The Social Network: People, Places, and Communities

The Department of Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies (CNERS) at the University of British Columbia is proud to present its 17th Annual Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference. The Conference will be held at the Thea Koerner Penthouse at UBC’s Vancouver campus on Friday, May 5th and Saturday, May 6th, 2017. This year’s theme is Community.
The keynote address will be delivered on Friday afternoon by Dr. Andrew Koh of Brandeis University.
This is an interdisciplinary conference. All faculties and disciplines are encouraged to apply.
The purpose of the Conference is to provide graduate students and senior undergraduates from a variety of disciplines with the opportunity to present original research in a less formal and more intimate setting than may be found in typical academic conferences. In previous years we have attracted a number of emerging scholars from across North America in several faculties within the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences. We are confident that the nature of our topic for 2017 will do the same. We look forward to the variety of perspectives that will be presented on the timeless subject matter.
We are currently accepting submissions for papers related to the general theme of Community. This very broad topic spans discipline and time, finding relevance in the Ancient, Medieval, and Modern worlds, West and East, North and South, and in all areas of the Arts, Social Sciences, and Sciences. Examples of topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Sociology of Community
  • Ritual and Religion
  • Cities, Villages, Towns
  • Diet and Dining
  • Exchange and Trade
  • Cultural Contact
  • Societal Organization
  • Political Dynamics
  • Family and Kinship
  • Hunting and Farming
  • Architecture and Art
  • Passing on Mores
  • Tradition and Innovation
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Music and Dance
  • Place-making
  • Migration, Assimilation
  • Environment and People
  • Games and Sport
  • Excess and Crisis
  • Medicine and Wellness

If you are interested in presenting a paper at the Conference, please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words by Friday, January 16th, 2017. Please include your Name, Institution, Degree, Specialization, and Contact Information, as well as any audio-visual equipment you may require. Presentations should be no more than 15-20 minutes in length.
Please send submissions and further inquiries to
cners.grad.conference.2017@gmail.com