Religion on the Verge of Orality and Literacy
11th - 13th December 2024
The conference will take place in a hybrid format both in Potsdam and via Zoom. Please register in advance to participate both in person and online.
Introduction
For several decades, the study of the interaction between orality and literacy has proven to be a highly productive field in classical studies. In particular, the influential works of Thomas and Harris continue to spark lively debates in various branches of classical antiquity. Key questions that persist in these discussions revolve around: Who in ancient times possessed the ability to read and write? To what extent, and for what purposes, were these skills employed by the less privileged segments of society?
Concurrently, our understanding of the multifaceted aspects of ancient religion continues to grow year by year. While earlier research primarily focused on state-sponsored religious practices and the role of various deities in the lives of powerful rulers, recent scholarship increasingly emphasizes the realm of private religious expressions among ordinary individuals.
How did ordinary people go about their everyday religious rituals? Which deities did they worship, and what distinguished their religious practices? At the crossroads of these two areas lies a particularly intriguing and still relatively unexplored territory: the connection between orality, literacy, and the religious life of ordinary people.
How did the acquisition of one of humanity's most fundamental cultural skills impact the realm of private religious belief and practice? And how can we make sense of such developments?
This workshop aims to assess the respective impact of orality and literacy on private religious practices across different periods and areas of the ancient Mediterranean world. Additionally, we strive to better define the role of religion in the maintenance of oral traditions versus the propagation of writing habits in a variety of cultural contexts.
This Workshop will take place at the Wissenschaftsetage at Potsdamer Bildungsforum, Am Kanal 47, 14467 Potsdam. You can find the complete programme of the event in the flyer and further below.
The event's keynote lecture will be given by Jörg Rüpke on December 11 from 6 to 7 p.m. on the topic of Changing religion by letters: Urban beginnings. All interested listeners are cordially invited to attend. Pre-registration is kindly requested.
It is organized by Jens Fischer (fischerjuuni-potsdampde) and Sara Chiarini (sara.chiariniuuni-potsdampde).
Workshop Programme
Wed, 11 Dec 2024
13:30-13:45 | Welcome and Opening Remarks |
| 13:45-14:30 | Jens Fischer (University of Potsdam): When Apollo’s Voice Turned Into Religious Writings |
| 14:30-15:15 | Attila Egyed (Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest): The Voice of Orpheus Recorded in Writing. The Gold Tablets and the practice of inscribing a katabasis |
| 15:15-15:45 | Coffee Break |
| 15:45-16:30 | Rafał Matuszewski (Leiden University): The Spoken and Written Word in Greek Incubation Sanctuaries |
| 16:30-17:15 | Krzysztof Bielawski (Jagiellonian University, Kraków): Sacrifice in the Shadow of Words |
| 17:15-18:00 | Break |
| 18:00-19:00 | Jörg Rüpke (Max Weber Centre, Erfurt): Changing religion by letters: Urban beginnings |
| 19:30 | Conference Dinner |
Thu, 12 Dec 2024
| 09:00-09:45 | Rebecca Van Hove (University of Groningen): What does writing do to a votive object? |
| 09:45-10:30 | Kim Beerden (Leiden University): “And now, put this in writing”. Textuality in the so-called confession inscriptions from Asia Minor |
| 10:30-11:00 | Coffee Break |
| 11:00-11:45 | Irene Polinskaya (King’s College London): Reflections on ancient Greek Curses: variations of dromena, legomena, and graphomena in time and place. |
| 11:45-12:30 | Richard Gordon (Max Weber Centre, Erfurt): et a[d qu]em modum sal in [aqua liques]cet. Tracing orality in vernacular curse tablets in Latin |
| 12:30-12:45 | Coffee Break |
| 12:45-13:30 | Edward M. Harris (Durham University, University of Edinburgh): How to Read an Inscription about Greek Sacred Norms: The Role of Signs |
| 14:00 | Lunch |
| Visit of Sanssouci Park, the „Neue Palais“, and the Potsdam Christmas Market | |
| 20:00 | Dinner |
Fri, 13 Dec 2024
| 09:00-09:45 | Sara Chiarini (University of Hamburg): The logos to be spoken out and the logos to be written down in ancient recipes of private rituals. A statistical survey |
| 09:45-10:30 | Jan Heilmann (Dresden University of Technology): Reading in Early Christianity. An overview with a problematisation of the category of orality |
| 10:30-10:45 | Coffee Break |
| 10:45-11:30 | Gabriella Gelardini (Nord University Bodø): When You Hear of Wars and Rumors of Wars (Mark 13:7) |
| 11:30-12:15 | Angela Standhartinger (Philipps-University Marburg): The Materiality of Storytelling. Echoes of the Jewish and Christian Joseph in Late Antique and Early Modern Manuscripts |
| 12:15-12:30 | Coffee Break |
| 12:30-13:15 | Enno Friedrich (University of Rostock): Literary Offers of Christian World Relations for Ordinary Aristocrats in the Carmina of Venantius Fortunatus (ca. 530-600 AD) |
| 13:15-13:30 | Closing remarks |