What does it mean to be citizen?
Join the Antiquities Museum in collaboration with the UQ Art Museum for this panel dicussion on the meaning of citizenship in the ancient and modern worlds.
Panellists:
Michael Aird has worked in the area of Aboriginal arts and cultural heritage since 1985. His main research focus has been photographic history with a particular interest in native title and Aboriginal people of southeast Queensland. He has curated over 25 exhibitions, including From Relics to Rights, currently on display at the UQ Anthropology Museum.
Dr Gerhard Hoffstaedter is Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Queensland. He conducts research with refugees in Southeast Asia, on refugee and immigration policy and on religion and the state. He is a regular commentator in newspapers, radio and online media on topics of his research.
Associate Professor Eric Louw has previously worked for a number of South African universities, and run an NGO engaged in development work. He built anti-apartheid newspapers and radio inside SA during the 1980s struggle, plus served on the organizing committee of Mandela’s first mass rally (after his release from prison).
Dr Janette McWilliam is the Director of the RD Milns Antiquities Museum and Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History. Her research interests include Greek and Roman political and social history, Roman children, Latin epigraphy, and pedagogical approaches to teaching Classical Latin and Greek. In 2014, she received a prestigious Australian Government Award for Teaching Excellence, awarded by the Office for Learning and Teaching.
Dr David Pritchard is Senior Lecturer in Greek History at the University of Queensland. In 2015–16 he was Research Fellow in L'Institut d'Études Avancées de l'Université de Strasbourg. In addition to his four books he has published more than 45 book chapters and peer-reviewed articles.
About Why Citizenship? Stories from Athens and Rome
June 2017 to May 2018
While it might appear that citizenship in the ancient world was a simple and straightforward concept, not everyone thought about citizenship in the same way. In Classical Athens entry into the citizen body was closely controlled, determined by gender, birth and ancestry, while in Rome, people of both free and freed status came to enjoy at least basic citizen rights over time.
Why Citizenship? explores the stories of ancient people from a wide variety of backgrounds and asks why citizenship mattered to them. It also invites visitors to consider concepts of citizenship, and to reflect upon issues of gender, sexuality, politics, race and social status in the modern day.
Curated by Dr Janette McWilliam and Mr James Donaldson