Transformations and ruptures in urban spaces: A diachronic and interdisciplinary perspective

From Antiquity to the present day, urban spaces have been characterized by the multifaceted use that was made of them, both by local residents and people passing through temporarily, both from below and from the seats of power. Such diverging ways to use the same urban spaces could exist simultaneously in time, but they could also change over time, in reaction to social, economic, cultural, religious, political, and environmental factors. The diverse sets of individual and collective memories tied to the spaces in question could change as well, often following dynamics of their own. This workshop aims to open up a discussion on the uses and changes of urban spaces in a diachronic and interdisciplinary framework. Three speakers from different disciplines – ancient Greek history, early modern history, and sociology – will each focus on a case study that highlights the dynamics of the multifunctionality and of the plurality in meaning of specific urban spaces. A round table, coordinated by experts from the fields of semiotics, history, and sociology, will bring together the three case studies in a broader discussion on transformations and ruptures in urban spaces.

Co-organized by FBK-ISIG (Italian-German Historical Institute), FBK-ISR (Center for Religious Studies), and LIMS (Interdepartmental Lab Memory and Society of the University of Trento) in the framework of the scientific collaboration agreement between FBK and LIMS.

SPEAKERS

Constanze Graml

Studied Classical Archaeology, European Art History and Ancient History at the universities of Regensburg and Heidelberg. She received her PhD at the university of Mainz for her work on the sanctuary of Artemis Soteira in the Kerameikos of Athens (published 2020). She has been employed as a Lecturer at the universities of Mainz, Munich and Regensburg and has held several prestigious scholarships, i.a. at the Fondation Hardt in Geneva, the Institute of Classical Studies in London and the Max-Weber-Kolleg in Erfurt. Since March 2025, she is the curator of the Collection of Antiquities at the University of Trier. Her research interests lie in the field of Greek archaeology, ancient Greek religion and digital approaches to sacred landscapes while equally involving material and textual testimonies. She is currently conducting a research project on the sacred landscape of Attica (Cult and Crisis) and developing a field project at ancient Philippi, Northern Greece.

Rachel Midura

is Assistant Professor of Early Modern European and Digital History at Virginia Tech. She researches the history of intelligence, travel, and statecraft in the information age of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. She has recently published articles on Elizabethan espionage and transalpine surveillance. Her first book, ‘Postal Intelligence’ is now available from Cornell University Press in print and as an Open Access Ebook. She is now at work on a second book project on the history of assassination, treason, and conspiracy in the seventeenth century.

Olimpia Affuso

Associate Professor, teaches Sociology of Communication at the Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Calabria (UniCal). She is the Vice Coordinator of the Media e Società Digitale degree program. Since 2023 she has been among the coordinators of the Memory Studies Network ‘Demetra. Democrazia, Memoria, Trauma.’ Since 2020 she has been a member of the Scientific Council of the ‘Vita Quotidiana’ Section of the Italian Sociological Association (AIS). Her research interests focus on communicative processes, public memory, knowledge and literature, with attention to the relationship between literature and the public and political sphere. Her recent publications include: ‘La comunicazione quotidiana’ (with P. Jedlowski), Carocci, 2024; ‘L’odore della vita. Pier Paolo Pasolini: l’opera, la conoscenza, l’impegno pubblico’ (with A. Amendola, E.G. Parini), Rogas, 2023; ‘Memorie in pubblico’, Mimesis, 2017.

Massimo Leone
(FBK-ISR / Università di Torino)

Massimo Rospocher

(FBK-ISIG)

Ben Cassell
(King’s College London)

Valeria Fabretti
(FBK-ISR)

Francesco Mazzucchelli
(Università di Bologna)

Giorgia Proietti
(Università di Trento-LIMS)

Rosa Salzberg
(Università di Trento)

Sandra Toffolo
(FBK-ISIG)

CONTATTI
fbk.isig@fbk.eu

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Image: Adobe Stock | n. 1074843299

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