Comparative Studies of the Premodern World
The Boston University Comparative Studies of the Premodern World Initiative aims to enhance communication between BU faculty members working on different regions and periods of the premodern world (broadly conceived as ancient, medieval through early modern), inspire collaborative research and teaching, increase the visibility of premodern studies and coursework at BU, and respond and contribute to the search for bold and sophisticated comparisons of the world’s cultural traditions that has recently gained momentum in many fields. Ultimately, we strongly hope that our initiative can help reinvigorate the role of the humanities in academia and society and imagine new models for their relevance. The inititative is supported by BU’s Center for the Humanities and the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature and includes regular topical research workshops, workshops on teaching in comparison and invited lectures. All events are open to interested BU and non-BU faculty and students.
2011-12 Workshops
4-6 PM
FALL 2012
November 3
Cultural Encounters, Travel, Contact Zones
Presenters: Beth Goldsmith (Romance Studies), Sunil Sharma (MLCL)
December 1
Rise of the City, Cities in Comparison
Presenters: David Carballo (Archaeology), Stephen Scully (Classics), Michael Zank (Religion)
SPRING 2012
Tuesday, February 7
CAS 132
4-6 pm
(NOTE: NEW DATE AND LOCATION)
Current World Literature Debates and the Premodern World: Paradoxes and Prospects
Guest Speaker: David Damrosch (Harvard University, Comparative Literature)
Presenters: Emily Hudson (Religion), Sanjay Krishnan (English), Wiebke Denecke (MLCL)
GUEST SPEAKER BIO:
David Damrosch is Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University, and is a past president of the American Comparative Literature Association. His books include What Is World Literature? (2003), The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh (2007), and How to Read World Literature (2009). He is the founding general editor of the six-volume Longman Anthology of World Literature (2004) and co-editor (with Theo D’haen and Djelal Kadir) of The Routledge Companion to World Literature (2011), and is the founding director of the Institute for World Literature.
Reading: Damrosch “Frames for World Literature”
Thursday, March 22
4-6 PM
745 Commonwealth Ave, School of Theology, Room 625
Court Cultures in Comparison
Presenters: Gina Cogan (Religion), Emine Fetvaci (Art History), James Uden (Classics)
Reading 1: Love in the Album of Ahmed I
Reading 2: Earinus the Eunuch: Martial
Reading 3: GCoganBunchiIsshiPremodern
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Keynote Lecture
Monday, April 2
The Castle, 225 Bay State Road
4-6pm
Difference and Hermeneutics: Comparative Approaches to the Premodern World
Guest Speaker: Prof. Jan Assmann (University of Konstanz)
Discussant: Professor Christopher I. Lehrich (BU, Religion)
GUEST SPEAKER BIO:
Jan Assmann was Professor of Egyptology at the University of Heidelberg from 1976 – 2003 and is now Honorary Professor of Cultural and Religious Studies at Constance, Germany. A specialist on ancient Egyptian religion, literature and history, he has also published books and articles in the area of cultural theory (“cultural memory”), history of religion (“monotheism and cosmotheism”), literary theory and historical anthropology. As a visiting professor, he has taught in Paris, Jerusalem, and at several universities in the US. He has received honorary degrees from Münster, Yale, and Jerusalem. Assmann is a member of the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, the European Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Academia Europea.
His books in English include Moses the Egyptian (Harvard, 1997), The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs (Harvard 2003), The Search for God in Ancient Egypt (Cornell 2002), Death and Salvation in Ancient Egypt (Cornell 2006); Of God and Gods (Madison 2008); Religion and Cultural Memory (Stanford UP 2005); The Price of Monotheism (Stanford UP 2009); and Cultural Memory and Early Civilizations (Cambridge UP 2011)
Awards: Max-Planck-Forschungspreis 1996; Deutscher Historikerpreis 1998. Prix Psyché 2000; Alfried Krupp Forschungspreis für Geisteswissenschaften (2006); Bundesverdienstkreuz I. Klasse (2006); Prix Européen de l’essay (2008); Thomas-Mann-Preis (2011).
The lecture will be followed by a short reception with light appetizers.
During his visit Professor Assmann will also deliver three other lectures at BU and beyond:
April 3, 2012: Joseph in Egypt: From the Bible to Thomas Mann
4-6pm
Venue: Brandeis University (Mandel Reading Room, 303 )
http://www.brandeis.edu/mandelhumanities/events/index.html
April 4, 2012: Politics, Religion and Violence: The Maccabean Wars
5 PM
Respondent: Martin Kavka (Department of Religion, Florida State University)
Moderator: Michael Zank (Department of Religion, Boston University)
Venue: Institute for Philosophy and Religion, Boston University School of Law, Barristers Hall, 765 Commonwealth Ave (first floor)
April 5, 2012: Egyptian Mysteries and Secret Societies in the Age of Enlightenment
Sponsored by the Harvard University Department of Comparative Literature
6-7:30pm
Venue: Harvard University (Harvard Hall 104)
http://complit.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k64196&tabgroupid=icb.tabgroup92591
For more information, please contact Prof. Wiebke Denecke (denecke@bu.edu) or Prof. Sunil Sharma (sharma@bu.edu).
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