“This exhibition and its companion exhibition, Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qur’an, explore Islamic art’s quintessential art form: calligraphy. In the Islamic world, the practice of calligraphy constitutes an expression of piety. The writing of Arabic script was considered an exemplary activity for men and women of all stations due to its association with the Qur’an.” Traces of the Calligrapher at the Asia Society Museum.
A palimpsest is a “a manuscript or piece of writing material on which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing” (From The Oxford Dictionary of English). The Archimedes Palimpsest Project involves the rediscovery of seven texts of Archimedes scraped from the parchment later became a Byzantine prayer book. Advanced imaging techniques have been used to tease the ancient Archimedean texts from the parchment. This web site contains a wide rage of material–straightforward descriptions with video, scholarly analysis, and scientific details.
University of New Orleans has an excellent podcast on the Louisiana Purchase that covers the historical, military, diplomatic, and cultural aspects of Napoleon’s 1803 sale to Jefferson’s United States. It’s a great way to get a fresh perspective on American history, from the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Instead of the inevitable push westwards from the Atlantic seaboard, it highlights the strong British, French, and Spanish presence in the center of the continent before the original thirteen colonies won their independence. It also highlights New Orleans’ role as the northernmost city of the Caribbean, often having much closer contact with Haiti, Cuba, and other Gulf countries than to areas to the north. The perspective here is somewhat like viewing European history from the point of view of the Byzantine empire. It’s eye-opening. Check it out.
Here’s the link to the podcast on iTunes U (need iTunes to load).
Subject Guides
Classics // Economics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
A Year Later, Creation Museum Claiming Big Crowds
“LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The museum exhibits are taken from the Old Testament, but the special effects are pure Hollywood: a state-of-the-art planetarium, animatronics and a massive model of Noah’s Ark, all intended to explain the origins of the universe from a biblical viewpoint.”
Here’s the Creation Museum web site. Here’s the Exhibits page.
Subject Guides
Classics // Economics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
Philosophers Annual “Ten Best Articles” of 2007: http://www.philosophersannual.org/.
Search by Citation for the full-text of the articles below.
“Reflection and Disagreement”
Adam Elga
from Nous 41 (2007), 478-502
“Why Nothing Mental is Just in the Head”
Justin Fisher
from Nous 41 (2007), 318-334
“Socrates’ Profession of Ignorance”
Michael N. Forster
from Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 3 (2007), 1-36
“When is a Brain Like a Planet?”
Clark Glymour
from Philosophy of Science 74 (2007), 330-347
“But Mom, Crop Tops are Cute!
Social Knowledge, Social Structure and Ideology Critique”
Sally Haslanger
from Philosophical Issues 17, The Metaphysics of Epistemology, pp. 70-91
“Innocent Statements and their Metaphysically Loaded Counterparts”
Thomas Hofweber
from Philosophers’ Imprint 7 (2007), 1-33
“Honest Illusion: Valuing for Nietzsche’s Free Spirits”
Nadeem Hussain
from B. Leiter & N. Sinhababu, eds., Nietzsche and Morality
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007, 157-191
“Moral Responsibility and Determinism:
The Cognitive Science of Folk Intuitions”
Shaun Nichols & Joshua Knobe
from Nous 41 (2007), 663-668
“Covenants and Reputations”
Peter Vanderschraaf
from Synthese 157 (2007), 167-195
“Epistemic Modals”
Seth Yalcin
from Mind 16 (2007), 983-1026
Subject Guides
Classics // Economics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
Here’s a list top ten list from Booklist, mainly popular (as opposed to scholarly) religion titles for 2008.
Subject Guides
Classics // Economics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
I’ve been listening to a bunch of fundamentalist Christian podcasts of late. This is food for thought for many in our country, though it might seem a bit distant at Temple University. You can learn about how the Book of Daniel presaged the split in the Alexandrian empire and the rise of the first Anti-Christ, Antiochus, and how Antiochus presaged the coming of the next Anti-Christ during the Tribulation (whether you believe in the pre-Trib or post-Trib rapture). I also listened to someone explain how you need to go back to Adam and Eve to fully understand the essence of the Anti-Christ. She has evidently spent her life searching for the Anti-Christ.
Have a listen:
http://www.revelationsradionetwork.com/.
Check out the Academy Blog, the newest edition to the web site of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. The blog posts often contain links to podcasts as well as links to the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences.
Book Review of new book by Alan Sokel, author of the now famous hoax in Social Text hoax.
Beyond the Hoax: Science, Philosophy, and Culture, by Alan Sokel
Book Review (reviewer: James Ladyman)
Here’s the original article: “Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a transformative hermeneutics of quantum gravity”
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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A piece on Democracy Now on Palin’s church and religious views. Listen to it or read the transcript.
Sarah Palin and the Wasilla Church of God
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Subject Guides
Classics // Islamic Studies // Jewish Studies // Philosophy // Religion
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