Dr Yi Samuel CHEN

Connecting Europe and Asia, Recasting the Glory: Lecture series of Early Encounters between Europe and Asia

Lecture 13: Societal Conditions and Conditioning Associated with National Building Projects in Ancient Mesopotamia
2024/1/5│16:00–17:30
Dr Yi Samuel CHEN
A Fellow at the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (Faith and Global Engagement) and Associate Professor of Practice (Urban Heritage and Sustainability) at the Department of History, the University of Hong Kong. He received his MA (Harvard) and his PhD (Oxford) in West Asian Languages and Civilisations. He currently researches urban and regional planning and development in relation to state and empire building. In teaching he covers urban and planning history more broadly, from the rise of cities in the fourth millennium BC in ancient West Asia to megacities and megaregions in today’s world. Prior to joining HKU, he conducted research and teaching at the University of Oxford.

- Abstract: Ancient Mesopotamia is widely known for giving rise to some of the earliest and most enduring and influential urban civilisations in the world. This talk seeks to explore the social production of space in ancient Mesopotamia from a historical and historiographic perspective. It examines a long-standing practice of a series of socio-economic governance measures, ranging from controlling market prices, remission of debts and exemption of duties, to social justice and equality, during national building projects in Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian cities, as reflected in royal inscriptions, archival documents, and other written sources from the third millennium BC to the first millennium BC. Whilst exploring the functions of these socio-economic measures in service to the building and urban development projects, the study seeks to uncover the broader purposes of these measures beyond the building process. Together with the building and urban development projects, these socio-economic measures and other societal conditions and conditioning (e.g., ritual) practices were intended to create and renew cities and states as exemplary societies with inspiring urban forms and model social organisation and practices. As such, they played a vital role, both ideologically and in practice, in urban and state socio-political and cultural establishment, reform, and transformation. Parallel practices from other parts of the ancient world as well as the modern world will be provided for comparison.
- Language: English
- Venue: SWT 702, Level 7, Shaw Tower, Hong Kong Baptist University
- Online: ZOOM
Link: https://hkbu.zoom.us/j/96903819508?pwd=bFhSTGF0alM0Z0U0YjRTaHYrYnlDZz09
Meeting ID: 969 0381 9508
Password: 973008

This lecture series is sponsored by Eurasia Foundation (from Asia). No registration is required. All are welcome to attend each lecture in-person or Zoom meeting.