Call for Papers and Sessions

Theme: Rituals and Philosophy

Athanasios Despotis, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Presiding

Constantin-Daniel Cosereanu, University of Halle
Philo on Material Forms of Religion and Their Relevance for Mosaic Philosophy (25 min)

Zacharias Shoukry, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
The Concept of Logike Latreia and the Rituals of Baptism and the Lord's Supper in Paul (25 min)

Ilya Kaplan, University of Bern
Death and Christian Rite in Gregory of Nyssa’s Oratio catechetica (25 min)

Alexander Angelov, Respondent (15 min)

Vulgata: Intra-textual Exegesis and Reception
Gitte Buch-Hansen, Københavns Universitet, Presiding

Matthew Kraus, University of Cincinnati
On the Margins of Vulgate Leviticus (30 min)

Michael Graves, Wheaton College (Illinois)
The Reception of Vulgate Ps 39:7-9 (Heb 40:7-9) among Latin Christian Hebraists (30 min)

Reinhart Ceulemans, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Hexametrical Psalter Metaphrases of Olympia Fulvia Morata (1558): Latin Versions and Tradition (30 min)

John and Ancient Greek Philosophy

Todd Krulak, Samford University, Presiding

Gitte Buch-Hansen, Københavns Universitet
"I Do No Longer Call You Slaves" (Jn 15:15): John's Concept of Righteousness Reconsidered in Light of Aristotle's Politics (25 min)

Isidoros C. Katsos, University of Athens
What is the Meaning of John 1:9? Reading the Gospel of John through the Eyes of Philo and Origen (25 min)

Milan Kostresevic, Universität Rostock
The Motif of Light in the Gospel of John against the Backdrop of Middle Platonism (25 min)

Michael Jost, Universität Zürich
Pneuma, Daimonion, and Paraclete: Philosophical Implications for the Johannine Spirit and vice versa? (25 min)

Athanasios Despotis, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Rhetorics and Philosophy in John 1–12 (25 min)

Harold Attridge, Yale University, Respondent (15 min)

Aufklapp-Text

"Likeness to God": Deification in Ancient Religio-philosophical Discourses

Jed Wyrick, California State University, Chico
The End of Origins and the Fluidity of Deification: The Case of Moses and Amenhotep, "The Hermes of Thebes" (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)

Athanasios Despotis, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
The Divinization of the Wise Man in Pseudo-Heraclitus and the Early Christian Philosophy (25 min)

Ilaria Ramelli, Durham U., Cambridge U., Sacred Heart U. Angelicum, Erfurt U. MWK; KUL; Bonn U. sen. fellow
Likeness to God: Deification and Restoration in Origen of Alexandria (25 min)

Discussion (5 min)

Becky Walker, Saint Louis University
"Almsgiving Makes One Like God": John Chrysostom's Employment of the Ethical and Sacramental Approaches to Deification (25 min)

Discussion (5 min)

Joint Session On: Biblical Exegesis from Eastern Orthodox Perspectives, Religion and Philosophy in Late Antiquity
Exegesis and Anti-Christian Polemics

Leslie Baynes, Missouri State University, Presiding

Samuel Johnson, Athenaeum of Ohio - Mount St. Mary's Seminary
Fact and Fiction in Early Christian Reading of the Gospels (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)

Brad Boswell, Duke Divinity School
Julian the Apostate and the Quest for the Historical Jesus (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)

Ilya Kaplan, University of Bern
“In the Arche”: Gregory of Nyssa’s Apologia in Hexaemeron and the Neoplatonic Cosmos (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)

Milan Kostresevic, Universität Rostock
Pantherа: Christian-Pagan Controversy about the Bodily Origin of Jesus (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)

Alexander Angelov, College of William and Mary
Platonism in Byzantium: Christian and Anti-Christian Visions and Divisions in the Late Antique Period (25 min)

Todd Krulak, Samford University, Presiding

Brad Boswell, Duke University
Competing Rationalities: Timaeus 41a–d between Julian the Apostate and Cyril of Alexandria (25 min) (25 min)

Bryan Carter Bogue, Brewton-Parker College
To Pee or Not to Pee? The Influence of Platonic Philosophy on the Concept of Divine Embodiment in the Testament of Abraham (25 min)

Discussion (30 min)

Joint Session On: Christian Platonism: Reflections on the occasion of the Publication of Christian Platonism: A History (Cambridge, 2021)

This is a joint session with the AAR Platonism and Neoplatonism unit. On the occasion of the publication of Christian Platonism: A History edited by Alexander J.B. Hampton and John Peter Kenney (Cambridge, 2021) this panel offers papers by established and emergent scholars on one of the determinative narratives of over two millennia of intellectual history. At times, Platonism has constituted an essential philosophical and theological resource, furnishing Christianity with an intellectual framework that has played a key role in its early development, and in subsequent periods of renewal. Alternatively, it has been considered a compromising influence, conflicting with the faiths revelatory foundations and distorting its inherent message. In both cases the fundamental importance of Platonism, as a force which Christianity defined itself by and against, is clear. Contributions will explore the historical conceptual and constructive elements of the relationship between one of historys most influential philosophies and one of its most important religions.

Willemien Otten, University of Chicago, Presiding

Andrew Radde-Gallwitz, University of Notre Dame, Panelist

Andrew Davison, University of Cambridge, Panelist

Alexander J.B. Hampton, University of Toronto, Panelist

Anna Corrias, University of Toronto, Panelist

Derek Michaud, University of Maine, Panelist

Matthew Chalmers, Washington and Lee University, Presiding

Svetla Slaveva-Griffin, Florida State University
Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust: The Anthroposomatic Crossroads of Religion and Philosophy in Late Antiquity (15 min)

Heidi Marx-Wolf, University of Manitoba, Respondent (10 min)

Discussion (10 min)

Edward Watts, University of California, San Diego
Philosophy, Religion, and Empire in Late Neoplatonic Athens (15 min)

Todd Krulak, Samford University, Respondent (10 min)

Discussion (10 min)

Thomas Lewis, Brown University
Philosophy, Religion—Then, Now: On Conceptualizing Philosophy in Late Antiquity (15 min)

Roshan Abraham, American University, Respondent (10 min)

Discussion (45 min)

Joint Session With: Mysticism, Esotericism, and Gnosticism in Antiquity, History and Literature of Early Rabbinic Judaism, Religion and Philosophy in Late Antiquity

Theme: Responding to Michael D. Swartz’s The Mechanics of Providence: A “Commentaries” 

This session is inspired by Michael D. Swartz’s newly published book The Mechanics of Providence: The Workings of Ancient Jewish Magic and Mysticism, Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism 172 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018). The session takes the form of a “commentaries session” in which, except for an introductory overview paper and the author’s response, the other presentations are independent papers that build upon or interact with the book in some substantial way.

Annette Reed, New York University, Presiding

Ra'anan Boustan, Princeton University
Michael Swartz’s Vision for the Study of Early Jewish Mysticism and Magic (15 min)

Laura Lieber, Duke University
Late Antique Liturgical Poetry at the Intersection of Ritual, Magic, and Art (30 min)

Mika Ahuvia, University of Washington, Seattle
The Mechanics of Healing (30 min)

David Frankfurter, Boston University
Beyond Magic and Mysticism: Heavenly Liturgy and Its Materialization in Coptic Manuals (30 min)

Michael Swartz, Ohio State University, Respondent (15 min)

Discussion (30 min)

Theme: Astrology and Mysticism

Joint Session With: Religious Competition in Late Antiquity, Religion and Philosophy in Late Antiquity

Todd Krulak, Samford University, Presiding

Ilaria L.E. Ramelli, Angelicum + Oxford + MWK + Catholic U + Durham
Bardaisan and Astrology: Philosophical and Religious Competition in Imperial Antiquity and Aftermath (25 min)

Discussion (5 min)

Evgenia Moiseeva, N/A
Followers of Christ Cannot Reject the Old Testament! Epiphanius’ Attacks on Manicheans (25 min)

Discussion (5 min)

Roshan Abraham, American University, Respondent (10 min)

Discussion (5 min)

Andrew W. Higginbotham, Ivy Tech Community College - Lawrenceburg Riverfront
“When Fire Descended from Heaven...after That Time Their Knowledge Became Unclear”: Teaching the Merkevah as Dangerous Rivalry (25 min)

Discussion (5 min)

Avram R. Shannon, Brigham Young University
"Who Measured the Heavens?": The Rabbinic Sages and the Battle for the Control of the Heavens (25 min)

Discussion (5 min)

Catherine Bonesho, University of California-Los Angeles, Respondent (10 min)

Discussion (5 min)

This is a three-year seminar that investigates "philosophy" and "religion" as analytical categories and their usefulness for interpreting the late ancient world.

Gregory Smith, Central Michigan University
What Kind of Problems Do Demons Solve in Late Antiquity? (25 min)

Greg Shaw, Stonehill College
Philosophy and Religion in Later Platonism: Who Were the Bacchoi? (25 min) 

Theme: Religion and Philosophy at the Crossroads

Sarah Iles Johnston, Ohio State University, Presiding

Blossom Stefaniw, German Research Council, Panelist

Gregory Shaw, Stonehill College, Panelist

Thomas Lewis, Brown University, Panelist

Christian Wildberg, Princeton University, Panelist

Svetla Slaveva-Griffin, Florida State University, Panelist

Gregory Smith, Central Michigan University, Panelist