The intellectual landscape of the Classical world was radically altered by the rise and
spread of Christianity, which brought about a transformation of moral and cultural
values, beliefs and attitudes. Profound changes also occurred in the practical and
theoretical approaches to languages as cognitive, ethnic and cultural phenomena.
The linguistic horizon of Western scholars was considerably widened through direct
acquaintance with the Old Testament languages (Hebrew and Aramaic); at the same
time Early Christian authors became increasingly aware of the startling linguistic
diversity within the Roman world and outside of it.
Proposals for papers, preferably in English or French, counting between 600 and
700 words, and followed by a selective list of bibliographical references, should be
submitted to the organizers
contact: Tim.Denecker@arts.kuleuven.be
Deadline: before November 1, 2014
Notification of acceptance will be given by February 1, 2015
A selection of papers will be published in a peer-reviewed book volume.
Intended for an audience of scholars in a wide variety of fields (philology, theology,
philosophy, language sciences, history of ideas), this interdisciplinary conference will approach the general issue of Language and Culture in Early Christianity from two complementary perspectives:
(I) A context-oriented perspective, focusing on the linguistic horizon, the cultural
background, and the sociohistorical setting of Early Christian approaches to
language(s). Possible topics to be treated in connection with linguistic ideas are: the
role of the Greek, Syriac, and Coptic philosophical and theological traditions; the role
of the Jewish tradition of textual study of the Old Testament; the role of apocryphal
writings; first-hand knowledge of, or second-hand information on languages other
than Greek or Latin; the impact of key players, intellectual networks, and
authoritative texts on Early Christian approaches to language(s).
(II) A content-oriented...
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