Dance of the Muses: Choral Theory and Ancient Greek Poetics is a very interesting website designed to accompany A.P. David’s book of the same name. Additional content at the website includes audio of Homer’s poetry being recited according to the book’s theory, videos of Homeric dance and other items of interest. Worth checking out!
Day: April 27, 2009
CONF: Writings of Early Scholars in the ANE, Egypt and Greece
Writings of Early Scholars in the Ancient Near East, Egypt and Greece:
Zur Übersetzbarkeit von Wissenschaftssprachen des Altertums
Interdisciplinary and international conference,
Johannes Gutenberg University, 27-29 July 2009
The historiography of the sciences in antiquity (including Egyptian
and Mesopotamian cultures) has changed fundamentally during the past
40 years. Changing methodologies and aims have led to a focus on
recognition and reconstruction of ancient scientific concepts, which
can differ significantly from “similar” modern concepts. As a way of
bringing these changes to light in a useful way, the conference will
focus on the problem of translations.
Translations are directly affected by respective cultural beliefs of
the translator. How then can ancient concepts that differ from our
modern ones be expressed in modern languages? And how can these
differences be understood by a modern reader?
Currently, some translations which are likely to mislead a historian
of science, a scientist or a mathematician may still be accepted as
correct by the philologists of the individual cultures.
The conference aims to explore problems involved in translating
ancient scientific texts and to create a methodological framework to
improve the quality of future translations. To achieve this goal, we
aim to bring together leading representatives and junior researchers
with a philological background or a background in history of science
(Egyptology, Assyriology, Classics, editors of ancient scientific
texts and scholars using them).
After an attempt to determine characteristic features of individual
sciences in antiquity, and how they can be distinguished from
non-scientific texts, specific examples will be used to enable
interdisciplinary and intercultural discussion.
The preliminary programme can be found at
http://www.aegyptologie-altorientalistik.uni-mainz.de/443.php
We invite interested participants to join the conference and
contribute to the discussions.
Please register by 31 May 2009 at wissenschaftssprache@mathematik.uni-mainz.de.
The conference fee of 15 € to compensate for expenses is to be paid in
advance (registration).
Organized by:
Prof. Dr. Annette Imhausen (am Historischen Seminar der Universität Frankfurt)
Dr. Tanja Pommerening (am Institut für Ägyptologie und
Altorientalistik der Universität Mainz)
Conference webpages:
http://www.aegyptologie-altorientalistik.uni-mainz.de/460.php
Funded by the Thyssen Foundation and the ZIS (Center for Intercultural
Studies) of Mainz university.
CFP: Classical Association 2010
Classical Association Annual Conference 2010
Cardiff University, Wednesday 7th April – Saturday 10th April 2010.
Call for papers
The Classical Association Annual Conference 2010 is to be hosted by Cardiff University. Panels and plenary lectures will be held in the Cathays Park campus of the University. The President’s address and conference dinner will take place in the National Museum and the City Hall in Cardiff’s civic centre.
We welcome proposals for papers (20 minutes long followed by discussion) and coordinated panels (comprising either 3 or 4 papers) from academic staff, graduate students, and school teachers on the topics suggested below, or on any aspect of the classical world. We are keen to encourage papers from a broad range of classical, historical, and archaeological perspectives.
Suggested topics: ancient warfare; family life and the built environment; western Greek historians; early Rome; ancient and modern contexts of Greek and Roman drama; currency; time and calendars; ancient skies; nostalgia and ancient attitudes towards the past; electronic publishing; epigraphy, literacy and society; mobility and connectivity in the Mediterranean; frontiers and boundaries; mosaics and visual culture; art and imperialism; religion and society in late antiquity; classical heritage in Wales; literary and cinematic historical fiction.
Title and an abstract (no more than 300 words), and any enquiries should be sent to the address below (preferably by email) not later than 31 August 2009:
Dr Guy Bradley, CA 2010,
School of History and Archaeology,
Humanities Building, Cardiff University,
Colum Drive,
Cardiff CF10 3EU,
Wales, UK
Email: ca2010 AT cf.ac.uk
Tel. +44 (0)29 2087 4821
JOB: APA April Listings
… at the APA site, of course …
This Day in Ancient History
ante diem v kalendas maias
- ludi Florales … a.k.a. Floralia (day 1) — a festival originally ordered in response to an interpretation of the Sybilline books in 238 B.C., it fell into desuetude only to be revived in 173 B.C.; it was a general festival of drinking and other merriment in honour of Flora, who presided over (of course) flowers and their blossoms (Chloris is also mentioned … I’m still trying to figure that one out).
- 4977 B.C. — birth of the universe, according to the calculations of Johannes Kepler
- 1737 — Birth of Edward Gibbon (he wrote some sort of book apparently)
rogueclassicism 