Frank and Ernest haven’t been Classical for a while:..
Year: 2009
CONF: Multilingualism from Alexander to Charlemagne
Multilingualism from Alexander to Charlemagne: cross-cultural themes and
perspectives
29th-30th May 2009 at the Faculty of Classics Organised by the Classical
and Indo-European Linguistics Caucus, Faculty of Classics, University of
Cambridge (Alex Mullen and Patrick James).
Over the last decade, multilingualism has become a major research focus in
the study of the ancient world. Our aim is to take a thematic and
interdisciplinary approach to issues raised by the growing number of
studies. As we bring together linguistic and archaeological evidence our
primary concern will be the implications of language contact for our
understanding of multiculturalism from Antiquity and into the Medieval
period.
Programme
Friday 29th May 2009
Registration: 8.30-11.30
9.30-11.00 [Speakers and chairs only] Introduction and round-table session
on methodology (particularly the practice of interdisciplinarity and the
application of modern bilingualism theory to the study of ancient
languages) Alex Mullen (Lumley Research Fellow, Magdalene College,
Cambridge)
11.30-1.00
Issues in the nature and interpretation of evidence for bilingualism
Chair: Pippa Steele
Dr Alderik Blom (Katharine Jex-Blake Fellow in Celtic Studies, Girton
College, Cambridge) ‘Multilingualism and ritual language’
Professor Rosanna Sornicola (Professor of Linguistics, Department of Modern
Philology, University of Naples Federico II) ‘Multilingualism in Sicily and
Southern Italy in the Early Middle Ages: issues in the nature and
interpretation of the evidence’
2.30-4.00
Micro and macro-communities and regional variation
Chair: Eleanor Dickey
Dr Oliver Simkin (Research Associate, the Greek Lexicon Project, Faculty of
Classics, Cambridge) ‘Language contact in Ancient Spain: direct and
indirect evidence’
Dr Trevor Evans (Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in Ancient Cultures,
Macquarie University, Australia) ‘Complaints of the natives in a Greek
dress: the evidence of the Zenon Archive for a Greek-Egyptian
micro-community’
4.30-6..00
The function of languages in multilingual societies
Chair: Patrick James
Dr James Clackson (Senior University Lecturer, Faculty of Classics,
Cambridge) ‘Stable and unstable bilingualism’
Professor Andrew Wilson (Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire,
School of Archaeology, Oxford) ‘Punic and Latin inscriptions in Roman North
Africa: function and display’
6.30-7.30
Reception: the Museum of Classical Archaeology, Faculty of Classics
Saturday 30th May 2009
9.30-11.00
Bilingual education and literacy
Chair: (t.b.c.)
Professor Scott Bucking (Associate Professor of Ancient Mediterranean
Studies, DePaul University, Chicago, USA) ‘Archaeology, papyrology, and the
study of Greek-Coptic education in late antique Egypt’
Dr Pádraic Moran (Research Officer, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and
Celtic, Cambridge) ‘Multilingualism and the Medieval Irish learned
tradition’
11.30-1.00
The linguistic and cultural implications of translation
Chair: Robert Crellin
Professor Coulter George (Assistant Professor of Classics, University of
Virginia, USA) ‘Expressions of time in the Septuagint and the New
Testament’
Professor David Langslow (Professor of Classics, Department of Classics and
Ancient History, Manchester) ‘Typologies of translation techniques in
situations of language contact’
2.30-4.30
Continuity and change in the East and West after 500 AD
Chair: Geoff Horrocks
Dr Bert Vaux (University Lecturer in Linguistics, Department of
Linguistics, Cambridge) ‘Linguistic manifestations of Greek-Armenian
contact in Late Antiquity and Byzantium’
Dr Paul Russell (Reader in Celtic, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and
Celtic, Cambridge) ‘Habes linguam Latinam? Non tam bene sapio: a view from
the early-medieval West’
5.00-6.15
Multilingualism and multiculturalism
Professor Robin Osborne (Professor of Ancient History, Faculty of Classics,
Cambridge) ‘Cultures as languages and languages as cultures: reflections
from Classical Athens’
This conference has been made possible by the generous funding of the
following bodies: Faculty of Classics; The Greek Lexicon Project;
Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic.
Further updated information and our registration form can be found at
Please address any questions to Alex Mullen or Patrick
James
From the Italian Press
Assorted items of interest which may or may not make it to the English-reading press:
A pair of 5th/4th century B.C. burials found during sewer construction in Canosa:
- Canosa, dalla terra un tesoro Due tombe del IVsec. A.C. (Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno)
From the same period come similar finds from Castellaneta; the site is clearly much larger, but there aren’t any funds to excavate, apparently:
A second century A.D. necropolis of some 300 burials from the Piana del Sole-Castel Malnome; apparently already found by tombaroli:
A story about some guy who discovered the thing he was using in his garden as a trough or whatever for these past number of years was actually a fourth century Roman sarcophagus:
- Ho scoperto un sarcofago romano in giardino (Il Giornale)
The first century (A.D.) Roman Villa at Pincio, which includes first century (B.C.) mosaics, will be restored by this fall:
- Pincio, restauro entro l’autunno (Il Tempo)
Some purloined Apulian (?) items recovered over forty years ago are going on display; interesting comments at the end of the piece about how the lack of provenance presents difficulties for researchers:
- Tesoro archeologico foggiano va all’Emilia (Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno)
An Italian woman was arrested at the airport in Florence with some antiquities from Herculaneum and the Villa Soria at Torre del Greco:
- A Londra con reperti in valigia: denunciata (La Nazione)
- Firenze, sequestrati all’aereoporto reperti archeologici provenienti da Ercolano e Torre del Greco (Radio Nostalgia)
Some tombaroli were apprehended in Enna:
The Sanctuary of Minerva at Breno is open to the public until the end of September:
- Breno: riapre il santuario di Minerva (Giornale di Brescia)
They’ve reopened some of the rooms in the Baths of Diocletian:
A sort of touristy thing on the House of the Surgeon at Rimini:
- La Domus del Chirurgo: patrimonio storico di Rimini (press release)
Interesting treasure-hunt-in-the-museum idea:
DSS Exhibition Tempest Brewing?
Somewhat tangential to our purview, but dealing with an exhibition I”m likely to go to (the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Royal Ontario Museum), we are just starting to hear rumblings of this … an excerpt from the Toronto Star:
The Conservative government is staying mum on a letter from senior Palestinian officials opposing a planned exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Royal Ontario Museum.
A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon declined to comment yesterday on accusations that the six-month exhibit, set to begin in June and organized in co-operation with the Israel Antiquities Authority, violates at least four international conventions or protocols on the treatment of cultural goods that were illegally obtained.
Both Canada and Israel are signatories to all of the agreements, the Palestinians say.
In letters to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and top executives at the ROM, senior Palestinian officials argue the scrolls – widely regarded as among the great archaeological discoveries of the 20th century – were acquired illegally by Israel when the Jewish state annexed East Jerusalem in 1967.
The letter of protest sent this week to Harper was signed by Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. The letter to the ROM bore the signature of Khouloud Daibes, minister of tourism and antiquities.
I personally doubt anything will come of this, but it’s an interesting bit of fallout from all the repatriations going on of late; one wonders why we haven’t seen a demand from Palestinian authorities to repatriate the scrolls … (one isn’t surprised that the Star is setting this one up as a vehicle to bash the government) …
300 Se/Pre/Interquel Gossip
Excerpt from a piece at MTV’s Splashpage:
About a year ago, news broke that Frank Miller was developing a “300” quasi-sequel. Snyder, who was in Las Vegas this week to pick up a Director of the Year award at ShoWest, revealed that he has indeed heard Miller’s idea for a graphic novel about the events that followed the key battle of “300” — and he likes it.
“There’s something that happens in history between Leonidas dying at the Hot Gates and Platea,” Snyder said. “That’s a year that’s left out of the [original] movie. A lot happened.”
Although it was dramatized terrifically, Snyder’s “300” told the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, which occurred in 480 BC. The film’s final moments mention that one year later, at Platea, 10,000 Spartan warriors helped defeat a huge Persian force; in a historical context, an equally important event occurred when the Athenian navy crushed the Persians in the battle of Salamis. According to Snyder, “300 Part II” will focus on the intense 12 months when these battles were taking place.
“Frank is definitely working on an idea,” Snyder explained. “If Frank comes up with a great idea and draws something cool, there’s no reason why we wouldn’t make another movie.”
There’s a video interview on site (which I can’t access for some reason) …
rogueclassicism 