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Conference Announcement Theme: Reframing Wisdom Literature Subtitle: Problematising Literary and Religious Interactions in Ancient Wisdom Texts Type: Postgraduate Conference Institution: Department of Classics, King's College, University of London Location: London (United Kingdom) Date: 30.–31.5.2019 __________________________________________________ We are delighted to announce the complete programme of the postgraduate conference "Reframing Wisdom Literature. Problematising Literary and Religious Interactions in Ancient Wisdom Texts." The label ‘wisdom literature’ has been a focus of contemporary scholarly debate centring on issues of categorisation and definition. In particular, its application to Mesopotamian texts has recently been problematised (cf. Lambert 1996: 1-2; scholarship overview in Cohen 2013: 8-12). This conference will explore whether and how similar questioning should lead us to rethink the traditional and deep-seated applications of this label to the so-called ‘wisdom books’ of the Hebrew Bible (Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes) and to Greek texts (such as Hesiod, Theognis and Phocylides). Another problem deserving consideration is the juxtaposing of other labels such as ‘advice’ and ‘didactic literature’ to the tag ‘wisdom literature’. This eventually takes us to the central issues of the status of ‘wisdom literature’ as a genre, its oral origins, and its perception and circulation in antiquity. It is with the aim of bringing these problems to the surface, and reframing the debate about them, that this conference intends to approach ‘wisdom literature’. Programme Thursday 30 May Registration from 1.30 pm 2.15 pm: Opening address by Dr Daniel Orrells, Head of the Department of Classics, King’s College London 2.30 – 4 pm: Session 1 2.30 – 3.15 pm: Emanuele Zimbardi, ‘La Sapienza’ University of Rome and Freie Universität Berlin, Aḥiqar from loyal courtier to wise teacher: the making of a parenetical story in Official Aramaic, Greek, and Syriac. Response by Dr Pavlos Avlamis, King’s College London 3.15 – 4 pm: Ivo Martins, Leiden University, Reframing wisdom through liminality in Akkadian literature. Response by Dr Lindsay Allen, King’s College London 4 – 4.30 pm: Coffee break 4.30 – 6 pm: Session 2 4.30 – 5.15 pm: Michela Piccin, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Motifs distribution in Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi and Babylonian Theodicy. Response by Dr Jana Matuszak, SOAS University of London 5.15 – 6 pm: Suzanna R. Millar, University of Edinburgh, A proverb in a collection is dead? Response by Prof Paul Joyce, King’s College London 7.30 pm: Conference dinner (Côte Brasserie, Tavistock Street, London WC2E7PA) Friday 31 May 9.30 – 11 am: Session 3 9.30 – 10.15 am: Charles P. Comerford, University of Birmingham, What should we talk about when we talk about wisdom? Terminology, definition, and genre in ancient Jewish wisdom studies. Response by Prof Hindy Najman, University of Oxford 10.15 – 11 am: Rachel Frish, Bar-Ilan University, Tel-Aviv, When prophecy meets wisdom: examination of the manner in which חכמים are addressed in Jeremiah 8 as a case study. Response by Dr Jonathan Stökl, King’s College London 11 – 11.30 am: Coffee break 11.30 am – 1 pm: Session 4 11.30 am – 12.15 pm: David Hodgkinson, University of Oxford, Battlefields as teaching spaces. Response by Dr Shaul Tor, King’s College London 12.15 – 1 pm: Edward Iles, University of Oxford, The Babyloniaka of Berossos of Babylon and the advice literature on legitimate kingship. Response by Prof Hugh Bowden, King’s College London 1 – 2.30 pm: Lunch break 2.30 – 4 pm: Session 5 2.30 – 3.15 pm: Carmine Antonio Vox, Università degli Studi di Macerata, The wise Nazianzen. Wisdom features in Gregory’s writings and reception. Response by Prof Micheal Trapp, King’s College London 3.15 – 4.00 pm: Aggelos Malisovas, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Unifying a dualistic nature: Prudentius’ poetical corpus as Wisdom Literature testimony. Response by Dr Daniel Hadas, King’s College London 4 – 4.30 pm: Coffee break 4.30 – 5.30 pm: Keynote lecture by Prof Dimitri Gutas, Yale University 5.30 pm: Closing remarks by Sara De Martin and Anna Lucia Furlan, King’s College London. Wine reception to follow. 7.30 pm: Informal closing dinner (Antalya Restaurant, Southampton Row, London WC1B 4HH) The conference will take place on Thursday 30th - Friday 31st May 2019 at King’s College - Bush House Lecture Theatre 2 (BH(S)4.04), London. You can read more about the conference aims and download the complete conference booklet and poster on our website: https://reframingwisdom.hcommons.org The conference is free to attend and lunch and refreshments will be provided but registration via Eventbrite is required. Please register by Thursday 23rd May using this link to the registration page: https://bit.ly/2HX2eP5 Thanks to the generosity of the Classical Association, we can offer PhD students some small contributions towards travel and accommodation costs. To apply for a bursary please contact us at [email protected], stating your reasons for attending the conference and any other sources of funding available to you, and enclosing your CV. Contact: Sara De Martin & Anna Lucia Furlan, Research Students Department of Classics King’s College London Email: [email protected] Web: https://reframingwisdom.hcommons.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reframingwisdom Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReframingWisdom __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: https://interphil.polylog.org InterPhil List Archive: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ __________________________________________________
