Symposium: Slaves and Households in the Near East

The Sixth Annual University of Chicago Oriental Institute Seminar

Slaves and Households in the Near East
Organized by Laura Culbertson

Slavery is a reality of history that has been attested since the earliest cuneiform documents from ancient Mesopotamia. This seminar engages new approaches to the study of slaves in the Near East and seeks to open new conversations about this ubiquitous yet complicated topic. By considering the relationships between slaves and households — whether defined as domestic units, state institutions, or temples — the presenters explore the cultural and sociopolitical contexts of slaves, in addition to economic and legal aspects, and offer insights into the dynamics between slaves and the non-slave populations around them. Utilizing a range of data and theoretical approaches, the presenters cover material from the earliest states of Mesopotamia to the Abbasid, Safavid, and Ottoman empires.

Friday, March 5, 2010

opening remarks
9:00–9:30 am
Gil J. Stein, Director of the Oriental Institute
Introduction by Laura Culbertson, The Oriental Institute

session 1 | early mesopotamia
9:30 am–12:00 noon
Robert Englund — University of California, Los Angeles
Hans Neumann — Universität Münster
Laura Culbertson — The Oriental Institute
Andrea Seri — The Oriental Institute

session 2 | the islamic near east
2:00–5:00 pm
Kathryn Babayan — University of Michigan
Matthew Gordon — University of Miami
Ehud Toledano — Tel Aviv University

Saturday, March 6, 2010

session 3 | the second and first millennium empires
9:30–11:00 am
Kristin Kleber — Freie Universität Berlin
F. Rachel Magdalene — Universität Leipzig
Jonathan Tenney — Loyola University, New Orleans

session 4 | respondents and final discussion
11:00 am–12:00 noon
Indrani Chatterjee — Rutgers University
Martha Roth — The Oriental Institute

The Oriental Institute is accessible. Persons with disabilities who need assistance should contact Laura Culbertson at (773) 702-2589

See the list of prior Symposia.

Proceedings of Oriental Institute Symposia are speedily publishe by the Oriental Institute in the series Oriental Institute Seminars (OIS)