The paper represents a review of a new «Archaeological Dialogues» volume published last June. This volume - and especially an article provided by M.J. Versluys - raises some important questions about Romanization as a term and as a concept. The Dutch scholar offers a new research agenda based on the idea of globalization and «material turn» (which means that artifacts, their ‘genealogies’ and connections must be studied at first). A critical analysis of Versluys’ article and responses published in the same volume allows us to suggest that the application of this agenda may lead scholars to some interesting results. However, such an approach should not be turned into a panacea: if we want to understand and reconstruct the nature of cultural processes in Pax Romana we should use different agendas and methods. Versluys’ paper (and the discussion published in «Archaeological Dialogues») helps us to reinvigorate the Romanization debate and opens a new chapter in understanding and upgrading the concepts and methods of research of the Imperial provinces.
|
