News | Posted February 5, 2025
Call for Papers – 2025 European Association of Archaeologists Conference
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland are hosting a session at the 2025 European Association of Archaeologists conference in Belgrade this year (www.e-a-a.org/eaa2025) entitled Antiquarian Societies, Quo Vadis? (session #74).
Antiquarian learned societies emerged over the last few centuries across Europe in a variety of forms particular to the country and time in which they were formed. A recurring feature of these organisations is that they tended to play a central role in the development of archaeology as a discipline and the creation of the heritage sector, focused mainly around the protection of sites and monuments and also the development of museums and the accumulation and curation of material culture. In many cases they led archaeological thinking that came to set the parameters of how we interpret the past.
In our session overview we have suggested some questions:
- Do their values still hold?
- Does their approach, and membership, reflect what is needed in society today?
- How do they balance the needs of a modern, often charitable, organisation with the concept of an ancient learned society?
- Are their long histories a foundation or a prison, a point of pride or cause of shame?
- How can they be relevant?
We want to explore the role of antiquarian societies in the 21st century, considering for example their history, past and current relevance, the way they operate and their memberships.
Think you could contribute a paper or poster to our session? Submit an abstract through the EAA website by 10 February 2025.
See the EAA 2025 website for more details. We are also hoping to organise an informal get-together for members of antiquarian organisations across Europe and further afield in Belgrade – we’ll share more information on this in due course.