The 53rd Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies

Nature and the Environment

University of Birmingham, 27-29 March 2021

Image: Hailstorm devastating crops; Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzos, 9th century (Paris BNF gr.510, f.78r)

Due to the ongoing disruption caused by the COVID-19 shutdown and related travel restrictions in the UK, we have decided to move Nature and the Environment: the 53rd Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies online. The Symposium programme will go ahead as planned and will be hosted via the University of Birmingham’s webinar facilities. If you have already paid for your registration via the University of Birmingham website, we will be in touch shortly to arrange a full refund.

Registration for the online Symposium is now open and can be accessed via EventBrite. In view of the shift to an online format, we have reduced the registration fees and have implemented a small cost to cover administrative expenses (see below).

Nature and the environment underpinned Byzantine life but have been little studied. How the Byzantines responded to, interacted with and understood the landscape, however, enables crucial new insights into East Roman perceptions of the world. Modern interest in the environment and eco-history makes this theme pertinent and timely. Current research on climate change and how it affected the East Mediterranean creates new paradigms for our understanding of Byzantine interactions with the environment. The 53rd Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies draws together Byzantine literary and visual responses to nature and the environment as well as showcasing the most recent scientific research on historical climate change and environmental management in Byzantium.

This symposium was planned by Dr Ruth Macrides (University of Birmingham) and will be dedicated to her memory.

The latest programme is available to download (PDF).

Registration costs (3 days)

SPBS Members
Standard: £15.00
Student/Unwaged: £5.00

Non-SPBS members
Standard: £30.00
Student/Unwaged: £15.00