“Vast and diverse and yet fixed”. The Italian poet Eugenio Montale used these words to describe the “hazardous law” of the Mediterranean Sea as a metaphor of the human condition. This
quotation can also be taken as a metaphor for the traditions of research on the Mediterranean region, oscillating between ambitions of unity and longue durée on the one hand, and fragmentation and asymmetries on the other hand. How can different disciplines engage in dialogue between an introuvable (unfindable, indiscoverable) Mediterranean universe (Moatti) and the need to address this region’s relevance for today’s world?
Another key question addressed here is: can the Mediterranean offer a viable meso-level between the exclusivity of nation-centered approaches and the stress on connectivity adopted by global history?

This lecture series engages with concepts in area studies and beyond in the search for topics, people, cultures, languages, and places that have remained at the margins of research. It proposes a Mediterranean perspective to make these underexplored phenomena visible and retrieve their resonance on a wider scale. The Mediterranean and its Blind Spots thus features specialists from different disciplines including history, language and cultural studies, anthropology, and archaeology. The lectures address various periods from antiquity to the present. This broad frame allows for reflexive discussion on the consequences of adopting a Mediterranean prism in current research (and beyond).

The lecture series is organized by members of the University of Regensburg CITAS-Network MS ISLA in cooperation with the Mittelmeer-Plattform at the University of Konstanz. It is aimed at students, the broader research community, and any other interested audiences. The events will take place in a hybrid format and can be attended virtually (on Zoom) or in situ (Regensburg).

Virtual participants are asked to register with naemi.haberkorn@uni-konstanz.de