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CALL FOR PAPERS
<br>
<br>
XXI Finnish Symposium on Late Antiquity
<br>
Tvärminne, Finland, 12-13 October, 2012
<br>
<b>Popular & Elite: Religious Practices in Late Antiquity
</b><br>
<br>
(Please, feel free to forward this message to any relevant forum.)
<br>
<br>
The XXI Finnish Symposium on Late Antiquity will be organized on
October 12-13, 2012. The aim of the symposium is to bring together
students and scholars with an interest in Late Antiquity from a
variety of universities and disciplines. This year, we explore
broadly the interaction between popular and elite religious
practices in Late Antiquity, but suggestions for papers dealing with
other topics will also be considered. Our main aim is to stimulate
interdisciplinary dialogue between philology, archaeology, history,
theology, art history and other disciplines that deal with Late
Antiquity. Geographically, the focus of the symposium is on the
Mediterranean world.
<br>
<br>
The symposium will be organized in the premises of a zoological
research station operated by the University of Helsinki at a
beautiful location at Tvärminne on the southern coast of Finland (<a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://luoto.tvarminne.helsinki.fi/english">http://luoto.tvarminne.helsinki.fi/english</a>).
It is organized by Classical Philology (Department of World
Cultures, University of Helsinki) together with an interdisciplinary
organizing committee (see below).
<br>
<br>
This year's symposium features three specially invited speakers,
<br>
<br>
- Guy Stroumsa (Oriental Institute, University of Oxford / The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem): 'Reading practices in early
Christianity and the individualization process'. Prof. Guy Stroumsa
is the specialist of intellectual and cultural history of ancient
religions, especially early Christianity with a focus on esoteric
traditions. He has published e.g., Hidden Wisdom: Esoteric
Traditions and the Roots of Christian Mysticism (1996), Barbarian
Philosophy: The Religious Revolution of Early Christianity (1999)
and La fin du sacrifice: Mutations religieuses de l'antiquité
tardive (2005, in English The End of Sacrifice: Religious
Transformations of Late Antiquity (2009).
<br>
- Sarah Stroumsa (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem): 'Mass
education and elite formation: the Almohad version'. Prof. Sarah
Stroumsa is the specialist of ancient and medieval Jewish and
Islamic philosophies. She has published e.g., Maimonides in his
World: Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker (2009) and Freethinkers
of Medieval Islam: Ibn al-Rawandi, Abu Bakr al-Razi, and Their
Impact on Islamic Thought (1999).
<br>
- Reidar Aasgaard (University of Oslo): 'Childhoods A.D. 400:
Three saints on Christian upbringing'. Prof. Aasgaard is the
specialist of ancient religions, esp. Christianity and the history
of childhood. Among his publications are The Childhood of Jesus:
Decoding the Apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Eugene (2009) and
My beloved brothers and sisters! Christian Siblingship in Paul
(2004).
<br>
<br>
There is space for a maximum of eight more papers. If you wish to
deliver a paper, please send a short abstract (of less than 300
words) by June 1st, 2012 to Dr. Ville Vuolanto (<a
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:ville.vuolanto@uta.fi">ville.vuolanto@uta.fi</a>).
Applicants will be informed by late June whether they have been
accepted. We have reserved 30 minutes for each presentation,
including discussion following the paper. Therefore, we recommend
limiting the papers to 15 minutes.
<br>
<br>
The seminar is free. We will offer transportation from Helsinki to
Tvärminne and back, as well as accommodation, meals, coffee and
sauna at Tvärminne. However, we are not able to cover the costs for
travelling to Helsinki first, or accommodation there. Registration
for the conference will start August 15th, 2012.
<br>
<br>
The Finnish Symposium on Late Antiquity is organized annually since
1992. It started as a Finnish-language seminar for postgraduate
students. However, over the years, more and more papers were
presented by established scholars. Moreover, in many years, a few
well-known scholars were invited from abroad, and the language of
the symposium was changed to English, thus making it more and more
international. This year, for the second time, we do not only have a
few specially invited guests from abroad, but we invite suggestions
for papers from anyone who is interested. In keeping with the
symposium’s traditions, we encourage not only senior, but also
junior scholars and postgraduate students to participate.
<br>
<br>
The organizing committee:
<br>
- Maijastina Kahlos (Classics, University of Helsinki)
<br>
- Ulla Tervahauta (Biblical Studies, University of Helsinki)
<br>
- Ville Vuolanto (History, University of Tampere)
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v
Ville Vuolanto
PhD, Senior Lecturer in History
School of Social Sciences and Humanities
University of Tampere
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/historia/www/person.php?id=38&lang=en">http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/historia/www/person.php?id=38&lang=en</a></pre>
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