The International Society for Cultural History co-organises a conference with the Institute of Cultural History at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (abbreviated in Slovenian as ZRC SAZU). Please see below the Call for Papers:
Call for Papers
Prosopography – Approaches, Texts and Technologies
International Conference
24–25 September 2026
Atrium of ZRC SAZU, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Dear colleagues,
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Institute of Cultural History, we are pleased to announce the international conference Prosopography – Approaches, Texts and Technologies, to be held on 24–25 September 2026 at the Atrium of ZRC SAZU in Ljubljana. The conference is co-organised in collaboration with the International Society for Cultural History.
Prosopography has long evolved beyond the compilation of collective biographies into a powerful analytical approach for reconstructing social structures, intellectual networks, institutional histories, and cultural patterns across time. Bringing together historical scholarship, philology, and digital methodologies, this conference seeks to explore the conceptual foundations, textual practices, and technological frameworks that shape contemporary prosopographical research.
The chronological scope of the conference is intentionally open and not time-limited.
Thematic Panels
The conference will include (but is not limited to) the following panels:
1. Greco-Roman Antiquity
(Homer to Late Antiquity)
Prosopographical approaches to ancient literary, epigraphic, and documentary sources; elite networks; civic, imperial, and intellectual communities.
2. Medieval Worlds
Prosopography in manuscript cultures; ecclesiastical, courtly, and urban networks; collective biography and institutional memory.
3. (Early) Modern Contexts
Humanist networks; (scholarly) correspondences; confessional and political structures; the transformation of communities.
4. Between Art and Lived Experience
Intersections between artistic expression and lived experence; the ways in which aesthetic practices and forms of expression can illuminate the prosopographical dimensions of a given society.
5. Methodological Approaches to Prosopography
Theoretical foundations; collective biography as analytical method; quantitative and qualitative models; source criticism; limits and potentials of prosopographical research.
6. Digital Prosopography: Databases, Linked Open Data, and Semantic Modelling
Digital infrastructures for prosopographical research; relational databases; Linked Open Data; CIDOC CRM and other ontological frameworks; interoperability; visualization and network analysis; long-term sustainability of prosopographical datasets.
We particularly welcome interdisciplinary contributions that connect textual scholarship with digital humanities approaches.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit:
- A paper title
- An abstract of 300–500 words
- A short biographical note (max. 100 words)
Submission deadline: 15 June 2026
Conference language: English
Proposals should be submitted via Google Forms
Notification of acceptance will be sent by 30 June 2026.
Publication
A selection of revised papers will be considered for publication in a peer-reviewed special issue dedicated to the conference theme.
We warmly invite scholars from all relevant disciplines to join us in Ljubljana to reflect on the past, present, and future of prosopography at the intersection of approaches, texts, and technologies.
On behalf of the organizing committee,
Gregor Pobežin
Institute of Cultural History
ZRC SAZU
Anna-Leena Perämäki
Jasmin Lukkari