CFP: Greek Philosophy and the Wisdom of the East: Perception and Reality

The Melammu Project investigates the continuity, transformation and diffusion of Mesopotamian and Ancient Near Eastern culture from the third millennium BCE through the ancient world until Islamic times. It organizes regular symposia on aspects related to this general subject, the next of which, Melammu Symposia 8, will take place in Kiel in October 2014.

We herewith invite proposals for papers and posters by PhD students and Postdocs for the Young Researchers Session of Melammu Symposia 8. The session is entitled 'Greek Philosophy and the Wisdom of the East: Perception and Reality' and will be organized by Sebastian Fink and Erik van Dongen. (Note that this call concerns only this one session, NOT the conference as a whole.) As we had many great contributions by young researchers in the paper and poster sessions of last November's Melammu Symposia 7 (http://transideeconference.uibk.ac.at/mesop2013/), we decided to have one session in Kiel (and also in Helsinki in 2015), separate from the main conference theme, that is for young researchers only. Preceded by an introduction and closed off by a response, the session will feature five twenty-minutes papers, and will be accompanied by five posters on related topics in one of the meeting's poster sessions. Two of these poster presenters will be asked to prepare a backup-paper in case someone from the section is not able to come. These two people as well as the others presenting a paper will also be invited to contribute to the conference proceedings. Please note that the conference language is English only.

In accordance with the scope of the Melammu Project, we invite researchers from all possibly relevant disciplines (not just Assyriologists!), including philosophy, history, Assyriology, Egyptology, Classics, Old Testament studies, Islam studies, etc. For inspiration, here is a list with examples of possible topics:

No Philosophy in Mesopotamia?
Mesopotamian, Indian and Persian Philosophers in Greek texts
Plato and the Orient
The Divine in Greek and Eastern Texts
Ideas of Causation in Mesopotamia
Arguing in Greece and Mesopotamia

Please send abstracts of max. 300 words to [email protected] by 1 March 2014. Results will be announced by 1 April. Although the conference organizers are looking into possibilities to help out with accommodation and travel costs, at this stage it is probably best to assume that participants will have to find funding for most of the costs by themselves.