The Cambridge Annual Student Archaeology Conference Committee is delighted to announce our Call for Sessions for our fifth annual conference! We aim to provide a forum for undergraduate and graduate students to discuss their research interests in a productive and enriching environment!
Conference Theme:
As the world continues to battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and struggle with climate change, there is no better time to talk about the resilience of humankind in the face of various crises. The theme of the 5th Cambridge Annual Student Archaeology Conference is therefore “Crisis and Resilience”.
Archaeological evidence has illuminated many crises the past societies withstood, be it climate change, natural disaster, plague or warfare. It is our job as archaeologists to not only identify how these crises had impacts on past societies but also understand how people tackled such devastation and moved forward. Such explorations of the past aim to illuminate the present and beyond. The key question we ought to ask is: what can we learn from the past that will help us now and in the future?
The perspectives with which archaeology examines past crises and resilience is far from limited. We invite social archaeologists, archaeological scientists, biological anthropologists, and heritage researchers to explore this theme. Our call for session encourages proposals including but not limited to the following areas:
– Exploring past disease, plague, and their relation to the lifestyle
– The traces and impact of environmental change and natural disaster, and their effects on the society and human body
– Uncovering the effect of conflicts, violence and warfare on different social groups: archaeological and heritage perspectives
– Social, political and/or religious “revolutions” in the face of crisis and their effects on mindsets, beliefs and practises
– Learning from the past: archaeological and heritage perspectives on contemporary issues
– The emergence and evolution of diverse human technologies to cope with external change and/or challenges
– Environmental resilience in the face of past human impact
– Collapse and Resilience/Resilience Theory
– Ethnicity, trauma and resilience in times of crisis: solidarity and bottom-up approaches
– Recording crisis: from textual, iconographical and material perspectives
Submission:
The deadline for Session Proposals is Monday April 4th. Information on possible topics can be found in our Call for Session Poster. Please find the application here: https://forms.gle/N2v3b1Pt8wcszJ558 or find the attached word file. Please return the word file to casa@arch.cam.ac.uk, cn399@cam.ac.uk, gyk20@cam.ac.uk and jt795@cam.ac.uk
Format:
This year’s CASA Conference will take place on September 16th – 18th 2022, at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. We aim to conduct a hybrid event to allow for maximal participation and to better manage the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. A hybrid event means that panels and participants can attend either in person or online. This is so that we can welcome all participants regardless of their funding limitations and travel restrictions and to accommodate public health to the best of our abilities.
We are applying for funding to cover some of the conference costs but are at present unable to guarantee financial support to any of the participants. Please could you let us know, therefore, if you have funding of your own or would need partial or full financial support for travelling and staying in Cambridge? As our funding is limited, we will be prioritising those with the greatest need.
We look forward to your applications!
Warm Regards,
The CASA Committee