Workshop: Anchoring Ancient Colonization

Workshop Anchoring Ancient Colonization

The workshop Anchoring Ancient Colonization that was made possible by the generous support of Crasis, Oikos-Anchoring Innovation and the Royal Netherlands Institute Rome (KNIR), took place on December 1 and 2 at the University of Groningen. The main goal of the workshop was to analyse ancient colonization in a long-term and broad, Mediterranean-wide geographical and cultural perspective. In addition, we wanted to bring together scholars from The Netherlands and abroad who work on colonization in different historical and disciplinary contexts.

A group of 25 experts was invited to present their research and to discuss ancient colonial practices from the theoretical lens of the anchoring innovation concept. Most scholars working on ancient forms of colonization in The Netherlands were present, and were joined by several specialized colleagues from Europe and the US. Moreover, an additional 30 scholars and students participated in the workshop without presenting a paper. The lively discussions focused especially on the socio-economic and territorial anchoring strategies that were employed by the new colonial as well as indigenous communities that had to deal with the new socio-political reality that followed after the colonization of an area. We feel that the workshop clearly demonstrated the value of a more comprehensive approach to the study of colonization practices. The combination of a broad geo-temporal horizon and a range of different disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches have resulted in interesting cross-fertilization and refreshing new insights. We hope to further develop the network of contacts between these scholars in the future.