Dead Poets and their Undying Fame – Perspectives on the Indo-European Poetic Traditions
- Date: 9 November 2022, 15:00–19:00
- Location: SCAS, Thunbergssalen, Linneanum, Thunbergsvägen 2, Uppsala
- Type: Conference, Workshop
- Lecturer: Bo Ralph, Peter Jackson and Ola Wikander
- Web page
- Organiser: Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS)
- Contact person: Ellen Werner
During this symposium on Indo-European poetic traditions Bo Ralph will speak on the "The Runic Inscription of the Rök Stone and Its Originator", Peter Jackson will speak on "The Role of the Indo-European Poet" and Ola Wikander will speak on "The Conquering Baal and the Name of Indra: Linguistic and Poetic Encounters in Bronze Age Syria". The symposium will be followed by a reception.
With this symposium, we wish to shed some light on the Indo- European poetic traditions. The study of Indo-European poetics has a long history and a well established scholarly basis. Already in the early 19th century, it was noticed by pioneering comparative linguists that many of the archaic Indo-European languages share not just a grammar and vocabulary, but also non-trivial poetic formulae. The best known example being an expression for imperishable fame in Vedic Sanskrit and Homeric Greek. In more recent years, scholars such as Calvert Watkins, have made significant progress in relating these poetic formulae to a cultural context, and more complex parallels between early IE traditions have also been uncovered. Another emerging area of research, also in focus at the symposium, is the way in which the Indo-European poetic universe has influenced texts and traditions from other language families and how such contact phenomena can help illustrate ancient cultural interactions.
This will be a hybrid event.
Please note that pre-registration is required for the physical event.