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Ancient studies for everyone – Research communication and knowledge transfer

The Berliner Antike-Kolleg (BAK) is a centre for the exchange between scholarly research in the field of ancient studies and the broader public. Our in-house events aim at enhancing or critically evaluating research questions in light of current debates. At the same time, we also link serve as a nexus for the numerous offerings of our partner institutions in Berlin.

Our conferences and workshops as well as the lectures of our guest scholars are not only dedicated to the academic exchange but they also address the interested public of the city. In the context of our summer schools, we convey special skills for innovative research techniques or important application areas. Once a year, our open BAK-evening is designed to inform the public about our activities.

New formats for presenting research to the public are one focus of our activities. One such format is the lecture series that we launched in partnership with the Excellence Cluster Topoi in the 2016/17 winter semester. Held every term, the series aims at drawing attention to the relevance that questions in ancient studies have for engagement with societal phenomena of the present day. In past semesters, the series has addressed topics like migration, identity and war and violence. The series in the 2019/2020 winter semester, entitled "Alte Welt neu formatiert. Altertumswissenschaftliche Forschung im Zeitalter des digitalen Wandels" (The ancient world reformatted. Ancient studies in the age of digital transformation), is devoted to the opportunities and challenges that IT-based processes and digital technologies are bringing for research into the ancient world. In the autumn of 2016, the BAK held its first Antiquity Slam, modelled on the science-slam format. The Antiquity Slam, which we co-organize with other partners, has since established itself as a highly successful event series.

All ancient studies conferences and lectures taking place in the Berlin/Brandenburg region are listed in the calendar of events and our newsletter: this includes not only events held by the universities but also those held by Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (BBAW), the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI), the Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte (MPIWG) or the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (SMB).