The Fifth Workshop on Gender, Methodology and the Ancient Near East (#GeMANE5_Helsinki)

The aim of the workshops is to discuss different methodological and theoretical approaches to gender within the framework of ancient Near Eastern studies. The scope of the workshop includes textual, art historical and archaeological approaches, (including neighboring disciplines) as long as the work contributes new insights into the study of gender in the ancient Near East.

You can find .

We are excited that you will be joining us for the fifth Gender and Methodology in the Ancient Near East workshop (GeMANE 5) 1st to 3rd June.

Highlights of the programme include the conference dinner, keynotes by Zainab Bahrani, Cécile Michel, Allison Thomason, and Ann Guinan, and a guided tour of the National Museum of Finland’s new .

If you have a question about the event, please send an email to: .

For those participating virtually, we will be sending out Zoom addresses closer to the event. The facilities we have booked include state-of-the-art equipment that should allow a seamless hybrid event.

For those participating in person, there’s some important information below.

If you are interested in the conference dinner or the museum, please fill in the .

The cost of conference dinner is unfortunately only covered for presenters and chairs of sessions, but all are welcome to join. However, the host of GeMANE 5, , is happy to cover the museum ticket for all participants who wish to participate. Our guide will be one of the organizers of the exhibition, docent Joanna Töyräänvuori.

GeMANE 5 will be held at the following address:

Minerva Plaza

Learning Centre Minerva

Siltavuorenpenger 5 A

Helsinki

It is a central location with many hotels available nearby. The committee recommends , . Hotel Artur is only 5 minutes on foot away from the conference venue, and the rates are reasonable. The room cost is ca. 120 €/night.

Helsinki has excellent public transport, and if you are flying to Helsinki airport you can take the regular I or P train directly to Helsinki Central Station. You will need tickets from HSL - there is a ticket stand on the railway platform at the airport, or you can download the . From the airport you will need a ticket for zones A, B, and C, but for the rest of your stay you can also get a multi-day ticket for zones A and B. If you prefer to get a taxi from the airport, you simply follow the signs to the taxi stand, but this is significantly more expensive (a taxi journey from the airport to central Helsinki is approximately €50, whereas the train ticket is about €5).

We will be following the Covid-19 recommendations as set out by the , the , and the . There is currently no mask mandate in Helsinki, but there is still a recommendation for wearing a mask in situations where you will be in a crowded indoor space or on public transport. There is still the recommendation for maintaining good hand hygiene (regularly washing hands and using hand sanitizer). In terms of travel, we recommend ensuring you have either a valid vaccine certificate or proof of a negative test prior to flying. A useful website to check what documents you need is . Full recommendations can be found on the and website. Please check your airline’s travel requirements as well, as sometimes these differ from national ones.

We are very excited for your participation in GeMANE 5, and we look forward to seeing you in June.

Scientific committee of GeMANE 5 (in alphabetical order):

Dr. Ellie Bennett, University of Helsinki

Prof. Megan Cifarelli, Manhattanville College

Prof. Katrien De Graef, Ghent University

Dr. Agnès Garcia-Ventura, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Dr. Dennis Mizzi, University of Malta

Dr. Omar N'Shea, University of Malta

Prof. Saana Svärd, University of Helsinki

Previous GeMANE workshops:

1) Helsinki (Finland) October 27-28, 2014. Papers presented there (and other papers) were published in "Studying Gender in the Ancient Near East," edited by Saana Svärd and Agnès Garcia-Ventura (2018, Eisenbrauns/Penn State University Press).

2) Barcelona (Spain) in February 1-3, 2017. Papers presented there were published in "Gender and Methodology in the Ancient Near East: Approaches from Assyriology and Beyond," edited by Stephanie Lynn Budin, Megan Cifarelli, Agnès Garcia-Ventura and Adelina Millet Albà (2018, Barcino Monographica Orientalia 10 — Universitat de Barcelona Edicions).

3) Ghent (Belgium) April 8–10, 2019. GeMANE 3 proceedings are in preparation. Editors are (in alphabetical order): Katrien De Graef, Agnès Garcia-Ventura, Anne Goddeeris & Beth Alpert Nakhai. It will be published in the series wEgde of Zaphon.

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