Topoi
Two universities – four independent Berlin research facilities – one project: Topoi brings together diverse disciplines from the humanities and earth sciences in common fundamental and theoretical research on the ancient world.
The Cluster of Excellence pursues the goal of researching the interdependence of space and knowledge in the civilizations of the Ancient Near East, the Mediterranean, and Black Sea region and parts of the Eurasian steppe from the 6th millennium BC to around AD 500. This is to serve the more fundamental purpose of investigating the spaces, spatial systems, and various types of space-related knowledge as intertwined factors in the development of ancient cultural systems.
In Topoi, paradigmatic studies are to investigate the foundations of small-scale structures up to large-scale expansive empires and variously defined and constituted spaces as well. Building on this fundamental research, Topoi will work out a theory of space as a constitutive element in the formation and transformation of cultures and societies of antiquity within an interdisciplinary framework.
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