Structures of Power: Law and Gender across the Ancient Near East and Beyond

March 6–7, 2015
The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
Organized by Ilan Peled,
Postdoctoral Scholar

The study of gender relations throughout the history of the ancient Near East is a rapidly developing subject, and several important works were conducted in this field in recent years. Its underlying theoretical framework seeks to evaluate the formation and interactions of social structures that frequently came in conflict with each other. As such, gender constructs utilized various mechanisms of social monitoring and control, and may be viewed as “structures of power”. The sphere of legislation and the enforcement of social norms through formal legal systems forms one of the most notable such structures of power.

This conference seeks to contribute new dimensions to the study of gender relations and law in the ancient world as a whole, and particularly in the ancient Near East. It will host a varied group of experts who will discuss the ancient Near Eastern cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Hatti, the classical world of Greece and Rome, ancient China, Zoroastrianism, and the monotheistic religions of Judaism and Islam. Four main themes will be addressed by the conference participants: “Formal Law and Informal Custom”, “Law, Religion and Cult”, “Law, Administration and Economy” and “Family, Kin-Relations and Marriage”. In the broader sense, the issue of cross-cultural parallels and particularities will stand at the center of the discussion. What was common to all cultures examined? What was unique to each of them? These questions, as well as many others, will be addressed by the conference participants, in establishing a broad conversation of law and gender in the ancient world.

Participants

  • Gary M. Beckman (University of Michigan)
  • Laura Culbertson (American Public University)
  • Tal Ilan (Freie Universität Berlin)
  • Janet H. Johnson (University of Chicago) (Respondant)
  • Thomas A. J. McGinn (Vanderbilt University)
  • Brian Muhs (University of Chicago)
  • Melinda G. Nelson-Hurst (Tulane University)
  • Ilan Peled (University of Chicago)
  • David S. Powers (Cornell University)
  • Karen Radner (University College London)
  • Martha T. Roth (University of Chicago) (Respondant)
  • Adele C. Scafuro (Brown University)
  • Edward L. Shaughnessy (University of Chicago)
  • Daniel Sheffield (Princeton University)
  • Laura A. Skosey (University of Chicago)
  • Cornelia Wunsch (University of London)