Workshop: Coasts – Cultures – Constructs. Insights from emerging research for a trans-Mediterranean perspective

(17–18 April 2026)

From 17 to 18 April, the interdisciplinary workshop ‘Coasts – Cultures – Constructs. Impulses from Young Research for a Trans-Mediterranean Perspective’ took place as part of the Trans-Mediterranean Interconnections doctoral programme. The event centred on lectures and poster presentations by early-career researchers from various disciplines within the humanities, who had travelled from abroad to attend. The topics covered in the contributions ranged from questions regarding gender-specific approaches to child-rearing in the prehistoric Balearic Islands, through (trans-)cultural exchange processes in antiquity, the Middle Ages and the modern era, and literary and non-literary depictions of travel and migration experiences, to the critical consequences of modern mass tourism. Just as diverse as the subject areas were the cultural roots and geographical research focuses of the participants, who, hailing from Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Italy, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom, India and China, representing both the Mediterranean region and its impact on other parts of the world. The aim of the workshop was to highlight points of connection and common threads between the respective research topics, which was achieved both through lively discussions on the individual presentations and during a round-table session that concluded the workshop.