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Monday, March 28, 2016

My personal prespective on the Eurocentricism in Papyrology

Prof. Paul Schubert of Universités de Genève has shared in Papylist an interesting article in support of papyrology written by Prof. Dr. Stefan Rebenich of the Universität Bern. The piece appeared in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Here is a link to read it:http://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/der-stoff-auf-dem-die-ueberlieferung-lebt-1.18634635. Below is my personal prespctive not to the article itself, but to the whole question of the Eurocentricity in Papyrology.

Thanks, Prof. Schubert, for sharing this interesting article with us. It is indeed a very focused overview of papyrology. It's last paragraph asks explicitly the community to grant more support for this discipline, which faces, as all the fields of Altertumswissenschaften, the danger of extension. I suppose we need more and more of such articles to appear in the public media, in order to gain much more support and appreciation to our work. But let me direct the attention to two remarks,from my own Egyptian-Arabic prespictives, on this kind of very welcomed contributions asking for the support and the appreciation of our field from the society in a digital age.

I, as well as many (I suppose) in the Non-European world, have read this piece. The first thing to notice is that it is very eurocentric. With all due respect to the writer, I think this piece belongs to the past more than to the present or the future of papyrology. It speaks about the European past, as if these papyri were found in Europe! Except for Herculaneum papyri, most of not all of the other pieces of papyri were found in Egypt, as we all know. Generally speaking, most if not all the artifacts attesting ancient Greek (language and culture) come from countries situated in the so called "east" and now either part of the Arabic or the islamic world. So why to speak exclusively of European past? Maybe because most of the discovered papyri are written in ancient Greek. Yes, modern Greek is a European langauage and Greece is a European country, but again this doesn't make ancient Greek a monopoly for the modern Greek state and/or other European states. I myself see it as a common past for both east and west ( if this dichotomy betwen us really correct or exists). Speaking about the other, it is not secret that modern Arabic speaking countries have also a history with this particular language, especially in philosophy and science. Avicenna and Avirroes are the most prominent examples in this regard. I agree that the Greek literature was not part of medieval Arabic, but now it is part of modern Arabic. Taha Hussein and Cairo university are the pioneers in this regard. My alam mater Ain-Shams university provides studies in (Greek) papyrolgy on the levels of MA and PhD since the year of my birth (1978).Homer's Iliad is available to the Arabic reader in Arabic verse (since 100 years) and in prose (since few years). So I don't think that keeping this eurocentric tone and identification of a field that goes beyond the geographical boundaries of its raw materials as well as its main knowledge-production centers would do good to its future survival.

The same also applies to the total ignorance of any mention of Arabic papyri. The piece speaks of papyrology as if it is exclusively Greek. It ignores the fact that the very collection that the colleague mentions is one of the largest in Arabic materials. Yes, the piece is written by an ancient historian not by a medievalist, but after all he is a historian who talks to the public audience in Europe. Edward Gibbon in his famous work about the Roman empire was speaking also to European audience ( even before the EU), but he didn't in any way neglect the other. On the contrary he devoted chapters to the emerging Arabic-islamic neighbors. It is another age now and these neighbors are now not only neighbors, but some of them became European citizens too. Every one lives in Europe knows that there are now about 20 millions European Muslim citizens who identify themselves with European identity, but at the same time would be very much interested to any thing related to Islam and/or Arabic. They would also be of course interested in Greek and Latin not as a wall that separate them from their follow European, but as a bridge that connect them with him as well as their (Arabic) ancestors and neighbors. Pragmatically speaking there is a chance that among these millions a person or an institution that is interested in supporting Arabic or/and Greek papyri and papyrology, from this regard, in European universities.

On antoher scale, every one on the planet can read this article including people like me whose mother langauage is Arabic, native country is Egypt, studied Greek language and literature in the university and lives in Europe. I have to tell you frankly that sometimes I found myself perplexed in such situation, where papyri in my home country are either destroyed by people who want to gain some money by selling them to Europe or the States, or controlled by security forces to protect them from these people and accordingly not easily accessible to researcher like me. The dilemma becomes even bigger when these papyri are identified online by the predominant knowledge producing center (in Europe and the Sates) as not part of my national history.To make the situation even worst, all the knowledge are presented online with languages that are not understood by most of the people who are supposed to protect the sites where these papyri (and other artefacts) were found or would be found in the future. Just ask yourself now one last question, what is the result of such tone (identification) and practice. Let me tell you from my personal experience and view, the message delivered to the people in the east through all this. These (papyri and/or) artefacts are not part of your history; it is European. It doesn't have to do with your past, but you could make profit from it and change your present by selling it to the people who care about it. If you were not able to sell it, then destroy it. If someone of your people stood on your way while you sell or destroy these artefacts then kill him. In this I don't (and I don't have the right to) blame any one or excuse any one of his direct responsibility of his own words or actions. I'm just trying to represent the view as I understand it.

I may have gone so far in all this, but I believe this article with its tone and assertions belong to the past of papyrology not to its present or its hoped future, where this field of study, as well as Altertumswissenschaften, gets rid of its eurocentric past and look forward to its real international future, where the one (western, eastern etc.) knows himself, but doesn't ignore the other !

The database of Dar al-Kutub's Numismatic collection

It is not strictly papyrology, but it is very relevant since it concerns a numismatic collection in Egypt. It is also relevant because it has both English and Arabic interfaces, which is a something one wants to see in papyrology. The records have 6,500 numismatic pieces. More about it in English is to be found here:http://enl.numismatics.org/. If you would like to look at the Arabic see here:http://enl.numismatics.org/?lang=ar

Altertumswissenschaften in a Digital Age: Leipzig, 4.-6. November 2015

For the conference's program and abstracts see here:http://www.dh.uni-leipzig.de/wo/dhegypt15/. Below is the poster.

A new project to publish Karanis-Cairo papyri (Cairo-Michigan)

The Association of Egyptian Papyrologists (AEP) announces the inauguration of a project to publish the Karanis-Cairo (Cairo-Michigan) papyri housed in the Egyptian museum in Cairo. Some pictures on the website of the AEP represent the colleagues during their work on the envelopes. Another news announce the donation of restoration's materials to conserve the papyri. No further details is given. See the announcement on the website her: http://www.egypap.org/


Platinum: Papyri and LAtin Texts


Papyri and LAtin Texts: INsights and Updated Methodologies 

From the website of the project (accessed 22.3.2016):

The aim of PLATINUM is to scrutinize Latin texts on papyrus from several points of view in order to highlight their substantial contribution to our knowledge of innovations in ancient Roman literature, language, history, and society, especially in the multilingual and multicultural contexts of the Eastern part of the Empire between the 1st century B.C. and 8th century A.D. The first phase of the project will consist in assembling, updating and publishing critical editions, in order to present a new and more accurate corpus of Latin papyri on an easily accessible online platform. The second phase will be focused on providing the texts with a specific, pluridisciplinary commentary that gives new insights on Roman culture.

for more go to the project website here: http://platinum-erc.it/the-project/

Updated Checklist of the Egyptian Museum's Unpublished Greek Papyri

In 2011 I published the first version of the Checklist of the Egyptian Museum's Unpublished Greek Papyri, for short "Cairo Checklist". My colleague Alain Martin, has accepted kindly to put this in the website of the International Society of Papyrologists,  see here http://www.ulb.ac.be/assoc/aip/cairo.pdf.

Since then I have been updating this checklist regularly, but when I became very busy with my PhD by 2014, I stopped working on it. I think it is worthwhile to publish it now in my bog, in order to make it available to all my colleagues who wants to keep track of the Egyptian Museum's unpublished as well as published pieces. This updated version is of 2014, see here https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_OYtJoqV3YtX0J3c0lrOTM5bUU/view?usp=sharing

It is a work in progress, as stated in the checklist, so if any one has any additions, corrections, or comments, please send them to me in my email : usamaligad@gmail.com 

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

A Companion to Classical Receptions, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2008

A Companion to Classical Receptions, edited by Lorna Hardwick and Christopher Stray, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2008.



Examining the profusion of ways in which the arts, culture, and thought of Greece and Rome have been transmitted, interpreted, adapted and used, A Companion to Classical Receptions explores the impact of this phenomenon on both ancient and later societies.
  • Provides a comprehensive introduction and overview of classical reception - the interpretation of classical art, culture, and thought in later centuries, and the fastest growing area in classics
  • Brings together 34 essays by an international group of contributors focused on ancient and modern reception concepts and practices
  • Combines close readings of key receptions with wider contextualization and discussion
  • Explores the impact of Greek and Roman culture worldwide, including crucial new areas in Arabic literature, South African drama, the history of photography, and contemporary ethics
Chapter 11"Translation at the Intersection of Traditions: The Arab Reception of the Classics", pp. 141 ff. is written by the Late Ahmed Etman.

Friday, February 19, 2016

SNAP: Standards for Networking Ancient Prosopographies

From the website of the project:

SNAP:DRGN is building a virtual authority list for ancient people through Linked Data collection of common information from many collaborating projects. The graph will provide: 1. identifiers for all persons who appear in one or more corpora and catalogues; 2. gold standard normalization data for parsing and proofing tools; 3. visualization of ancient persons, names, titles and relationships; 4. research tools for historians; 5. standards and software contributing to the Linked Ancient World Data community.


Thursday, February 18, 2016

Seshat: Global History Databank


Seshat: Global History Databank is a large, international, multidisciplinary team of evolutionary scientists, historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, economists, and other social scientists. Our team includes scholars from various backgrounds, policy makers, and enthusiastic volunteers. Seshat is governed by an editorial board, who oversee work done by postdoctoral researchers, collaborators and consultants, and research assistants all over the world.

For more, see here: http://seshatdatabank.info/

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Egypt ISCED Mapping 1997

A very interesting maping of the Egyptian Educaional System compared to the international Standard Classification of Education (ISCED).



What is the role of the UIS?

UNESCO developed the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) to facilitate comparisons of education statistics and indicators across countries on the basis of uniform and internationally agreed definitions. In 2011, a revision to ISCED was formally adopted by UNESCO Member States. The product of extensive international and regional consultations among education and statistical experts, ISCED 2011 takes into account significant changes in education systems worldwide since the last ISCED revision in 1997.- See more at: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/international-standard-classification-of-education.aspx#sthash.KmgImwyN.dpuf

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Black Athena of Martin Bernal into Arabic

The controversial book of Martin Bernal, Blak Athena:The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, with its first two volumes published in 1987 and 1991, is turned into Arabic by Egyptian classicists. Both the Martin Bernal's response to his critic, Moore, David Chioni (editor). Black Athena Writes Back: Martin Bernal Responds to His Critics. (2001), nor the third volume which dealt with The Linguistic Evidence, published in 2006, have not yet been translated into Arabic.


The book was published by the NCT in 1997 (Vol. I) and Vol. II in two parts; part 1 in 2004 and part 2 in 2005. 


Virgil, Aeneid into Arabic

Arabic posses now two direct translations of Virgil, Aeneid from Latin :

1- Abdelmoty Sharaway et alli  have translated Virgil, Aeneid  for the first time ever directly into Arabic . The transitions appeared in 1971  (Books 1-6)  and 1977 (Books 7-12) in Egyptian General Organization for Composing und Publishing, Cairo (Egypt). In 2011 the National Center of Translation has issued a second edition of translation. 




2-Mahmoud A. Alghoul, a Palestinian translator, has single-handedly translated Virgil, Aeneid from Latin into Arabic. The translation is published last year 2015 in Kalima Translations, Abu Dhabi (UAE). If you would like to have a copy of this translation, order it from here (in Arabic) : https://books.tcaabudhabi.ae/ar/external/pages/bookdetail.aspx?key=14481


Monday, February 15, 2016

Aeschylus, Supplices and Persae into Arabic by by Ibrahim Sukkar

In 1966 Ibrahim Sukkar translated Aeschylus, Supplices and Persae into Arabic. The translation was published by Egyptian House for Writing and Translation, Cairo (Egypt).


The Arabic translation of Homer's Iliad is the second most sold book in Cairo IBF 2016

The offical page of the NCT in Cairo has announced that Homer's Iliad is the second most soldbook in Cairo International Book Fair From January 27, 2016 17:00 until February 10, 2016 19:00.


On the first place comes Masnavi of Rumi and the third Goethe's Faust.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

New Classics Publications in Arabic

As I am now preparing a list of books to buy,  I would like to share these titles in this blog. I will not be able to provide more than an image or a short tittle of the book for the moment, but will surely add some information about it in the near future.

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Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Arabic Commentary on Hippocrates' Aphorisms

The Greek medical tradition survived long after the decline of the Hellenistic world, thanks to the work of Arabic translators and commentators, who preserved the theoretical and practical discoveries of Greek physicians in Arabic translations. 

The translation of Greek medical texts into Arabic was mainly conducted under the ‘Abbasid caliphs and, in particular, in the circle of intellectuals linked to the name of Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq (circa 809–73). Among the Greek physicians, Hippocrates has always been considered an exemplary character, the symbol of the true and scrupulous physician, thanks mainly to the high regard for this founding figure shown in works by Galen and other physicians. 

The Aphorisms (sayings) of Hippocrates were widely commented upon in both the Greek and Islamic worlds. The present manuscript is a clear example of this tradition, as it consists of a fragmentary 14th-century copy of an 11th-century commentary on Hippocrates' Fuṣul(Sayings) by the Persian physician Ibn Abī Ṣādiq al-Nīsābūrī. The Arabic translations of Hippocrates' aphorisms are underlined in red ink, while a remnant of the text preserves al-Nīsābūrī's commentary. 


An interesting ownership note in English, found in the opening folio of the manuscript, indicates that it was given as a present to the American surgeon Valentine Mott by Dr. Franz Pruner, who worked as the head physician of Cairo hospital after 1838. The title page records several previous owners from the 15th century to the 18th, and the manuscript may date back to the 14th century.

More about this interesting item, see here : https://lccn.loc.gov/2008427062

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Helen of Troy into Arabic: First from French then from Greek.

Helen of Troy by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
1- La belle Hélène into Arabic:

Modern Arabic knew Helen of troy in 1868. Rifa'a al-Tahtawi (1801-1873) translated the french operetta La belle Hélène (The Beautiful Helen) just after its first performance in Paris on December 17, 1864 with a lap of exactly 4 years. The translation was published on 31.12.1868 by Boulaq Printing Press

In 2015 the translation was republished by the GEBO (General Egyptian Book Organization). See below the book cover. 

2- Helen's Euripides in Arabic 1984: 

Helen's Euripides, whose plot is different than the above-mentioned operetta, was translated into Arabic by Amin Salam in 1984, who is best known among Arabic classicists by his translations of "Who is who in Greek and Roman Mythology". 



Using Alpheios Editor (AE) in Perseids, I have aligned the first line of Salam's translation with its Greek original. See it here : http://sosol.perseids.org/alpheios/app/align-editsentence-perseids.xhtml?s=1&numSentences=1&doc=28472

3- Helen's Euripides into Arabic from Greek by Mounira Karawan:

Recently Mounira Karawn has translated Helen's Euripides into Arabic directly from Ancient Greek. The translation is published by the NTC [date?]. Below is the cover page of this translation.



Friday, December 18, 2015

Arabic Commentaries on the Hippocratic Aphorisms

Arabic Commentaries on the Hippocratic Aphorisms


Professor Peter E. Pormann is currently pursuing a major research project entitled ‘Arabic Commentaries on the Hippocratic Aphorisms’, funded by the ERC (€1.5m). The project aims to examine the entire Arabic commentary tradition on the Aphorisms, from the ninth to the sixteenth century. The Hippocratic Aphorisms had a profound influence on subsequent generations; they not only shaped medical theory and practice, but also affected popular culture. Galen (d. c. 216) produced an extensive commentary on this text, as did other medical authors writing in Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew. The Arabic tradition is particularly rich, with more than a dozen commentaries extant in over a hundred manuscripts. These Arabic commentaries constituted important venues for innovation and change, and did not merely draw attention to scholastic debates. Moreover, they had a considerable impact on medical practice, as the Aphorisms were so popular that both doctor and patient knew them by heart.

More here: http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/subjects/classicsancienthistory/research/projects/arabiccommentaries/ 

Marja Vierros, Papyrology and Linguistic Annotation


Marja Vierros presentation in  Digital Classicist London & Institute of Classical Studies seminar 2014 Friday July 25th at 16:30 about the Papyrology and Linguistic Annotation, is available on the seminar's website. 

On the seminar's website (http://www.digitalclassicist.org/wip/wip2014-08mv.html) one can find a Video recording of seminar (MP4), Audio recording of seminar (MP3) and a the Presentation (PDF).

see also Sematia here (http://sematia.hum.helsinki.fi/signin).

Friday, December 4, 2015

An Interesting New Blog: The History of the Study of Antiquity through the Lens of Autobiography

Charles Jones, Tombros Librarian for Classics and Humanities, Pennsylvania State University Libraries,  has started a wonderful blog entitled "The History of the Study of Antiquity through the Lens of Autobiography". The blog, according to its author's words, is "a component of a research project initiated by  Charles E. Jones, ... who has a long standing interest in the history of the study of the Ancient Near East and Egypt, and of old world Antiquity more generally. This blog will present the working bibliography of the project, and provide a platform for comment and discussion of autobiographical writing by students and scholars of the ancient world."

Jones also hopes that he will also "develop a venue for the publication of new autobiographical essays in the form of an online open access periodical".

The idea behind the project and the blog is amazing. Except for Taha Hussein's autobiography " The Days", which is available now in English from AUC press (2001), I don't know how many autobiographies of Arabic scholars of Altertumswissenschaften do we have, but I hope the project and the blog will include them. I would also recommend adding his book "The Future of Culture in Egypt", translated into English by Sidney Glazer and published by American Council of Learned Societies, 1954, to the working bibliography of the project/blog.

To see the blog follow this link: http://antiqauto.blogspot.de

Thursday, December 3, 2015

DH LEIPZIG WORKSHOP WEEK 2015

A very busy week in Leipzig !

The Leipzig Workshop Week is comprised of a series of three related workshops in the week beginning 14th of December. In addition, the Sunoikisis DC Planning Seminar will run on the 16th and 17th.

For more information see the website here: http://www.dh.uni-leipzig.de/wo/events/workshop-week-2015/ and see the full programme below.





Add caption

Monday, November 23, 2015

A new Arabic Book about Greek and Roman Mythology

I've come across a picture of the cover of a new Arabic book about Greek and Roman Mythology. The book is written by Dr. Joussif Khalil and titledقصص الأساطير اليونانية والرومانية  i.e. "Narratives of the Greek and Roman Mythology". Unfortunately, I was not able to have the content of this book. Whenever I do this I will post it here. Here is the book cover.

Index of open access Arabic Scientific periodicals

An Index of open access Arabic scientific periodical, called Directory of Free Arab Journals and abbreviated as DFAJ, is now available online (http://www.dfaj.net/).


Thursday, November 19, 2015

PELLA: Coinage of the Kings of Macedonia

PELLA


PELLA is a project of the American Numismatic Society directed by Dr. Peter van Alfen. The web database, based on the Numishare platform, has been developed by Ethan Gruber.

Substantial work in developing PELLA has been carried out by Prof. Andrew Meadows (Oxford University). Cynthia Cheng, Yoorim Choi, Sylvia Czander, Clara Sanchez, and Elena Ferrero provided considerable assistance in organizing material within the ANS collection. Alan Roche is responsible for the photographs of ANS coins. At the British Museum, Martin Price, former Curator of Greek coins, was instrumental in cataloguing this material. Amelia Dowler is the British Museum's current curator of this series. Prof. Bernhard Weisser and Dr. Karsten Dahmen have done the same at the Münzkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

Current contributors to the project are the ANS, the Münzkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, and the British Museum.

Translations have been provided by the following:
German: Karsten Dahmen
French: Frédérique Duyrat



PELLA: About PELLA

EAGLE 1st Short Storytelling Contest | EAGLE Portal

Deadline: January 15, 2016
We’re looking for short stories! Think you can write a winning story in 2500 words or less? Enter the 1st EAGLE Short Story Contest for your chance to win Euro Amazon Voucher for up to 200 Euross, get published in EAGLE Portal and Storytelling Application and participate in the EAGLE 2016 Conference! Stories must be related to one (or more) of the inscriptions featured in one (or more) of the EAGLE Collections. Stories can be in English or any other European language, as long as you provide a 250 word abstract in English. Stories must be accessible to the public and must make use of as much multimedia (music, videos, interactive presentations, linked open data) as possible. Authors are strongly encouraged to make use of the Storytelling App. Examples can be found here.

Prizes and more see here, EAGLE 1st Short Storytelling Contest | EAGLE Portal

EAGLE Portal



The EAGLE, The Europeana network of Ancient Greek and Latin Epigraphy, will collect, in a single readily-searchable database, more than 1.5 million items, currently scattered across 25 EU countries, as well as the east and south Mediterranean. 

More about it, see here Who we are | EAGLE Portal

Call for papers to Digital Approaches and the Ancient World

Posted in Digital classicist's email-list by Gabriel Bodard.

Digital Approaches and the Ancient World
A themed issue of the _Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies_

Editors:
Gabriel Bodard (University of London) gabriel.bodard@sas.ac.uk
Yanne Broux (KU Leuven) yanne.broux@arts.kuleuven.be
Ségolène Tarte (University of Oxford) segolene.tarte@oerc.ox.ac.uk

Call for papers:
We invite colleagues all around the world and at all stages of their careers to submit papers on the topic of “Digital Approaches and the Ancient World” to a themed issue of the Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. The topic is to be construed as widely as possible, to include not only the history, archaeology, language, literature and thought of the ancient and late antique Mediterranean world, but also of antiquity more widely, potentially including, for example, South and East Asian, Sub-Saharan African or Pre-Columbian American history. Digital approaches may also vary widely, to include methodologies from the digital humanities and information studies, quantitative methods from the hard sciences, or other innovative and transdisciplinary themes.

Papers will be fully peer reviewed and selected for inclusion based not only on their research quality and significance, but especially on their ability to engage profoundly both with classics/history academic readers, and scholars from digital or informatic disciplines. We are keen to see papers that clearly lay out their disciplinary and interdisciplinary methodological approaches, and present and interpret the full range of scholarly and practical outcomes of their research.

We encourage the use of and direct reference to open online datasets in your papers. BICS is not currently an open access publication, but self-archiving of pre-press papers is permitted, and the editors believe in the transparency and accountability that comes with basing scientific work on open data.

To submit an article to this themed issue, please send your full paper of 4,000–8,000 words in Microsoft Word doc, docx or rtf format, to <gabriel.bodard@sas.ac.uk>, along with a 150 word abstract, by January 31, 2016. You do not need to follow BICS style for the initial submission, but please note that the final version of accepted articles will need to be formatted to adhere to our style guide (http://www.icls.sas.ac.uk/sites/default/files/files/STYLE-V15.pdf).

If you have any questions about this issue, please feel free to contact any of the editors informally.


--
Dr Gabriel BODARD
Reader in Digital Classics

Institute of Classical Studies
University of London
Senate House
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HU

E: Gabriel.bodard@sas.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)20 78628752

http://digitalclassicist.org/

PhD position in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History - Uppsala University, Sweden

PhD position in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History - Uppsala University, Sweden



The successful eligible to postgraduate studies in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University has a) a first degree encompassing at least 180 credits, b) has passed and completed the undergraduate courses A, B and C in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History, and c) has been awarded a degree at advanced level with a major in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History. An applicant may also be considered qualified if s/he has acquired the corresponding competence in other ways in Sweden or abroad.

The application should include copies of a Master thesis, a brief CV, exam certificates, a research plan of c. 4-5 pages, and any publications.
For information and regulations, see Högskoleförordningen kap. 5, 8 och 9, the guidelines for PhD education of Uppsala University and those of the Historical-Philosophical Faculty at http://www.histfilfak.uu.se/Forskning/Forskarutbildning/

Information on the PhD education programme in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History can be found at http://www.arkeologi.uu.se/digitalAssets/148/148871_fn130122_antiken.pdf (Swedish only).

For more information, please contact the director of post-graduate studies, professor Neil Price, neil.price@arkeologi.uu.se phone 018-471 2073, head of department Lars Karlsson, lars.karlsson@antiken.uu.se phone 018-471 7552, and the faculty head of education Anna Sofia Hedberg, anna_sofia.hedberg@uadm.uu.se, phone 018-471 6982.

Deadline for application is January 6, 2016. dnr UFV-PA 2015/3078.



We decline offers of recruitment and advertising help. We only accept the application the way described in the advertisement.


Placement: Department of Archaeology and Ancient History

Type of employment: Full time , PhD placement

Number of positions: 1

Working hours: 100%

Town: Uppsala

County: Uppsala län

Country: Sweden

Union representative: Carin Söderhäll, TCO/ST 018-471 1997 1
Per Sundman, Saco-rådet 018-471 1485 1
Stefan Djurström, Seko 018-471 3315 1


Number of reference: UFV-PA 2015/3078

Last application date: 2016-01-06

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Rachel Mairs gives a seminar about Archaeologists and Language in Petrie

Rachel Mairs (University of Reading) will give a seminar jointly organised by the Institute's History of Archaeology Research Network and the UCL Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology on 19 November.

Abstract

This paper explores the engagement - or lack of engagement - of nineteenth and early twentieth century archaeologists in Egypt and Mesopotamia with the Arabic language.  From Flinders Petrie, who believed that anyone who couldn't pick up Arabic simply wasn't trying hard enough, to Max Mallowan, who had to deal with a junior colleague's excuse that he had 'lost his Arabic book', attitudes to language shaped archaeologists' experience of the Middle East - and the local population's experiences of them.
All welcome!
Any enquiries about the event may be directed to Amara Thornton.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Some photos of my Talk about "Eurocentricity in Papyrology" in Leipzig

Three photos from my Talk about Eurocentricity in Papyrology: the case of papyri and papyrology in Egypt in a digital age. The talk was part of #DhEgypt2015 held in Leipzig from 3-6.11.2015.



Arabic Homer's Verses (A German paper)

أبيات الشعر العربية لمنقول عن هوميروس شاعر اليونان.

I wasn't aware of this reference, but my colleague Greg Schwendner, has sent it to me. It could also be downloaded from this link.



Thanks, Greg.

The Hardt Foundation's research scholarship


.منحة بحثية قصيرة المدى. التفاصيل أنظرالرابط فى الأسفل

The Hardt Foundation for the Study of Classical Antiquity, in pursuit of its ambition to promote the 
study of the culture and civilization of Greco-Roman antiquity, offers young researchers an opportunity to apply for research scholarships covering stays of two to four weeks. Applications are not accepted for the months of July and August.


Areas of research supported are Greek and Latin language and literature, ancient history, ancient philosophy and ancient law. The aim of the research stay is the publication of articles, books or other written contributions.

Eligibility:
up to 35 years of age at the time of application
PhD candidate (2nd year, at least) or post-doctoral researcher

This programme is funded by a Genevan private foundation and other sponsors.

Conditions of application for scholarships

vHMML: Resources for Manuscript Studies

vHMML: Resources for Manuscript Studies

INTRODUCTION

vHMML offers researchers at every level of experience the resources and tools they need to work with manuscripts. vHMML will ultimately cover several manuscript cultures from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. It makes abundant use of high-resolution images of manuscripts from libraries around the world, many of them digitized as part of HMML’s mission to preserve and share important, endangered, and inaccessible manuscript collections through digital photography, archiving, and cataloging. To learn more about this project, please click here:http://vhmml.org/about












موقع "مصادر لدراسة المخطوطات" يقدم للباحثين على مختلف خبراتهم المصادر والأدوات التى يحتاجونها فى تعاملهم مع المخطوطات. سوف يغطى الموقع العديد من اللغات الممثلة فى المخطوطات سواء من أوربا أو أفريقيا أو من الشرق الأوسط أو من جنوب أسيا. ولسوف يوفر الموقع صور عالية الجودة للمخطوطات المعروضة من العديد من المكتبات حول العالم، وهى الصورة التى رُقمنت كجزء من رسالة  متحف ومكتبة مخطوطات هيل لحفظ و نشر العديد من المخطوطات العامة والمعرضة للخطر و التى لا يمكن الوصول إليها ، وذلك من خلال رقمنة هذه المخطوطات فوتوغرافيا ( أى تصويرها بتقنية التصوير عالى الجودة) وأرشفتها و فهرستها. 

للمزيد حول هذا الموقع أدخل هنا : http://vhmml.org/about

Friday, October 16, 2015

The FIHRIST Catalogue

This catalogue provides a searchable interface to basic manuscript descriptions from some of the major manuscript collections in the UK. With the continuing contribution of manuscript records from UK libraries, Fihrist aims to become a union catalogue for manuscripts in Arabic script.

The Islamic Manuscript Association

The Islamic Manuscript Association is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting Islamic manuscript collections and supporting those who work with them. It was formed in response to the urgent need to address the poor preservation and inaccessibility of many Islamic manuscript collections around the world.

The Islamic Manuscript Association:
  • Articulates standards and guidelines for best practice in cataloguing, conservation, digitisation and academic publishing so that Islamic manuscript collections may be made more accessible and preserved for posterity.
  • Promotes the highest ethical and professional standards in the care and management of Islamic manuscript collections.
  • Promotes excellence in scholarship on Islamic manuscripts, particularly Islamic codicology and disciplines related to the care and management of Islamic manuscript collections.
  • Provides a platform for presenting scholarship on Islamic manuscripts, particularly Islamic codicology and disciplines related to the care and management of Islamic manuscript collections, at its biennial conference at the University of Cambridge.
  • Provides a wide range of online resources about manuscripts and their care.
  • Awards grants to support the care of Islamic manuscript collections and advance scholarship on Islamic manuscripts.
  • Organises regular training workshops in cataloguing, conservation, digitisation and academic publishing as well as an annual workshop on Islamic codicology in cooperation with Cambridge University Library.
  • Facilitates dialogue between individuals with scholarly and professional interests in Islamic manuscripts and institutions holding collections of Islamic manuscripts.
The Islamic Manuscript Association includes among its members libraries and museums possessing collections of Islamic manuscripts as well as individuals with scholarly and professional interests in Islamic manuscripts. Over 600 persons from 25 different countries are members. Members have the right to vote, hold office, apply for grants and receive members' rates for the biennial conference and training workshops.
The Islamic Manuscript Association is an affiliated project of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Altertumswissenschaften in a Digital Age: Egytplogy, Papyrology, and Beyond

Altertumswissenschaften in a Digital Age:
Egytplogy, Papyrology, and Beyond

Electryone an open-access journal co-edited by Prof. Magda El-Nowieemy of University of Alexandria

Electryone is an open-access of Classical Studies and the Ancient Mediterranean World co-edited by Prof. Magda El-Nowieemy of University of Alexandria. 

According to it's homepage its is: an English-language, peer reviewed online journal devoted to ancient historical and philological issues covering the period between the 2nd and 1st millennia BC and the Roman period A.D. Electryone welcomes articles between 4,000 and 8.000 words, shorter notes, responses, etc. up to 2,500 words, and book reviews. It also welcomes presentations of new publications, announcements for conferences and information about research programs.


Three volumes (2013-2015) are online available, see more in the website of the journal here.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

A documentary about Ain-Shams University on Youtube

A documentary film about my alma mater  in Arabic is now available on Youtube ( 08.10.2015).  For an older film about the same university, see below the second film.






Monday, October 5, 2015

22 lectures of Edward Said on Youtube

1- The Myth of the "Clash of Civilizations.


2- With Daniel Barenboim in Weimar (Germany), 1999 (in two parts):

Part 1


Part 2


3- Interview by Salman Rushdie at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London (September 1986).

4- On Orientalism



5- The Shadow of the West.


6-  Exiles: A documentary from 1986.



7- Reflections on Exile and Other Essays


8- Imperial Continuity - Palestine, Iraq, and U.S. Policy ( May 8, 2003)


9-Orientalism April 16, 2003.


10- In Search of Palestine - Edward Said's Return Home (BBC).

11- Interview for the Dutch television by Michaël Zeeman.


12-"Talking Liberties" program with Jonathan Ree.

13- The Reith Lecturer Interview: BBC Radio 1993.

14-On the Future of Arab Americans: History, Politics, Religion (1999).

15-Memory, Inequality and Power: Palestine and the Univerality of Human Rights (University of California Berkeley February 19, 2003).

16-Midnight's Children Festival Events: "A Dialogue with Edward Said" (March 5, 2003).


17- Out of Place: A Memoir - Early Years in Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt (1999).


18- On the Palestinian People (1989).


19- On Palestine April 9, 1999 with Noam Chomsky in Columbia University.

20-Democracy Now (1999) with Noam Chomsky.

21- UCLA Lecture (2002).

22- The last Interview.