Reading Group: "Identity and the Other in Byzantium: An Introduction"

On the 28 of April, the University of Vienna hosted a reading session as part of the preparation for the 5th International LABS Conference “Otherness in Byzantium: Imagining, Encountering, Excluding.” Participants were asked to read the introduction “Identity and the Other in Byzantine Studies” from the volume Identity and the Other in Byzantium, edited by K. Durak and I. Jevtić (2016).

During the session, participants engaged in a detailed discussion of the concept of “identity”: possible components, including political, religious, social, linguistic, cultural, and ethnic dimensions, how it is constructed in parallel with the notion of the “Other,” and how this relationship operates through opposition, hierarchy, and continuous formation. The discussion also addressed methodological questions, including how identity can be analyzed and to what extent it is possible to access and interpret the identities of people in the past.

In addition, the concept was examined from the perspective of conceptual and intellectual history. Participants considered which philosophical, cultural, and political developments led scholars in the humanities to focus on identity, why this concept has become so prominent, and what this reveals about contemporary Byzantine studies. Particular attention was given to the perception that Byzantine studies often adopt analytical frameworks developed in other disciplines, and the implications of this dynamic.

Following the discussion, participants were invited to continue the exchange informally over drinks at a café by the Danube Canal, where they shared impressions, discussed details of the upcoming conference, and exchanged news.

We thank all participants for their engagement and look forward to seeing you soon at the conference.