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Favorable Conditions of the Spread of the Cult of Asclepius across the Transportation Network of the Roman Mediterranean: A Quantitative Evaluation

Project description

Using computational methods to study the ancients

Asclepius was the chief healing god of Greco-Roman antiquity. What favourable conditions were involved in the spatial dissemination of the cult of the Greek god of medicine Asclepius across the Roman Empire? Researchers have tackled this question using established historiographical methods. The EU-funded AscNet will take a different approach. It will apply an interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological portfolio of emerging digital humanities to the study of ancient history. The overall aim of the project is to demonstrate how innovative application of quantitative methods (computing and digital technologies) can be used for the study of ancient history.

Objective

The overall aim of the action is to clearly demonstrate that the application of the interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological portfolio of rising Digital Humanities to the study of ancient history is a promising path towards generating new knowledge about the past. I intend to push forward this notion by realizing a research project focusing on the innovative application of quantitative methods to analyze the potentially favorable conditions involved in the spatial dissemination of the cult of the Greek god of medicine Asclepius across the Roman Empire. The proposed research project aims to address the problem in the academic discussion that, so far, this topic has been explored mainly by established historiographical methods which are limited when dealing with the complex interplay among different variables involved in the spreading dynamics. The action will take place at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion at the University in Bergen (UiB). The unique combination of my skills consisting of traditional training in the study of history and expertise in quantitative methods such as geospatial and mathematical modeling, network science and quantitative textual analysis will create a collaborative synergy with the interdisciplinary research efforts at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion at UiB, i.e. efforts which are often lacking in other, more traditional discipline-based, departments. My supervisor will be Prof. Eivind Heldaas Seland, who is internationally recognized specialist on ancient history and shares with me the perspective on the importance of promoting the interdisciplinary science of history. The fellowship at UiB will allow me to fully engage in international research with high impact and enable me to shape the conceptualization of the future research directions and interdisciplinary collaborations in the related fields such as archaeology, study of religions, or historiography.

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN
Net EU contribution
€ 202 158,72
Total cost
€ 202 158,72