February 21-22, 2025
Workshop – Out of Many, One?
Pluralism, Division, and Unity in Ancient China and the Greco-Roman World
Locations:
403 Kent Hall, Columbia University
Introduction:
The basic aim of this workshop is to explore the existence of legal and political pluralism in ancient China and the Greco-Roman world, along with the forces that pushed toward conscious self-differentiation, synchronization, or unification. This involves the reconstruction of the ways in which violence was used, defined, and suppressed, alongside political, legal, economic, religious, and ideological factors, and emic understandings thereof. By bringing together scholars working on both regions, and allowing ample time for dialogue, this workshop aims to rethink essentialized conceptions of both China and the West through the careful study of the ancient world.
Co-organizers:
Benjamin Gallant, Harvard University
Chris Kim, New York University
Speakers and Discussants:
Clifford Ando, University of Chicago
Ari Bryen, Vanderbilt University
Benjamin Gallant, Harvard University
Eliza Gettel, Villanova University
Guo Jue, Bowdoin College
Chris Kim, New York University
Noel Lenski, Yale University
Li Feng, Columbia University
Liu Hsin-ning, Academia Sinica
Michael Puett, Harvard University
Griet Vankeerberghen, McGill University
Trenton Wilson, Princeton University
Invited Attendees:
Songgu Cai, Columbia University
Julie Han, New York University
Valerie Hansen, Yale University
Kechu Huang, New York University
DUAN Tao, Columbia University
Yongha Kim, Columbia University
Hwei Ru Ong, Harvard University
Tom Wang, Yale University
Zekun Zhang, UC Davis
Schedule:
Friday, February 21
9:00–9:15am Participants arrive
9:15–9:30am Welcome and introduction
9:30am–12:00pm The Power of Place: Guo Jue, Eliza Gettel, Chris Kim
9:30–10:10am Guo Jue: “The Power of Geography and the Geography of Power in Central-Southern China in the First Millennium BCE”
10:10–10:50am Chris Kim: “The Infrastructure of Territorial Rule: Center-Region Politics in the Qi State, ca. 700–300 BCE”
10:50–11:00am Break
11:00–11:40am Eliza Gettel: “A Federal Imaginary of a Roman Empire”
11:40am–12:00pm Discussion
12:00–1:30pm Lunch (at the venue)
1:30–4:00pm Local Administration and Governance: Clifford Ando, Griet Vankeerberghen, Trenton Wilson
1:30–2:10pm Clifford Ando: “Limits of Pluralism in the Roman Empire”
2:10–2:50pm Griet Vankeerberghen: “Local Officials and the Making of Empire in Western Han (202 BCE–8 CE)”
2:50–3:00pm Break
3:00–3:40pm Trenton Wilson: “Visible and Invisible Locales: Uniform Administration and Imperial Ignorance in Qin and Western Han China”
3:40–4:00pm Discussion
4:00–5:00pm Roundtable discussion led by Li Feng
Saturday, February 22
9:30–11:10am Law and Punishment I: Ari Bryen, Benjamin Gallant
9:30–10:10am Ari Bryen: “Why did the Romans Punish?”
10:10–10:50am Benjamin Gallant: “In the Names of the Law: Law, the School of Names, and the Qin Imperial Project”
10:50–11:10am Discussion
11:10–12:50pm Break & Lunch (at the venue)
12:50–2:30pm Law and Punishment II: Liu Hsinning, Noel Lenski
12:50–1:30pm Hsinning Liu: “Location-Based Collective Punishment in the Qin Legal System”
1:30-2:10pm Noel Lenski: “Enslavement as Punishment in Qin/Han/Tang China and the Roman and Post-Roman West”
2:10–2:30pm Discussion
2:30–2:45pm Break
2:45–4:00pm Roundtable discussion led by Michael Puett
