All posts by Rick Bonnie

Events

Report on the “Second Workshop on Gender, Methodology and the Ancient Near East”

By Saana Svärd and Agnès Garcia-Ventura

The “Second Workshop on Gender, Methodology and the Ancient Near East” took place in Barcelona February 1-3, 2017. The workshop was hosted by IPOA, the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies of the University of Barcelona (Spain), and organized in cooperation with the Centre of Excellence in “Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions” (University of Helsinki, Finland). Organizers were Agnès Garcia-Ventura (IPOA, University of Barcelona) and Saana Svärd (University of Helsinki). The workshop was a continuation of the “First Workshop on Gender, Methodology and the Ancient Near East.” The first workshop was organized by the same two scholars at the University of Helsinki in October 2014 and hosted by the Centre of Excellence in “Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions.”

The aim of both meetings was to discuss different methodological and theoretical approaches to gender within the framework of ancient Near Eastern studies (including archaeology, art history and text studies) and to enable fruitful dialogue between these approaches. Moreover, for this second workshop, colleagues from neighboring disciplines were also encouraged to submit proposals, in order to enrich these conversations further. As a result, the second workshop included colleagues from the disciplines of Assyriology, Archaeology, Egyptology, Phoenician and Punic studies, and Biblical studies (see the full program).

The conference lasted three days and featured 33 communications, a poster session where six posters were presented, and a projects panel where nine new and ongoing projects where discussed. The event was well attended and all in all included roughly 90 participants, including speakers and poster presenters. The speakers and poster presenters came from various universities in twelve countries, namely Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

The results of such a rich and diverse conference cannot be summed up in a short blog post. Suffice it to say here that the sheer chronological, geographical and methodological scope, as well as the general high quality of papers, promises good things for the future of gender studies within the context of ancient Near Eastern studies.

The organizers: Agnès Garcia-Ventura and Saana Svärd

Since both workshops have been well received and the number of participants has increased, the organizers decided to plan a third workshop in the series, hoping the initiative will have continuity as a biannual conference. Thus, the third edition of the meeting, co-organized in cooperation with Professor Katrien De Graef, will be hosted by the University of Ghent (Belgium) in 2019. More information will be published in due time. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions and/or if you want us to keep you posted on other future ventures related to gender studies and ancient Near Eastern studies we may launch. You may contact us at: agnes.ventura[AT]gmail.com or saana.svard[AT]helsinki.fi.

Media, Suomeksi

Tiedeykkönen valottaa Raamatun muutoshistoriaa

Vanhan testamentin eksegetiikan professorit Martti Nissinen (huippuyksikön johtaja) ja Anneli Aejmelaeus (tiimin 2 johtaja) vierailivat Ylen Tiedeykkönen ohjelmassa kertomassa huippuyksikön tutkimuksesta ja Raamatun synty- ja muutoshistoriasta. 45 minuuttia kestävässä ohjelmassa lähdetään liikkeelle huippuyksikön esittelystä ja päädytään Raamatun värikkään muutoshistorian eri vaiheiden kuvailuun.

Martti Nissinen kertoo ohjelmassa, miksi ”Pyhät tekstit ja traditiot muutoksessa” -huippuyksikkö on luonteeltaan niin kansainvälinen. Lisäksi Nissinen avaa huippuyksikön tavotteita vuodelle 2019 ja kuvailee Vanhan testamentin tekstihistorian keskeisiä vaiheita. Nissisen keskeinen viesti on, että historiassa ei ole ollut yhtään sellaista hetkeä, jolloin Raamatun teksti olisi ollut valmis tai kaikille sama. Ensimmäisistä kirjakääröistä moderneihin käännöksiin asti juutalaisten ja kristittyjen pyhä kirjakokoelma on ollut kokoajan muutoksen alaisena.

Anneli Aejmelaeus puolestaan avaa kaanonin eli ohjeellisen kirjakokoelman synnyn monimuotoisia vaiheita. Kansien väliin koottu nykykristittyjen Raamattua muistuttava kokoelma on ollut ensimmäistä kertaa olemassa vasta 300-luvulla, kun Rooman valtakunnan tuki on mahdollistanut kalliin projektin toteuttamisen. Vanhan testamentin ensimmäisen kreikankielisen käännöksen eli Septuagintan ja Qumranin tekstilöytöjen tutkimus osoittaa, että ajanlaskun taitteessa monet tekstit ovat olleet vielä kehitystyön alla. Aejmelaeus korostaa, että nykyraamattujen kääntämisessä käytetyn tarkkaan yhtenäistetyn ja vakinaistetun heprealaisen tekstin takana on ollut tekstien moninaisuus. Yhtenäisyys on myöhäisempää kehitystä.

Haastattelujen lomassa ohjelmassa kerrataan yleistajuisesti ja napakasti Raamatun tekstihistorian keskeisimpiä vaiheita. Ylen laadukkaasti toimitetun ohjelman voit kuunnella täältä: http://areena.yle.fi/1-3961990

Interviews

Reflecting on a Career Studying the Septuagint: An Interview With Anneli Aejmelaeus

2 Comments

1. What is your research about, in general terms?
 My special area of research is the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, translated by Jews during the 3rd–1st centuries BCE in Alexandria. I am preparing the first critical edition of the Septuagint text of the First Book of Samuel (= First Kingdoms) for the series of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen. However, this work cannot be done without all the time having an eye on the text of the Hebrew Bible, as I need to reconstruct the kind of Hebrew text that was used by the translator and to survey the translation technique and the competence of the translator. Practically, I am doing textual criticism of the Greek and the Hebrew text of 1 Samuel at the same time. But this is the only way to proceed with the critical edition. Continue reading Reflecting on a Career Studying the Septuagint: An Interview With Anneli Aejmelaeus →

Events

Samuel-Kings Editors’ Workshop (Thu 12 Jan, Helsinki)

On 12.–14.1.2017 the University of Helsinki will host the Samuel-Kings Editors’ Workshop which will bring together the critical edition projects of The Göttingen Septuagint and The Hebrew Bible – A Critical Edition (HBCE) on the Books of Samuel and Kings. The workshop sessions will consist of hands-on work with practical text-critical issues. As both projects aim at establishing a critical, eclectic text – the closest attainable approximation to the archetype – the focus will be especially on the most difficult critical decisions.

As a part of the workshop, on Thursday 12.1.2017 18:00–19:30, there will be an opportunity for everyone interested in textual research to get to know the five projects, their goals and their methods, their problems and their discoveries.

Venue: Faculty of Theology, Faculty Hall (Fabianinkatu 24, 5th floor)

18:00–19:00 — Short presentations:
– Göttingen 1 Samuel (Anneli Aejmelaeus, Helsinki)
– Göttingen 2 Samuel (Tuukka Kauhanen, Helsinki)
– Göttingen 1–2 Kings (Pablo Torijano, Madrid)
– HBCE 1 Kings (Jan Joosten, Oxford)
– HBCE 2 Kings (Andrés Piquer, Madrid)

19:00–19:30 — Discussion

For more information, please contact: tuukka.kauhanen@helsinki.fi

Education, Suomeksi

Qumranin löydöt mullistivat käsityksemme raamatusta – katso videohaastattelu

Akatemiatutkija Jutta Jokiranta avaa uudessa videohaastattelussa Qumranin tekstien eli Kuolleenmeren kääröjen merkitystä Raamatun ja uskonnon historian tutkimukselle. 1940-50 -luvuilla tehdyt löydöt toivat esiin lähes tuhat kirjakääröä, jotka sisältävät tuhat vuotta varhaisempia Vanhan testamentin käsikirjoituksia kuin ennen löytöä tunnetut hepreankieliset tekstit.

– Tekstit ovat peräisin ajalta ennen kaanoneita. Ne osoittavat, miten Raamattu ei ollut kirjanmuotoinen kirja, vaan oli useita käsikirjoitusrullia, jotka poikkesivat toisistaan. Löydöt osoittavat, miten elävä tekstiperinne se oli tähän aikaan.

Kuolleenmeren kääröt ovat myös mullistaneet vanhaa oletusta siitä, että Jeesuksen ajan juutalaisuus olisi ollut puhtaasti lakihenkinen ja ulkokultaisia säädöksiä korostava uskonto. Esimerkiksi rukous- ja siunaustekstit osoittavat, että ajan juutalaiset korostivat henkilökohtaista uskoa ja ajatusta siitä, että Jumala on valinnut ihmisen ja ihminen on täysin riippuvainen Jumalasta.

– Toisaalta meillä on myös tarkkoja ruokaan ja elämäntapaan liittyviä säädöksiä. Tämä yhdistelmä, että meillä on sekä hengellistä elämää että tarkkoja säädöksiä sopii yhteen uuden uskonnontutkimuksen mukaisen näkökulman kanssa, että ihminen on kokonaisuus. Uskonto ei ole joko tai, vaan erilaiset näkökulmat ovat läsnä samassa yksilössä ja yhteisössä.

Videolla Jokiranta myös muistuttaa, että suomalaiset voivat olla ylpeitä siitä, miten merkittävää Qumranin tekstien tutkimusta maassamme tehdään.

– Joskus suomalainen lukiolainen tietää aiheesta enemmän kuin keskimääräinen israelilainen yliopisto-opiskelija. Meillä on ymmärretty, että yksinkertaistava Raamatun idea, joka on nykyään läsnä monissa uskonnollisissa yhteisöissä, on aika myöhäinen. Jos me halutaan ymmärtää meille tärkeää Raamattua, pitää ottaa huomioon kaikki mahdollinen evidenssi. Suomalaiset osaavat myös etsiä aktiivisesti tiedealarajat ylittäviä näkökulmia. Se on vienyt meidät eteenpäin huippuyksikköön asti.

Haastattelu on vuoden 2016 osalta viimeinen osa Suomen Akatemian “Pyhät tekstit ja traditiot muutoksessa” -huippuyksikön nettihaastattelusarjaa, jossa keskustellaan ajankohtaisista aiheista yksikön tutkijoiden kanssa.

Teksti: Ville Mäkipelto

General

CSTT Youtube-channel + new “video”-section

As you may have seen already, the CSTT now has its own Youtube channel, where we’ll showcase the latest biblical and related research to the wider Finnish public. You can reach the Youtube channel by clicking on the youtube2 button in the website’s upper-left corner.vThe videos will also be displayed in our new “video”-section on our website (see left-side menu > ‘Videot’).

screenshot-2016-12-06-11-28-42
Screenshot of the CSTT Youtube channel.

We hope that these videos — so far all in Finnish — may be useful for high school teaching and to engage high school pupils with current research in biblical studies and related fields! So far two videos have been posted online, one with Saana Svärd and one with Juha Pakkala.

Please tell us below in the comment-section what you think about the videos and what you’d like to see to be changed in terms of format!

Education, Suomeksi

Voiko Raamattua käyttää maahanmuuttokeskustelussa? Katso videohaastattelu

Eksegetiikan ja Raamatun heprean yliopistonlehtori Juha Pakkala toteaa uudessa videohaastattelussa, että Vanhassa testamentissa ei ole yhtenäistä linjaa suhteessa maahanmuuttoon ja vierasmaalaisiin.

– Vanha testamentti on hyvin monen kirjoittajan toimesta, eri kontekstien ja pitkän ajan kuluessa syntynyt kirjakokoelma. Siellä on monenlaista ääntä ja monenlaista näkemystä.

Pakkala hahmottelee kolme erilaista suhtautumistapaa vierasmaalaisuuteen, jotka näkyvät eri tekstigenreissä. Yhtäältä teksteistä löytyy muinaisen Lähi-idän kontekstiin nähden poikkeuksellisen myötämielinen suhtautuminen muukalaisiin. Toisaalta useissa kirjoista kehotetaan tiukkaan erottautumiseen ja suorastaan vihamieliseen suhtautumiseen.

– Joissain teksteissä käsketään jopa tuhoamaan ja tappamaan vierasmaalaiset. Tämä tulee esille hyvin selvästi esimerkiksi Joosuan kirjassa, jossa valloitetaan maa ja käsketään tuhoamaan kaikki sen asukkaat.

Haastattelussa Pakkala muistuttaa, että suurin osa Vanhan testamentin teksteistä on itse asiassa pakolaisuudessa syntyneitä. Silloinkin kun kuvataan vanhempia aikoja, se tehdään projisoiden kirjoitushetken pakolaisuuden kokemusta historiaan. Siksi pakolaisuus ja maahanmuutto ovat aivan keskeisiä teemoja Vanhan testamentin tutkimuksessa.

Kysyttäessä Raamatun tekstien soveltamisesta nykypäivään Pakkala peräänkuuluttaa vastuullisuutta ja kriittisyyttä.

– On tärkeää ymmärtää Vanhan testamentin monimutkainen syntyhistoria ja se konteksti, jossa tekstit ovat syntyneet. Me ei voida vain ottaa sitaattia tai yhtä lausetta Raamatusta ja suoraan soveltaa sitä nykykontekstiin. Erityisesti tutkijoiden vastuulla on tuoda esille Raamatun tekstien kriittistä käyttöä.

Haastattelu on toinen osa Suomen Akatemian “Pyhät tekstit ja traditiot muutoksessa” -huippuyksikön nettihaastattelusarjaa, jossa keskustellaan ajankohtaisista aiheista yksikön tutkijoiden kanssa. Sarjan osia julkaistaan lisää talven mittaan.

Teksti: Ville Mäkipelto

Events

Programme for 2nd Workshop on Gender, Methodology and the Ancient Near East

1 Comment

We have the pleasure to invite participants to the  “Second Workshop on Gender, Methodology, and the Ancient Near East.” The workshop will be held in Barcelona, February 1-3, 2017 and hosted by the IPOA (University of Barcelona) and organized in cooperation with The Centre of Excellence in ‘Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions’ (University of Helsinki). The aim of the meeting is to discuss different methodological and theoretical approaches to gender within the framework of ancient Near Eastern studies (including archaeology, art history and text studies) and to enable fruitful dialogues between these approaches and between different fields.

The provisional program of the meeting can be seen below. It is free for participation, but registration is needed. If you are planning to join us, please send an email to one or both of us: Dr. Saana Svärd and Dr. Agnès Garcia-Ventura
***************************************************

Second Workshop on Gender, Methodology and the Ancient Near East
Universitat de Barcelona, February 1-3, 2017
Hosts: IPOA, Universitat de Barcelona / Centre of Excellence “Sacred Texts in Change” in the University of Helsinki
Organizers: Agnès Garcia-Ventura (“Sapienza”, Università degli Studi di Roma / IPOA, Universitat de Barcelona)  / Saana Svärd (University of Helsinki)

Wednesday February 1st 2017
9.00-9.45: welcome and introduction
9.00-9.15: Welcome: Adelina Millet Albà, director of the IPOA
9.15-9.45: Presentation and introduction to the workshop: Agnès Garcia-Ventura & Saana Svärd, “Studying Gender in the Ancient Near East: An Introduction”

9.45-11.15: panel 1 (Chair: Adelina Millet Albà)
9.45-10.15: Ann Guinan, “Dressing the Whore of Babylon for the 21st Century: Sex, Gender and Theory in Mesopotamian Studies”
10.15-10.45: Gioele Zisa, “Queering šà-zi.ga Therapy. Considerations on the Relations between Masculinity, Sickness and Anatomy”
10.45-11.15: M. Erica Couto-Ferreira: “Domesticating the Female Body: Ancient Mesopotamian Discourses on Fertility and (Re)production”

11.15-11.45: coffee break

11.45-13.45: panel 2 (Chair: Katrien De Graef)
11.45-12.15: Helga Vogel: “Is ‘Harem’ a Useful Category for Describing and Analysing the Living Conditions of ancient Near Eastern Women?”
12.15-12.45: Leire Olabarria: “Kinship and Gender in Dialogue: Approaching Relatedness in ancient Egypt”
12.45-13.15: Jacquelyn Williamson: “Nefertiti and the ‘Docile Agent’”
13.15-13.45: Thais Rocha da Silva: “Gender Studies and Daily Life in ancient Egypt: Theoretical Problems and new Perspectives”

13.45-15.00: lunch break (catered lunch for speakers and poster presenters)

15.00-16.30: panel 3: poster session (Chair: Agnès Garcia-Ventura)
15.00-15.30: presentation of posters (plenary, room 0.1)
15.30-16.30: discussion of posters (individually, with each presenter, room 0.3; the poster room will be also open during breaks on Thursday and Friday).

Confirmed poster presenters (by alphabetical order): Mina Dabbagh, Sara González, HESTIA research group (Ana Delgado, Meritxell Ferrer and Mireia López-Bertran), Elena Martínez Rodríguez, Michèle Meijer, Omar N’Shea, TÀCITA MUTA research group (Cristina Yúfera, Georgina Rabassó and David Muñoz).

16.30-17.00: fruit break (room 0.3)

17.00-19.00: panel 4 (Chair: Jacquelyn Williamson)
17.00-17.30: Katrien De Graef: “A Room of Her Own? On the Origin, Meaning, and Functioning of the Gagûm in Old Babylonian Sippar”
17.30-18.00: Josué J. Justel: “Remarkable Women from Tikunani: The Role of Women in Palatial Administration”
18.00-18.30: Anne-Isabelle Langlois: “The Princess Iltani’s Archives uncovered at Tell al-Rimah (18th century BC)”
18.30-19.00: Laura Cousin / Yoko Watai: “Onomastics of Women in the Neo-Babylonian Period: An Approach from Gender Studies”

Thursday February 2nd 2017
9.30-11.30: panel 5 (Chair: Ann Guinan)
9.30-10.00: Sophus Helle: “The Dynamics of a Three-sex Model”
10.00-10.30: Ilan Peled: “Identifying Gender Ambiguity in Texts and Artifacts”
10.30-11.00: Megan Cifarelli: “Problematizing Masculinity and Militarization at Hasanlu, Iran”
11.00-11.30: Laura B. Mazow: “Of War and Weaving: ‘Swords’ and the Complexities of Archaeological Reconstructions of Gender”

11.30-12.00: coffee break

12.00-14.00: panel 6 (Chair: Josué J. Justel)
12.00-12.30: Jana Matuszak: “Assessing Misogyny in Sumerian Advice Literature, Dialogues, and Diatribes”
12.30-13.00: Frauke Weiershäuser: “Narrating about women, narrating about men”
13.00-13.30: Vanessa Juloux: “Philosophy of action and pragmatic approach: a concrete example with ʿAnatu of Ugarit”

13.30-13.45: group photo

13.45-15.30: lunch break

15.30-17.00: panel 7 (Chair: Frances Pinnock)
15.30-16.00: Stephanie Lynn Budin, “Potent Images: The Nude Female Icon as Locus of Power”
16.00-16.30: Elisa Roßberger: “The gendered body as symbolic artefact. Changes in terracotta production in early second millennium Mesopotamia”
16.30-17.00: Erin Darby: “Sex Symbols: Ritual Production and Performativity in Female Near Eastern Terracottas”

17.00-17.30: fruit break (room 0.3)

17.30-19.00: panel 8 – projects panel (Chair: Saana Svärd)
In this panel some current ongoing (or just launched projects) will be presented. In addition, participants will be encouraged to discuss networking possibilities and development of future projects to promote the study of gender in the ancient Near East. The following projects (provisional list) will be presented:
Beth Alpert Nakhai: “Field Safety: Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean Basin”
Katrien De Graef: “GAND = Gender and Assyriology: New Developments”
Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme: “Food and Identity in Biblical Literature”
Amy Gansell: “Introducing a Queen to the Virtual Reality Simulation of Nimrud’s Northwest Palace”
Josué J. Justel & Agnès Garcia-Ventura: “Editing a handbook on women in the ancient Near East in Spanish”
Ilan Peled: “LaOCOST – Law and Order: Cuneiform Online Sustainable Tool”
Stephanie Budin“Women in Antiquity. Real Women across the Ancient World”

20.00 Conference dinner (for speakers and poster presenters, by invitation)

Friday February 3rd 2017
9.30-11.30: panel 9 (Chair: Beth Alpert Nakhai)
9.30-10.00: Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme: “Death at the Hand of a Woman: Hospitality and Gender in the Hebrew Bible”
10.00-10.30: Sandra Jacobs: “’The Disposable Wife’ and Her Status in the Hebrew Bible”
10.30-11.00: Federico Dal Bo: “Women are like cattle”. Some Remarks on early Jewish Juridical Vocabulary on Women and Nature
11.00-11.30: Adelina Millet Albà: “Real characters or literary characters? The Matriarchs in the Bible”

11.30-12.00: coffee break

12.00-14.00: panel 10 (Chair: Saana Svärd)
12.00-12.30: Natalie N. May: “Female Scholarship in Mesopotamia?”
12.30-13.00: Sanae Ito: “Female and Male Scribes related to the Queen’s Household in the Assyrian Empire”
13.00-13.30: Frances Pinnock: “Amorite ladies at the Neo-Assyrian Court: building up an image, deconstructing an image, transmitting an image”
13.30-14.00: Amy Gansell: “Introducing a Queen to the Virtual Reality Simulation of Nimrud’s Northwest Palace”

14.00-15.30: lunch break

15.30-16.30: panel 11 (Chair: Stephanie Lynn Budin)
15.30-16.00: Anne-Caroline Rendu Loisel: “Gender, Sense and Sensitivity in Ancient Mesopotamian Rituals”
16.00-16.30: Mónica Palmero Fernández: “Inanna/Ishtar: religion, gender and power in the 3rd millennium B.C., or how to weave interdisciplinarity into the socio-political and socioeconomic analysis of belief”

16.30-17.00: fruit break (room 0.3)

17.00-18.30: panel 12 (Chair: Megan Cifarelli)
17.00-17.30: Beth Alpert Nakhai: “The Women of Jerusalem: Capital City Life in Israel’s Iron Age”
17.30-18.00: Helen Dixon: “Locating Phoenician Women: Space, Gender, and Social Roles in the Iron Age Central Levant”
18.00-18.30: Mireia López-Bertran: “Shrines for women?: Phoenician-Punic sanctuaries as feminine arenas”

18.30-19.00: concluding remarks and farewell

General

The Life of the Dead

Written by Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme

In late October the CSTT co-hosted a workshop on mortuary ritual together with the REECR. The workshop was a cross-disciplinary gathering, where scholars working within the fields of archaeology, religious studies and biblical studies could discuss aspects of mortuary ritual practices, such as funerary rituals, mourning, ancestor worship and other kinds of death-related ritual behaviour.

The two-day program consisted of eleven presentations by researchers working on contemporary thanatology (death studies) and ritual, the archaeology of death and mortuary ritual, and mortuary ritual in ancient texts. The workshop was an opportunity for scholars working in religious studies, archaeology and biblical studies to exchange ideas, material and methodologies and throughout the two days the discussion was lively, open and engaged.

juttajokinrantahelendixon
Helen Dixon presenting her research during the workshop, together with session chair Jutta Jokiranta (photo: Anne Katrine de Gudme Hemmer).

During the workshop it quickly became clear that although the presentations covered a timespan of almost 3000 years and the case-studies came from places as far apart as the Levant and Karelia in Eastern Finland there were many common denominators and aspects that kept appearing. The importance of space and materiality in relation to mortuary ritual was apparent both in contemporary and ancient practices. In many cases mortuary ritual aims to create presence out of absence and this is achieved by strategic interaction with objects and places. Another aspect that was central to many of the examples was the status changes that the dead undergo in mortuary ritual as they are transformed from corpses to the recently deceased and to venerated ancestors. It was apparent that the life of the dead in the sphere of mortuary ritual is surprisingly dynamic and changeable.

In the very first presentation on the first day of the workshop Professor Terhi Utriainen from the University of Helsinki introduced the concept of the ritual subjunctive mode. The ritual subjunctive, which was originally proposed by the American religious studies scholar Jonathan Z. Smith, is an ‘as-if’ mode of behaviour that combines the ways things actually are with the ways people would like them to be. This concept of ritual as an idealized version of the world turned out to be a very fruitful category to apply to several of the case-studies presented at the workshop. In tombs, in texts and in ritual practices the dead are often presented as peaceful, powerful and content and perhaps most important of all they are accessible. In this way, mortuary ritual enables continued social interaction with the dead so that although the living die, the dead live on – at least for as long as they are commemorated and their presence is ritually enacted.

The papers presented at the workshop will be revised and published by the Finnish Exegetical Society in a volume edited by Dr. Kirsi Valkama and Professor Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme. The book is expected to come out in 2018.

General

Conference Reflections on “Religion and Empire in the First Millennium BCE Levant” (Beirut, 22-25 October 2016)

Laura Wickström

Laura Wickström works as coordinator at FIME’s office in Beirut October 2015 – November 2016. She is a doctoral student at Åbo Akademi University and holds a Master of Arts degree in comparative religion and currently specializes in Islam and ecology within the Department of Comparative Religion.

The conference Religion and Empire in the First Millennium BCE Levant took place in Beirut, Lebanon, in October 2016. The three-day conference with excursions was jointly organized by the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in “Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions” at the University of Helsinki (CSTT), the Finnish Institute in the Middle East (FIME), and the Department of History and Archaeology at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Continue reading Conference Reflections on “Religion and Empire in the First Millennium BCE Levant” (Beirut, 22-25 October 2016) →