Recently in Classics Category
This looks interesting, a review of five books, which should be of interest to students of religion and classics:
"Remapping the Landscape: Early Christianity and the Graeco-Roman World. A Review Article"
Journal of Religious History
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism, trial goes through 10/17/08. (For all current database trials, go here.)
"Now expanded and updated, The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism is an indispensable resource for scholars and students of literary theory and discourse. Revised extensively in 2004 to reflect a decade of rapidly changing scholarship, the Guide currently features 52 new entries and subentries and is updated annually. Compiled by 275 specialists from around the world, the Guide presents a comprehensive historical survey of the field's most important figures, schools, and movements. It includes more than 240 alphabetically arranged entries on critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods." from the web site
Have a look at it. Let me know what you think. Fred
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like an interesting program presented by the Temple Premodern Studies Colloquium:
Premodern Sovereignties and the Discourses of Political Theology and Biopolitics
Friday, September 5, 2008
Try out the free audio books on LibriVox. You can listen to them on your computer, iPod, or MP3 player.
"LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and release the audio files back onto the net. Our goal is to make all public domain books available as free audio books."
I just downloaded the Anti-Federalist and the Federalist Papers to iTunes and plan to listen to them when I get a chance. These are works I've been meaning to read forever. I'll try to listen to them instead. I searched the catalog a bit and discovered audio works of Descartes, Plato, Martin Luther, Augustine, Aquinas, among others.
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
A nice site on the Ancient Olympics. Have a look.
From the New York Times....
Discovering How Greeks Computed in 100 B.C.
Article Tools Sponsored By
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Published: July 31, 2008
After a closer examination of a surviving marvel of ancient Greek technology known as the Antikythera Mechanism, scientists have found that the device not only predicted solar eclipses but also organized the calendar in the four-year cycles of the Olympiad, forerunner of the modern Olympic Games.
Read the article here.
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
» 2008-07-28 18:21
Ancient Greek ship fished from seaVessel found off Sicilian coast is the largest of its kind
(ANSA) - Gela, July 28 - An ancient Greek trading ship that had lain on the seabed off the coast of Gela in southern Sicily for 2,500 years was brought to the surface for the first time on Monday. The ancient Greek vessel is 21 metres long and 6.5 metres wide, making it by far the biggest of its kind ever discovered. Four Greek vessels found off the coasts of Israel, Cyprus and France are at most 15 metres long.
See complete article here.
"The Institute for Classical Studies and Digital Classicist Summer seminar series is about half-way through, and the first several audio recordings of the proceedings are now available as part of the Digital Classicist podcast. You can find a list of all seminars in this series, along with links for those that have audio and/or presentations uploaded, at:
http://www.digitalclassicist.org/wip/wip2008.html
Or you can subscribe to the podcast feed itself by pointing your RSS aggregator, iTunes subscription, aut sim., at:
http://www.digitalclassicist.org/wip/seminar.xml
We should welcome ideas for further events to add to this podcast series, and/or partnerships to podcast the results of seminar series of interest to Digital Classicists in the future."
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
The Venetus A manuscript of the Iliad is now available online at the Center for Hellenic Studies at Harvard. The modern versions of Homer are all based on this manuscript. General information is on the manuscript here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The treasured Codex Sinaiticus, dating from the latter half of the fourth century AD, containing much of the Greek New Testament and the Septuagint (Hebrew Scriptures in Greek) is now available online. Discovered at the Monastery of St. Catherine at Sinai in the nineteenth century by German theologian Konstantin von Tischendorf, this is one of three remaining, relatively intact, manuscripts from this period, the other two being the Codex Alexandrianus and Codex Vaticanus.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"An ambitious Southwest Philadelphia charter school uses an ancient language as a new formula for learning.
There are minefields on the path to maturity for every young person in this city. But for many young male Philadelphians, the danger runs deeper.
Young men in Philadelphia public schools are more likely than most to live with one parent, have a parent in jail, reside in drug-addled neighborhoods or experience violence. Students in too many Philadelphia public schools can’t be guaranteed basic safety, let alone a decent education.
Enter the Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School, a new college prep school at 55th and Cedar in Southwest Philadelphia with an ambitious plan to avert the tragedy that defines the city’s public school system. Boys’ Latin’s first batch of students—144 ninth-graders—occupy a 10-room temporary structure as they wait for contractors to finish renovations on the building next door.
Last year there were 11 murders within five blocks of where Boys’ Latin sits. “I worry about the students,” says teacher Paula Sahm, who lives in the Art Museum area of Philadelphia. “I’ll sit and watch the news, and if I even hear Southwest Philly, I get chills.”"
Read about it in the Philadelphia Weekly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The American Philological Association is engaged in a capital campaign to increase access to ancient Greco-Roman resources for the twenty-first century. Take a look at this cool promotional video which gives some background on the APA, an brief overview of classical influences on American history and tradition, as well as plans for making classical resources easily available on the web.
APA in the Twenty-First Century (promotional video)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Selling Captain Riley, 1816-1859: How did his 'Narrative' become so well known? (James Riley)
PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY 171: 177-+ Part 1 APR 2007
James Riley's extraordinary tale of shipwreck, enslavement, and liberation captivated many American readers in the nineteenth century...Popular awareness of Riley and his account of African geography and portrayal of Islamic and Jewish life was fueled by extensive press coverage and eventual anthologizing in children's literature.
Divining "divine action" in theology-and-science: A review essay
ZYGON 43 (1): 191-200 MAR 2008
The topic of divine action has been central to the theology-and-science discussion over the last twenty years...I review three recent books that have responded in some way to the ongoing discussion.
The Filipino Catholic nun as transnational feminist
WOMENS HISTORY REVIEW 17 (1): 57-78 FEB 2008
Filipino Catholic nuns became formidable activists in the women's movement as women's studies teachers, and as leaders and members of transnational organizations. This article argues that the nuns' unique location in the interstices-as transnational feminists who moved constantly from the local to the international-was what made them effective activists.
The healing serpent and the origin of Ophite Gnosticism
REVUE DE L HISTOIRE DES RELIGIONS 224 (4): 395-434 OCT-DEC 2007
This group is, together with the Naassenes, the only one that actually adores the serpent, which is considered as the epiphany of the Logos. This equivalence Logos = serpent is taken from the exegetical interpretation of Num. 21, 8-10 (the bronze serpent).
Racializing historiography: anti-Jewish scholarship in the Third Reich
PATTERNS OF PREJUDICE 42 (1): 27-59 FEB 2008
He raises and attempts to answer crucial and far-reaching questions about Judenforschung and its role in the Third Reich. Why was historical scholarship important for the perpetrators of the Holocaust? What was the specific function of historical arguments in a racist setting? What was the specific contribution of the humanities to racist arguments and racist politics?
Religious place and its interaction with urbanization in the Roman era
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ARCHAEOLOGY 8 (1): 37-62 FEB 2008
This article examines the issue of urbanization in Roman Britain and its interaction with places of the late pre-Roman Iron Age...The modern western conception of place differs vastly from the past when places were important ways of conceptualizing experiencing and understanding the world and they were constructed through human action, memory and experience and interaction.
Aegean prehistory as world archaeology: Recent trends in the archaeology of Bronze age Greece
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH 16 (2): 83-161 JUN 2008
This article surveys archaeological work of the last decade on the Greek Bronze Age, part of the broader discipline known as Aegean prehistory. Naturally, the literature is vast, so I focus on a set of topics that may be of general interest to non-Aegeanists: chronology, regional studies, the emergence and organization of archaic states, ritual and religion, and archaeological science.
Is there a moral justification for redressing historical injustices?
VANDERBILT LAW REVIEW 61 (1): 127-+ JAN 2008
This Article examines whether there is a moral justification for repairing historical injustices. My theme is the difficulty of devising a compelling moral argument for redressing such injustices, notwithstanding the moral arguments often invoked by the proponents of redress.
Writing as thinking
REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 12 (1): 9-27 MAR 2008
We explore four methods to see how expert writers externalize thoughts and interact with them: laboratory comparisons of novices and experts, interviews with accomplished writers (mostly of prose fiction), biographical analysis of Jane Austen's development as a writer, and consideration of Gustave Flaubert's notes and drafts.
Animal consciousness
JOURNAL OF CONSCIOUSNESS STUDIES 15 (3): 5-33 MAR 2008
There are several types of behavioural evidence in favour of the notion that many animal species experience at least some simple levels of consciousness. Other than behavioural evidence, there are a number of anatomical and physiological criteria that help resolve the problem of animal consciousness, particularly when addressing the problem in lower vertebrates and invertebrates.
Constructing the guru: Ritual authority and architectural space in medieval India
ART BULLETIN 90 (1): 7 MAR 2008
At the central Indian site of Chandrehe stands a rare example of a monumental stone monastery, built in 973 by a sect of Shiva-worshiping ascetics known as the Mattamayuras. Its complex architectural program Suggests that it was carefully designed to evoke the soteriological and ritual world of medieval Hindu monasteries, about which very little other evidence exists.
The work of the present: Constructing messianic temporality in the wake of failed prophecy among Chabad Hasidim
AMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST 35 (1): 64-80 FEB 2008
Temporal issues have remained relatively unelaborated in the rich body of research that applies cognitive dissonance theory to millenarian movements following a failed prophecy. We engage these issues by exploring how the meshichistim (messianists) among the Jewish ultraorthodox Chabad (Lubavitch) Hasidim employ temporal categories to deal with the crisis entailed in the death of their leader, the expected Messiah.
Here are the Top Downloads of philosophy papers on the Philosophy Research Network.
Here are the Top Downloads for Classics (though the definition of Classics is very broad) on the Classics Research Network.
The Social Sciences Research Network is increasingly moving into supporting the humanities and will be opening up many new areas in the near future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nice article here about how a medieval prayer book was found to have been a "scrubbed" copy of a Byzantine codex by Archimedes. (back in the day when sheepskin was expensive it was often reused). Learn how Archimedes' important work was rediscovered. The story involves the use of Stanford's famous particle accelerator to read the most damaged pages. Be sure to check out the "sidebars" for all the details.
Archimedes Codex is the book that tells the whole story. Check it out from Paley Library.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARTstor has made some nice, brief interdisciplinary guides available on its web site. ARTstor is a huge database of high resolution images of major art collections from around the world.
Here are some links to the PDF's of the guides:
Classical Studies // Middle Eastern Studies // Religious Studies // Women's Studies
Take a look to see how ARTstor can illuminate your research and scholarship!
American catholicism's science crisis and the Albertus Magnus Guild, 1953-1969
"During the middle decades of the twentieth century, American Catholic scientists experienced a sense of crisis owing to the paucity of scientific research performed either by individual Catholics or in Catholic institutions of higher learning."
Walking with Odysseus: The portico frame of the Odyssey Landscapes
"The painted portico thus puts the viewers in the proper frame of mind to appreciate the intellectual associations of the painting as they walk with Odysseus on a parallel journey of philosophical reflection."
Juno, Hercules, and the Muses at Rome (This study has to do with the divine patrons of music as a public activity at Rome)
"The Aedes Herculis Musarum (AHM), embodying musical harmony, was a symbolic focal point for political concordia at Rome. The treatment of its cult honorands in high poetry also embraces Juno Regina, whose contemporary temple was adjacent to the AHM."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's a book review in the Inky on Mary Beard's, The Roman Triumph, published by Harvard University Press.
"What makes Beard's book so fascinating is not only the subject, but her way of approaching it, which allows one to see historiography in process. Her attention to every least detail, placing one fact next to another to see whether this or that confirms or challenges a given interpretation, is like watching a forensic specialist working to solve a crime."
You can borrow Roman Triumph from Paley Library. Here are other books by classics scholar Mary Beard.
You can also hear a Harvard University Press podcast of Mary Beard discussing her new book. By the way, these podcasts on new books from HUP are very interesting. Listen to them all!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Historical Conditions, Ideological Struggles, and State Policies Toward Religion
"Why do secular states pursue substantially different policies toward religion? The United States, France, and Turkey are secular states that lack any official religion and have legal systems free from religious control."
Aesthetics Surgery and Religion: Islamic Law Perspective
"Even if it clearly considers "changing the creation of Allah" as unlawful, Islamic law is ambiguous regarding cosmetic surgery. Its objection to cosmetic surgery is not absolute."
Empire by invitation: Greek political strategies and Roman imperial interventions in the second century BCE
"Greek politicians in the second century B.C.E. increasingly turned to Roman authorities in order to defeat their political opposition."
The Integration of Western Modernism in Postcolonial Arabic Literature: a study of Abdul-Wahhab Al-Bayati's Third World Poetics
"Transforming Western modernist strategies into a revolutionary construct, Al-Bayati aims to challenge internal oppression and external hegemony."
Disappearing origins: Sephardic autobiography today
"Focusing on memoirists of Spanish-Portuguese background, however attenuated, I read the tarnished but treasured place of Sefarad in these recent works and interpret the authors' often ambivalent self-location with regard to Sephardic identity."
The busy countryside of Late Roman Corinth - Interpreting ceramic data produced by regional archaeological surveys (Eastern Korinthia Archaeological Survey)
"Using data generated by the Eastern Korinthia Archaeological Survey, the author examines the evidence for the frequently attested "explosion" of Late Roman settlement in the Corinthia..."
History, power, and electricity: American popular magazine accounts of electroconvulsive therapy, 1940-2005
"This article analyzes the popular accounts over time, particularly the ways in which the debates over ECT have revolved around different interpretations of ECT's history and its power dynamics."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are some recent survey articles from Blackwell Compass, which give broad overviews of current scholarship on topics of interest. Good place to start research or catch up after a time away. Blackwell Compass is composed of eight different individual Compass journals: History, Geography, Literature, Language and Linguisitics, Philosophy, Religion, Sociology, and Social and Personality Psychology.
Kabbalah: A Medieval Tradition and Its Modern Appeal
"Although scholarship on kabbalah has flourished in the twentieth century, kabbalah has become a variant of New-Age religions, accessible to all, regardless of ethnic identity or spiritual readiness."
Indian Buddhist Preachers Inside and Outside the Sutras
"This article explores a few portraits of preachers painted in the Buddhist sūtra corpus, and attempts to draw provisional conclusions regarding the impact of such portraits on Buddhist preachers’ own conceptions of doctrinal authority."
The Neglected Social Psychology of Institutional Racism
"These issues can be illuminated by critically reviewing how theories of institutional racism and institutionalized discrimination handle issues of social psychology. Issues of social psychology are often treated only minimally or implicitly, and often dismissively."
Understanding Contemporary Millenarian Violence
"...focusing on the key recurring characteristics and dynamics that have been highlighted by commentators as playing a significant role in both predisposing millenarian groups to volatility/violence..."
Views of Jihad Throughout History
"The essay traces the transformations in the meanings of jihad – and the related concepts of martyr and martyrdom – from the earliest period of Islam through the late medieval period and down to our present time."
How to Use Modern Critical Editions of Medieval Latin Texts
"To use these editions effectively, we must be aware of the theories, assumptions, and conventions that underlie them."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
