2006 Spring Symposium

Becoming Byzantine: Children And Childhood In Byzantium

Symposiarchs: Dr. Arietta Papaconstantinou, University of Paris, and Dr. Alice-Mary Talbot, Dumbarton Oaks
Venue: The Meyer Auditorium, the Freer Gallery of Art
Dates: April 28-30, 2006

Friday, April 28

Morning session: Chair, Alice-Mary Talbot

• 9:45 am
• Edward Keenan and Alice-Mary Talbot, Dumbarton Oaks
• Welcoming Remarks
• Arietta Papaconstantinou, University of Paris I
• Introduction

Definitions, Ideals, Representations

• 10:30 am
• Günter Prinzing, University of Mainz
• "The Status of Children and Adolescents in Byzantium under Law and in Court"
• Jane Baun, Oxford University
• "Coming of Age in Byzantium: Rites of Passage for Children"
• 12:00 pm
• Discussion

12:15 pm Lunch break

Afternoon session: Chair, Angeliki Laiou, Harvard University

• 1:45 pm
• Dimiter Angelov, University of Birmingham
• "Ideal Children: The Childhood of Great Men and Women"
• Béatrice Caseau, University of Paris IV
• "Holy Childhood, Ordinary Childhood: Children in Saints' Lives"
• 3:15 pm
• Discussion and break
• 4:00 pm
• Cecily Hennessy, Courtauld Institute
• "The Visual Representation of Children in Byzantine Art"
• 4:45 pm
• Discussion

5:30-7:30 pm Reception at Refectory, Dumbarton Oaks

Saturday, April 29

Morning session: Chair, John Duffy, Harvard University

Realities of Childhood

• 9:15 am
• Youval Rotman, Yale University
• "Working Kids"
• Richard Greenfield, Queen's University, Kingston
• "Children in Byzantine Monasteries: Innocent Hearts or Vessels in the Harbor of the Devil?"
• 10:45 am
• Discussion and break
• 11:30 am
• Timothy Miller, Salisbury University
• "From Foster Care to the Great Orphanotropheion"
• 12:15 pm
• Discussion

12:30 pm Lunch break

Afternoon session: Chair, Johannes Koder, University of Vienna

Birth and Death

• 1:30 pm
• Marie-Hélène Congourdeau, CNRS, Paris
• "Les variations du désir d'enfant à Byzance"
• Alice-Mary Talbot, Dumbarton Oaks
• "The Death and Burial of Children"
• 3:00 pm
• Discussion and break
• 3:45 pm
• Chryssi Bourbou, University of Crete
• "On the Bioarchaeology of Birth and Death: Aspects of Childhood and Subadult Mortality Patterns during the Early and Middle Byzantine Times in Greece"
• Chryssi Bourbou, University of Crete, and Sandra Garvie-Lok, University of Alberta
• "Breastfeeding and Weaning Patterns: Evidence from Human Remains and Written Sources"
• 5:00 pm
• Discussion

Sunday, April 30

Morning session: Chair, Ioli Kalavrezou, Harvard University

Cultural and Material Environment

• 9:15 am
• Nikolaos Kalogeras, University of the Aegean
• "Childhood Education in Byzantium"
• Claudia Rapp, University of California at Los Angeles
• "Constantinople and the Imperial Court as a Classroom: The Shaping of a Social Identity"
• 10:45 am
• Discussion and break
• 11:20 am
• Brigitte Pitarakis, CNRS, Paris
• "The Material Culture of Childhood"
• 12:00 pm
• Discussion
• 12:10 pm
• Ronald Finucane, Oakland University
• "Conclusions and Comparisons with the Western Medieval World"
• 12:45 pm
• Alice-Mary Talbot
• Concluding Remarks