CALL FOR PAPERS

Up from the Ashes: Creativity and conservatism in rebuilding after disasters

Wars, earthquakes, and other calamities can destroy homes and public 
buildings instantaneously, but in many cases, the inhabitants survive.  
Whether in Late Bronze Age Greece, Nero’s Rome, or 19th century 
Chicago, the choices made concerning rebuilding can reflect not only 
the immediate physical and psychological effects of the fire, but can 
also illuminate ways in which survivors identify themselves in relation 
to their past and future, as well as how they view themselves within 
political and ideological spheres of the community.  Thus, the shape of 
the new city often reflects aspects of the old, in a way that is 
influenced by many factors, including the rate of survival from the 
disaster, the nature of authority, the desire to prevent future 
disasters, and the community’s reaction to the traumatic event or 
events which destroyed their environment.  Cities that remain derelict 
also present an opportunity to clarify the relationship of survivors to 
their former homes.  Whether a site is left in ruins or relocated to a 
more secure place, we can still learn much about the community’s 
perception of the town and of the disaster.  This colloquium invites 
student papers from all time periods, addressing the archaeology of 
rebuilding urban and village environments after natural and manmade 
disasters.  We welcome papers examining the effects of memory, trauma, 
and ideology in establishing the post-disaster shape of cities, as well 
as studies of the archaeological evidence for the changing topography 
of urban environments.

This colloquium will be the fifth annual paper session organized by the 
Student Affairs Interest Group (SAIG) of the Archaeological Institute 
of America.  It is intended not only to provide expanded opportunities 
for student presentations at the Annual Meeting but also to showcase 
innovative, interdisciplinary scholarship.  Under the title “Up from 
the Ashes: Creativity and conservatism in rebuilding after disasters” 
the organizers will submit the selected papers as a colloquium session 
to the next annual meeting of the AIA (January 3-6, 2008, Chicago).  
All papers in the colloquium will be subject to acceptance by the AIA 
Program for the Annual Meeting Committee, in accordance with standard 
procedures.

The SAIG would like to remind all interested students that it is 
possible for an individual to submit papers for both a colloquium 
session and an open paper session at the AIA annual meetings.  The 
latter is automatically withdrawn from consideration if the former is 
accepted.

Please send a CV and an abstract of no more than 250 words by February 
21, 2007 to both session organizers, Lyra Monteiro ([log in to unmask]) 
and Natalie Abell ([log in to unmask]).  In keeping with the 
regulations of the AIA, we will accept only electronic submissions. All 
abstracts must conform to AIA guidelines (see the American Journal of 
Archaeology style guidelines, published in AJA 104:3-24, or the Annual 
Meeting Section of the AIA website; esp. §§3.1-8, 6.5., 
www.archaeological.org).  If the colloquium is accepted by the Program 
for the Annual Meeting Committee all whose papers are included must be 
members of the AIA in good standing by the time of the meeting.


-- 
Lyra D. Monteiro
PhD Student
Brown University
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World
70 Waterman St. Providence, RI 02906

(401) 954-9981