Senior Research Fellow, 1 August 2014-31 July 2016
Office: Atalpa 211
Tel.: +358 (0)50 318 7374
Email: christian.laes@uantwerpen.be
Homepage at the University of Antwerpen
Research interests
The Transformation of Disablement? Disability in a Changing European Society (ca. 200 – ca. 800 CE)
This project brings the topic of disability history in ancient society to Late Antiquity, a key period of passages par excellence, where monotheistic religions, changing social and economic conditions, new cultural exchanges and the rise of new empires possibly changed the way suffering people were viewed and treated.
Background
Building on research on disability by both Christian Laes and Jenni Kuuliala within the Religion and Childhood project (2009-2012, Academy of Finland, University on Tampere), this new and challenging theme has all the potential for success within a large international network.
In February 2014, Christian Laes has been assigned the editorship of a large volume (35 contributors) with Routledge (new series: Rewriting Antiquity) Disability in Antiquity. The comparative world perspective and Late Antiquity are key themes in this volume, which will be the first to treat disabilities as such.