CALL FOR PAPERS

Striving for Victory:

Competition and Rivalry in the Ancient World

The Department of Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia is proud to present their 11th Annual Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference. The Conference will be held at Green College on the UBC Vancouver Campus on May 08th, 2010 with a keynote address by Dr. Mark Golden in the evening.

Competition is a fundamental force through which the framework of our world is constructed. At times it can be co-operative, with every party working together against their environment; however, in most cases, competition is adversarial, resulting in both victors and vanquished. It is the impetus for change, the despoiler of power and the donor of glory. It can have revolutionary effects, changing the dynamics of entire cultures virtually overnight, or it can be more subtle, affecting a very small part of our world over centuries. Whatever its scope, from the written page to the playing field to the political floor, competition has the power to drive us, to define us and, at times, to destroy us.

The possible fields related to this subject are indeed many, and on the occasion of Vancouver's hosting of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the 11th annual CNERS Graduate Students' Interdisciplinary Conference invites the submission of papers on themes of competition in such areas as:

Sports

Ideologies (intellectual, religious)

Politics

Literature

Iconography

Culture

Warfare

Theory (psychological, social, economic)

If you are interested in presenting a paper at the conference, please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words by January 30th, 2010. Please include your name, institution, degree, specialization, and contact info on a separate form, as well as any audio-visual equipment you may require. Presentations should be no more than 15-20 minutes in length. All faculties and disciplines are encouraged to apply.

Please send submissions and any inquiries to: ubc.cners.gradconference2010@gmail.com

OR any questions can be directed to our blog: http://cners2010.blogspot.com