Conference
Announcement and Call for Papers
Centre
d’Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance (UMR 8167) 52 rue du Cardinal Lemoine
75005 Paris May 24-25, 2013
The
‘School of Gaza’: Literary Space and Cultural Identity in Late Antiquity
Guiding
line
The study
of literary activity in V-VI c. AD Gaza is in full bloom. In recent years, new
editions of Procopius of Gaza, Chorikios and John of Gaza have been published
or are in preparation as well as a bibliography of the literature covering the
period 1930-2012, to appear in Lustrum. This is a good moment for an
international conference in which senior specialists and young researchers of
the period will be able to exchange views and to advance research on the topic.
Building
on the results achieved by two previous conference (Christian Gaza in Late
Antiquity, ed. B.
Bitton-Ashkelony, A. Kofsky, Leiden-Boston 2004 and Gaza dans l’Antiquité
tardive. Archéologie, rhétorique et histoire, ed. C.
Saliou, Salerno 2005), the present occasion intends to surpass the designation
‘School of Gaza’ invented by K. B. Stark in 1852, a certainly convenient
formula, but which runs the risk of screening the perception of a reality rich
in nuance. Our focus will be on the common characteristics that define as such
the authors of Gaza.
The confront
of these authors and texts defines a specific literary space that resonates
with the spirit of the period, as part of the thread of a more general trend
which bridges Antiquity and Byzantium. This literature is crossed and inspired
by the practice of Rhetoric, Poetry, History and Science. It produces a unique
cultural identity inscribed in the heritage of Gaza, one of the first cities
mentioned in the Bible and still present in the news of the modern
world.
Scientific
organization
A
scientific committee composed of both experts of the period and scientific
personalities chosen for their ability to provide an outside view on the matter
was formed. The following professors have agreed to participate: Prof. Jean
Bouffartigue, Luciano Canfora, Béatrice Caseau, Raffaella Cribiore, Vincent
Déroche, Denis Feissel, Pierre-Louis Malosse, Enrico Maltese, Lorenzo Perrone
and Jacques Schamp. At least ten nationalities will be represented. Around
thirty interventions of twenty minutes, presented in three languages (French,
Italian, English = official languages of the conference) will be divided into
eight sessions (1. Texts, authors, structures. – 2. Epistolography. – 3.
History. – 4. Spiritual literature. – 5. Poetry. – 6. Rhetoric. – 7. Science
and Philosophy. – 8. Background and posterity. Each session will be introduced
and chaired by a scholar who has authority on the subject. Several moments of
discussion will also take place, as well as partial and general conclusions
that will punctuate the progress of the scientific debate. Finally, the
proceedings will be
rapidly published. Each article will be peer-reviewed. The publishing house and
collection will be indicated at a later date.
Material
organization
Participation
in the conference fee is set at 50 euros per person (25 euros for students) and
includes the conference materials, two buffet lunch and refreshments.
Accommodation costs (two nights, on the basis of a single room) will be covered
by the conference organization for invited participants only. Transport costs
are borne by participants.
Call for
Papers
People
who wish to submit a paper are requested to send an abstract of ca. 500
words to the organizers by June 15, 2012. The themes which will be more welcome
are Philosophy of the School of Gaza (Theophrastus of Aeneas and Ammonius
of Zacharias) and the author Zacharias Scholasticus in general. The
decisions taken by the Scientific Committee will be sent to the interested
parties prior to July 15, 2012.
Contacts For
any correspondence concerning the conference, you are cordially invited to
write to: Delphine Lauritzen delphinelauritzen@gmail.com, with copy
to: Eugenio Amato eugenio.amato@univ-nantes.fr and Aldo
Corcella aldo.corcella@unibas.it