PRAYER, MAGIC, and the STARS
catherine yronwode
cat
-----------------------------
A CALL FOR PAPERS
for an interdisciplinary symposium on
PRAYER, MAGIC, and the STARS
in the Ancient and Late Antique World
March 3-5, 2000
University of Washington-Seattle
A desire to tap into the divine (or demonic) powers of the cosmos,
especially those powers linked to the heavens, pervades the history of
religion in the ancient and late antique world. This symposium examines
the manifold techniques and traditions -- both sanctioned and
unsanctioned, individual and communal -- by which men and women in the
ancient and late antique world sought to gain access to that power. To
explore this topic, we have invited a group of speakers whose expertise
ranges from ancient Mesopotamian astronomy and astrology to the
Christian magical papyri of early Islamic Egypt. Other topics we hope
to explore at the symposium include: astral cults; temple rituals;
prayer and sacrifice; the use of sacred or magical texts; the power of
words; philosophical conceptions of the heavens; and the relationship
between sanctioned and magical methods of accessing the divine. We
especially encourage submissions from recent Ph.D.s and advanced
graduate students.
The following speakers are scheduled to present papers at the symposium:
*Chris Faraone
(Associate Professor of Classics, University of Chicago),
Greek religion and magic.
*Sarah Iles Johnston
(Associate Professor of Greek and Latin, Ohio State University),
Greek and Roman religion.
*Marvin Meyer
(Professor of Religious Studies, Chapman University),
early Christianity, including Coptic Christianity, magic and prayer in
Late Antiquity.
*Michael Morony
(Associate Professor of History, UCLA),
Magic and Society in Late Sasanian Iraq.
*Robert Ritner
(Associate Professor of Egyptology, University of Chicago),
Egyptian magic and religion.
*Francesca Rochberg
(Professor of History, University of California, Riverside),
Mesopotamian astronomy and astrology.
*Mark Smith
(Professor of Theology, St. Joseph's University),
Hebrew Bible, Northwest Semitic astral religion.
*Michael Swartz
(Associate Professor of Hebrew and Religious Studies, Ohio State),
Judaism in late antiquity, heavenly ascent, ritual studies.
Jonathan Z. Smith of the University of Chicago will deliver the key-note
address for the colloquium.
For more information about the symposium, please see our WEB site at
<http://weber.u.washington.edu/~snoegel/stars.html>
Or contact the symposium organizers or to send abstracts (up to 750
words) please write:
Scott Noegel (sno...@u.washington.edu) or
Joel Walker (jwa...@u.washington.edu).
Please send any inquiries via regular US mail to:
Dr. Scott Noegel
Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization
Box 353120
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
The symposium is sponsored by the Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the
Humanities and the following departments and programs at the University
of Washington: Near Eastern Languages and Civilization; Classics;
History; Art History; Jewish Studies; Comparative Religion; the Henry M.
Jackson School for International Studies; the University Bookstore; and
the Graduate School.
Comments: To: LT-A...@VM.SC.EDU
Comments: cc: Joel Walker <jwa...@u.washington.edu>