CfP: "Elite culture" at the EAA Annual Meeting

Just in case you are looking for an excuse to travel to sunny Spain in September, there will be the European Association of Archaeologists' conference. And if you happen to be interested in and researching about Elite culture, here's a specific call for papers for a session about this, that is session #431: “Elite culture in medieval and post-medieval archaeology” at the 24^th EAA Annual Meeting, which will be held in Barcelona, Spain from 5-8 September 2018 (https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2018/).

Session organisers are Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rainer Atzbach, Aarhus University, Denmark, PD Dr. Felix Biermann, University of Greifswald, Germany and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Müller, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Germany.

Their session seeks to explore new ways to identify elites in the archaeological source material during the 12th until the 18th centuries. Elite is understood as a group of persons belonging to the upper echelons of society in a town, territory or dominion in terms of military, economic, religious or political power, and even education. This group of peers is characterised by being involved in decision-making processes in their homestead. Moreover, its network includes contacts to similar groups in other areas. The contributions in this session are invited to focus upon archaeological approaches available to identify remains of this powerful group. Therefore, presentations should discuss diachronic or supra-regional features and not just single contexts such as graves, monuments, latrines, or outstanding precious finds. Critical reviews of traditional approaches based upon import, prestigious goods, written sources etc., or new perspectives on these classic elite markers are welcome.

The session intends to discuss the following questions:
Theoretical background - what characterises elite? Staging and distinction – is elite defined by other societal classes and/or its members? How far is it possible to spot elite while tracing innovative or traditional products? In terms of norms and practice: is it possible to identify rule setters and rule breakers in archaeological source material? Do the upper layer of society and the elite group always coincide? Supply and demand: what is the relationship between procurement of exotic/import/vintage goods and elites? Between conspicuous consumption and understatement – what does elite show off?

The Call for Papers is now open at: https://eaa.klinkhamergroup.com/eaa2018/
For submitting your abstract you have to verify your EAA membership with your EAA credentials (EAA ID, username, password). For assistance with retrieving your credentials, please contact the EAA Secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. New members, please sign up for EAA membership first at www.e-a-a.org. You can either pay your membership fees upon signing up or at any time before 31 March 2018 when registering for the Annual Meeting at www.e-a-a.org/eaa2018.

Deadline for sending your abstract is the 15^th of February 2018, 23:59 CET.