V

Space

The so-called “spatial turn” that emerged in the humanities and social sciences in the late twentieth century did not generate interest in the study of space ex nihilo; rather, it succeeded in incorporating pre-existing scholarly pursuits—such as historical geography—into a new and autonomous theoretical framework. The study of space has long been a major field of scholarly interest across all three Sections of the IHR. This is evident in earlier programs such as “Historical Geography of the Greek World” of the Section of Byzantine Research and “Historical Study of Greek Settlements, 15th–19th Centuries” of the Section of Neohellenic Research. Spatial inquiry has also served as an organizing principle of research itself, as in the earlier programs of the Section of Greek and Roman Antiquity, “Sources, History, and Culture of Northern Greece” and “The Greek World and the East.” Within the IHR’s new organizational structure, these programs and related scholarly projects have been reconfigured into new research directions that also incorporate emerging and cutting-edge fields such as environmental history.

This cluster encompasses a wide range of topics, including the study of urban spaces and rural landscapes; the interaction of archaeological sites with their environment and biodiversity; the development and evolution of settlement networks; the investigation of micro-spatial units; and the analysis of broader geographical regions, such as the Greek mainland, Asia Minor, and the Aegean islands. It also hosts the Digital Historical Cartography Laboratory, which combines spatial history research with advanced digital technologies.