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[Ed: Asha Weinstein, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and
Regional Planning at San Jose State University forwarded this to H-Urban.]
Early Cities: New Perspectives on Pre-Industrial Urbanism
Organized by Joyce Marcus and Jeremy Sabloff
National Academy of Sciences Building, Washington, DC
May 18-20, 2005
Meeting Overview
Many disciplines (including Sociology, Demography, Geography,
Architecture and Urban Planning, Economics, Anthropology, History) are
increasingly interested in "urbanism," particularly since much of the
world is being converted into cities and vast metropolitan areas.
Although scholars in these fields are committed to understanding and
helping to resolve today's urban problems, our knowledge would clearly
be enhanced by
(1) studying the origin and development of the world's early cities,
(2) utilizing a comparative perspective to document urban developments,
and
(3) taking a regional approach that combines the study of cities with
studies of their geographical setting and their social, political, and
economic networks.
A diverse group of scholars, who have employed different methods and a
wide array of perspectives in their study of early cities, are featured at
this colloquium. Evaluating the data from archaeological case studies of
ancient cities around the globe will enable us to compare and contrast
different cities and geographic sectors of the world, as well as isolate
specific and general patterns. By examining the conditions that fostered
the development of the first cities and looking at their subsequent
development over centuries and millennia, it may be possible to discover
trends and patterns and thus gain insights that not only will better
illuminate the past but will be relevant to the modern world. The ten
archaeological case studies will be commented on by a group of discussants
from fields such as geography, economics, urban planning, architecture,
and environmental psychology.
Internationally renowned archaeologists Prof. Bruce Trigger (McGill
University) and Prof. Colin Renfrew (Cambridge University) will give the
Sackler Lecture and the Colloquium keynote lecture, respectively, to open
what promises to be a very exciting and informative event.
Early Cities: New Perspectives on Pre-Industrial Urbanism
Organized by Joyce Marcus and Jeremy Sabloff
National Academy of Sciences Building, Washington, DC
May 18-20, 2005
Preliminary Program
Colloquium Participants
I. Sackler Lecture: Early Cities: Craftsmen, Kings, and Controlling the
Supernatural, Bruce Trigger
II. Keynote talk: The City Through Time and Space: Transformations of
Centrality, Colin Renfrew
III. Ten Case Studies: "Cities in Regional Context"
A Tale of Two Cities: Urban Landscapes in Lowland Mesopotamia and
Highland Anatolia, Elizabeth C. Stone
Royal Cities and Cult Centers, Administrative Towns, and
Specialized
Workmen's Settlements: The Highly Organized Network
of the Ancient Egyptian Territorial State, Kathryn A. Bard
Jonathan Mark Kenoyer
Stages in the Development of Urban Life in Early China (4000-250
BC), Lothar von Falkenhausen
Janet DeLaine
Formal Planning and Organic Change in the Cities of the North-West
Provinces of the Roman Empire, Michael J. Jones
Early African Cities: Their Origins and Role in the Shaping of
Urban
and Rural Interaction Spheres, Chap Kusimba
Kenneth Hirth
K. Anne Pyburn
A Chain of Cities: Governance, Exchange and Ideology in Inka Urban
Centers, Craig Morris
IV. Discussants
Brian J. L. Berry
Karl Butzer
Mogens Hansen
Paul M. Hohenberg
Setha M. Low
Stephen Tobriner
Schedule for the Colloquium
Day 1 (Wednesday?May 18)
1:30 pm Registration
4:00 pm Welcome (Marcus/Sabloff)
4:15 - 5:15 pm Keynote Lecture and Discussion (Renfrew)
5:15 - 5:30 pm Break
5:30 - 6:00 pm Overview of Colloquium's Goals and Issues (Marcus/Sabloff)
6:00 - 6:15 pm Break
6:30 pm Sackler Lecture (Trigger)
Reception to follow
Day 2 (Thursday?May 19)
9:00 - 10:00am Two Case Study Presentations (30 minutes each)
10:00 - 10:15 am Break
10:15 - 11:15am Two Case Study Presentations (30 minutes each)
11:15 - 11:45am Discussion of Morning Session
11:45am - 1:15pm Lunch
1:15 - 2:15pm Two Case Study Presentations (30 minutes each)
2:15 - 2:30pm Break
2:30 - 3:30pm Two Case Study Presentations (30 minutes each)
3:30 - 3:45pm Break
3:45 - 4:45pm Two Case Study Presentations (30 minutes each)
4:45 - 5:15pm Discussion of Afternoon Session
(Dinner to follow)
Day 3 (Friday?May 20)
9:00am - Noon Six Discussants' Presentations (30 minutes each)
Noon - 1:30pm Lunch
1:30 - 4:00pm Open Discussion and Isolation of Key Themes and Topics
(moderated by Marcus/Sabloff)
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