Author Archives: Fred Rowland

Philosophy and Classics on SSRN

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Here are the Top Downloads of philosophy papers on the Philosophy Research Network. Here are the Top Downloads for Classics (though the definition of Classics is very broad) on the Classics Research Network. The Social Sciences Research Network is increasingly moving into supporting the humanities and will be opening up many new areas in the near future. ————————————————————————————————————– Subject Guides Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion ————————————————————————————————————–

From Medieval Prayer Book to Ancient Greek Manuscript

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Nice article here about how a medieval prayer book was found to have been a “scrubbed” copy of a Byzantine codex by Archimedes. (back in the day when sheepskin was expensive it was often reused). Learn how Archimedes’ important work was rediscovered. The story involves the use of Stanford’s famous particle accelerator to read the most damaged pages. Be sure to check out the “sidebars” for all the details. Archimedes Codex is the book that tells the whole story. Check it out from Paley Library. ————————————————————————————————————– Subject Guides Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion ————————————————————————————————————–

ARTstor Interdisciplinary Guides

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ARTstor has made some nice, brief interdisciplinary guides available on its web site. ARTstor is a huge database of high resolution images of major art collections from around the world. Here are some links to the PDF’s of the guides: Classical Studies // Middle Eastern Studies // Religious Studies // Women’s Studies Take a look to see how ARTstor can illuminate your research and scholarship!

New Lit Reviews from Web of Science

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American catholicism’s science crisis and the Albertus Magnus Guild, 1953-1969 “During the middle decades of the twentieth century, American Catholic scientists experienced a sense of crisis owing to the paucity of scientific research performed either by individual Catholics or in Catholic institutions of higher learning.” Walking with Odysseus: The portico frame of the Odyssey Landscapes “The painted portico thus puts the viewers in the proper frame of mind to appreciate the intellectual associations of the painting as they walk with Odysseus on a parallel journey of philosophical reflection.” Juno, Hercules, and the Muses at Rome (This study has to do with the divine patrons of music as a public activity at Rome) “The Aedes Herculis Musarum (AHM), embodying musical harmony, was a symbolic focal point for political concordia at Rome. The treatment of its cult honorands in high poetry also embraces Juno Regina, whose contemporary temple was adjacent to the AHM.” ————————————————————————————————————– Subject Guides Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion ————————————————————————————————————–

Podcast on colonizers, aborigines, anatomists, phrenologists

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History Compass Podcasts has an interesting interview with the Paul Turnbull, author of the survey article British Anatomists, Phrenologists, and the Construction of the Aboriginal Race, c.1790-1830. He discusses how Australian colonizers frequently sent severed heads and body parts of Aborigines killed back to Britain for study. The author began this study when he learned how vast the collection of Aboriginal body parts had been. ————————————————————————————————————– Subject Guides Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion ————————————————————————————————————–

New Online Religion Encyclopedias from GVRL

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We just seven new online religion encyclopedias from the online platform Gale Virtual Reference Library, which has dozens of encyclopedias in many different categories. Below are links to the new encyclopedias. Encyclopedia of Judaism four volume encyclopedia from Brill Academic Publishers Encyclopaedia of the Qur’an multivolume from Brill Academic Publishers Brill Dictionary of Religion four volumes from Brill Academic Publishers Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism two volumes from Brill Academic Publishers Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations one volume from Cambridge University Press Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America three volumes from Indiana University Press Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism two volumes from Rosen Publishing

Assault with anti-Semitic Slurs / Town Hall Meeting

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The letter below was sent from TU President Hart last Friday. There will be a Town Hall Meeting entitled Confronting Anti-Semitism at Temple University on Thursday, 2/28, at 8 PM in SAC 223. Here are a bunch of articles on anti-Semitism from Gale Virtual Reference Library. Letter from President Ann Weaver Hart: “I am very sad to be sending you this message. According to reports, early on the morning of Friday, Feb. 15, a non-Temple student was assaulted on North Broad St. on Temple University’s Main Campus. The assault included anti-Semitic language and the student was seriously injured. The alleged assailants are all Temple students. The case was investigated by Temple University Campus Safety Services and referred to the University Disciplinary Committee (UDC). The Temple students involved in the incident have been suspended, pending the outcome of a UDC hearing. Temple University police in collaboration with the Philadelphia Police Department are actively pursuing criminal charges through the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. We are taking this situation very seriously and will be developing programs for students and the broader university community to address issues of tolerance and civility on our campuses. Temple’s core values are reflected in our Student Code of Conduct, which states that the University is “dedicated to promoting the physical and mental health and the safety and welfare of each member of the community,” and to respecting the rights of others. Because we treasure the extraordinary diversity of our community of learning, we stand united against any action that threatens that community or the welfare of our students, employees or visitors. Hate crimes will not be tolerated by Temple University. All manifestations of intolerance threaten the fabric of our institution and our society. Indeed, hatred violates the core values upon which this university was founded — values that are cherished by all of us in the extended Temple family. Sincerely, Ann Weaver Hart”

Changing Faiths in America

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Americans Change Faiths at Rising Rate, Report Finds An article from the NYT explains that “more than a quarter of adult Americans have left the faith of their childhood to join another religion or no religion…” This is one finding from The US Religious Landscape Survey, published by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. ————————————————————————————————————– Subject Guides Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion ————————————————————————————————————–

Mary Beard on the Roman Triumph

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There’s a book review in the Inky on Mary Beard’s, The Roman Triumph, published by Harvard University Press. “What makes Beard’s book so fascinating is not only the subject, but her way of approaching it, which allows one to see historiography in process. Her attention to every least detail, placing one fact next to another to see whether this or that confirms or challenges a given interpretation, is like watching a forensic specialist working to solve a crime.” You can borrow Roman Triumph from Paley Library. Here are other books by classics scholar Mary Beard. You can also hear a Harvard University Press podcast of Mary Beard discussing her new book. By the way, these podcasts on new books from HUP are very interesting. Listen to them all! ————————————————————————————————————– Subject Guides Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion ————————————————————————————————————–