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<span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;"><b class="">Virginia Burrus,</b></span><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;"><span class=""> </span></span><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;">The
Bishop W. Earl Ledden Professor at Syracuse University, will be visiting the University of Helsinki May 15–16, 2019.<span class=""> </span></span><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;">Prof. Burrus is a world-leading
expert on Christianity in late antiquity, especially gender, sexuality, and the body; martyrdom and asceticism; ancient novels and hagiography; histories of theology and historical theologies. In her latest book,</span><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;"><i class=""><span class=""> </span>Ancient
Christian Ecopoetics: Cosmologies, Saints, Things<span class=""> </span></i></span><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;">(University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), Burrus </span><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); display: inline !important;" class="">facilitates
a provocative encounter between early Christian theology and contemporary ecological thought. During her visit in Helsinki, she</span></span><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;"> will offer two events:</span><br class="">
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<span style="margin: 0px;" class=""></span><span style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; font-size: 14pt;" class=""><b class="">1. Late Ancient Feminist Exegesis? The Life of Saint Helia (May 15)</b></span><span style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px;" class=""><br class="">
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<div style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="margin: 0px;" class="">Wednesday, May 15, 2–4 pm at the Faculty Hall, Vuorikatu 3, 5th floor</span><br class="">
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<span style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">No registration needed.</span></span><br class="">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; margin: 0px; color: rgb(32, 31, 30); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><i class="">The
Life of Saint Helia</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; margin: 0px; color: rgb(32, 31, 30); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span class=""> </span>is
a little-known late ancient Latin work that narrates 1) the dawning of a young girl's ascetic inclinations, 2) her resistance to her mother's insistence that she marry, and 3) her resulting trial before a judge in dialogue format, dominated by debates between
Helia and her mother and Helia and the judge, regarding the relative merits of virginity and marriage. In this workshop, we will discuss the text, especially the ways in which biblical texts are used in its argumentation. The event is organized by the research
project Lived Scriptures in Late Antiquity.</span><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(32, 31, 30); font-size: 15px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important;" class=""></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;" class=""></span>
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<div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt;" class="">To prepare for the workshop, please read through (the English translation) of the Life of Helia (available in V. Burrus & M. Conti, eds. The Life of Saint Helia: Critical
Edition, Translation, Introduction, and Commentary. Oxford University Press, 2013). For receiving the text, please
<a href="mailto:susanna.asikainen@helsinki.fi" class="">email susanna.asikainen@helsinki.fi</a></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14pt;" class=""><b class="">2. On Recognition of the Non-human (May 16)</b></span>
<div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt;" class="">Thursday, May 16, 12–4 pm at Room 204 at Kielikeskus (Fabianinkatu 26, 2nd floor)</span><br class="">
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<span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt;" class=""></span><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt;" class="">For catering purposes, please preregister (</span><a href="https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/97509/lomake.html" class="">https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/97509/lomake.html</a>) <span class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt;">by
Monday, May 13</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt;" class="">The seminar is organized by the CoE, Reason and Religious Recognition, and includes:</span></div>
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<li class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">Ancient Christian Ecopoetics – a keynote by Virginia Burrus</span></li><li class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">Responses: Dr. Miira Tuominen & Dr. Panu Pihkala</span></li><li class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">General discussion</span></li><li class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">Coffee break</span></li><li class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">Exploring Geocriticism: Saint Hilarion’s Orchard – an introduction & discussion</span></li></ul>
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<div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt;">In the latter part of the seminar, the aim will be to consider how the literary method of “geocriticism” might open up new readings of late ancient Christian texts, and
how they might be made more ecologically relevant. In preparation, please read Eric Prieto’s essay, “Geocriticism Meets Ecocriticism: Bertrand Westphal and Environmental Thinking”<span class=""> </span></span><span class="" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://epistemocritique.org/geocriticism-meets-ecocriticism-bertrand-westphal-and-environmental-thinking/" class="">http://epistemocritique.org/geocriticism-meets-ecocriticism-bertrand-westphal-and-environmental-thinking/</a> </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt;" class=""><b class="">You are cordially welcome to both events!</b></span><br class="">
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<span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt;" class=""></span><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt;" class="">For further inquiries, please contact Outi Lehtipuu,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:outi.lehtipuu@helsinki.fi" class="">outi.lehtipuu@helsinki.fi</a></span></div>
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