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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">We write to invite members of the academic community to attend the upcoming conference,
<i>How It All Works: Ritual in the Ancient Mediterranean</i>, which<i> </i>will be held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on 22-23 May, 2024. Below, you can find a description of the conference and a tentative schedule of presentations. We request
that individuals who are interested in attending to contact the conference organizers, either Justin Barney (<a href="mailto:justin.barney@wmich.edu">justin.barney@wmich.edu</a>) or Celia Schultz (<a href="mailto:celiaes@umich.edu">celiaes@umich.edu</a>),
so that we can ensure that adequate preparations have been made for the event. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Thank you for your help in advertising this event!</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Justin and Celia</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Conference Description</span></i></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Students of Greek and Roman religion have often noted that people in the ancient Mediterranean were more interested in ritual participation (orthopraxy) than theological
dogma (orthodoxy). But what can we know about whether and how the ancient Greeks and Romans thought their rituals accomplished anything? How did they think ritual worked? This interdisciplinary conference explores the understudied question of the efficacy
of ritual, i.e., how people in the ancient world understood the positive (and sometimes negative) functions of religious practices such as sacrifice, prayer, choral dance, and temple cult. The conference aims to bring together scholars from various disciplines
such as religious studies, history, philosophy, and archeology. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Schedule of Presentations </span></i></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Wednesday,<b>
</b>May 22</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">1:00 - 4:15 Session #1</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> 1:00 - 1:15 Opening Remarks</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> Celia E. Schultz, University of Michigan</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">1:15 - 2:00 The Walls Have Eyes: Apotropaism and Iconoclasm in Late Antique Egypt </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Alex Bridges, University of Edinburgh</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> 2:00 - 2:45 Understanding Ritual Causality in Mithraic Rituals</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Alison Griffith, University of Canterbury</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> 2:45 - 3:00 Coffee Break</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> 3:00 - 3:45 Cognitive Insights into the Trustworthiness of Roman Divination</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> Rebecca Hachamovitch, University of St Andrews</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> 3:45 - 4:30 Ritual Determinants of Social Status and Social Power in the Roman World</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Jacob Mackey, Occidental College</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Thursday, May 23</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">9:00 - 12:15 Session #2 (Moderated by Anna Lännström, Stonehill College)</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">9:00 - 9:45 Plato’s Debt to Dionysiac Ritual</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> Lucy Walsh, Trinity College, Dublin</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">9:45 - 10:30 Can Plato’s Gods be Persuaded?</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Justin Barney, Western Michigan University</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">10:30 - 10:45 Coffee Break</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">10:45 - 11:30 The Theorization of Animal Sacrifice in Greek Philosophy</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">James Rives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-1.0in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">11:30 - 12:15 Ritual Error: Causes, Consequences, and Remedies from the Oracular Tablets of Dodona to Lydian
Miracle Narratives</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> Jan-Mathieu Carbon, Queen's University</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">12:15 - 1:30 Lunch Break</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">1:30 - 5:00 Session #3</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-1.0in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">1:30 - 2:15 Did Votive Offerings Stop Working? The End of the “Votive Habit” in Republican Italy </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Alexandra Sofroniew, University of California, Davis</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-1.0in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">2:15 - 3:00 From the ‘periphery of the Classical world’: Pre-Roman Italy between scrupulous rituals and
fluid ‘theology’ </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> Massimiliano Di Fazio, Università di Pavia</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">3:00 - 3:15 Coffee Break</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-1.0in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">3:15 - 4:00 Roman Prayers, A Mix of Law and Magic? The Cases of Evocatio, Devotio and Defixio</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Alain Blomart, Universitat Ramon Llull (Blanquerna -FPCEE), Barcelona</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">4:00 - 4:45 Roman Oaths Between Theology and Ethics</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> Duncan MacRae, University of California, Berkeley</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">4:45-5:00 Concluding remarks</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Celia E. Schultz, University of Michigan</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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