Greece and Contemporary Slavery
• Funerary Rituals in Ancient Greece: From Ancient Practices to Their Representations in the Present
• Feminisms and Feminine Writings: From Ancient Imagination to Contemporary Struggles
• To Kill Children and Destroy Dreams: Fiction and Reality Yesterday and Today
• Mythology and Art: Representations of the Sacred in Greek, African, and Afro-Diasporic Traditions
• From Identities in the Ancient Near East to Contemporary Issues of Belonging
• Religion and Violence: Ancient and Contemporary Analyses of Discourse and Power
• Bible and Discourse: Between Sacred Past and Contemporary Controversies
• Mass Culture, Psyche, and Violence: Yesterday and Today
• Cultural Memory and Identity – Indigenous, Native, and Migrant Peoples
• Religion and Gender: Ancient and Contemporary Challenges in Identity Construction
• Black Women and the Bible: Dialogues between the Past and Contemporary Theology
• Religion and Identity: The Past and Its Influences on Contemporary Constructions of Being
• Literature, Art, and War: Reflections on the Past and Its Legacies in Contemporary Conflicts
• Religion and Culture: The Intersection of Religious Past and Contemporary Cultural Practices
• Gender and Patriarchy: The Ancient Perspective and Its Repercussions in the Contemporary World
• Africanities in Antiquity and Contemporaneity
• Religion, History, and Memory: From Antiquity to Contemporary Reflections on Religious Legacy
• Culture and Collective Memory: Connecting the Past and Present in Cultural Identities
• Greek Ethics in the Feminine: Reflections on Gender Roles in Antiquity and Their Contemporary Influences
• Communication and Agency: Crises and Opportunities Yesterday and Today
• Childhood, Youth, and Intersectionality: Intersectionality and Challenges from the Past to the Present
• Spatialities, Subalternities, and Resistances: Yesterday and Today
• Religion and Cultural Diversity: Dialogues Between the Ancient Past and Contemporary Challenges
• Religion, Politics, and Identity: The Ancient Past and Its Influence on Contemporary Political Dynamics
• The Foundation of Greek Poleis and the Re-signification of Cultural Identities