PSCO 2006: From Bob Kraft on the PSCO list:

[Please cross-post as appropriate]

PHILADELPHIA SEMINAR ON CHRISTIAN ORIGINS
in its 43rd year
an Interdisciplinary Humanities Seminar
under the auspices of the
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Department of Religious Studies
201 Logan Hall
with support from
the Penn Humanities Forum

TOPIC FOR 2005-2006: Redescribing the Holy Man: Theoretical Frameworks and Specific Applications

Whether Neoplatonic diadochai, Christian saints, Jewish rabbis, or the priests, healers, and prophets of the diverse local religious cultures of Late Antiquity, the methods and descriptions employed by modern scholars to make sense of these figures all speak of a shared imaginaire. Scholars of Christianity, Judaism, and other ancient Mediterranean traditions have embraced the Holy Man as an analytical type since it was introduced by Peter Brown in 1971. Recently, however, some theoretical studies have focused more closely on the various social roles performed by ritual experts in their communities, grounding the general type in more specific sub-types and social dynamics, and thereby pushing the academic community to a new stage of theoretical reflection and critique. Can the utility of the comparative taxon "Holy Man" be increased by refining the concept and, in some cases, employing a more thoroughly comparative method (between traditions, between individuals, between time periods, and between cultures)? It is our hope to use this year of PSCO to initiate an ongoing discussion involving scholars of early Christianity, scholars of early Judaism, and other students of late antiquity in an examination of the roles of these figures in the Greco-Roman world, and especially in early Judaism and Christianity, in order to further nuance the analytical concept of the Holy Man and increase its utility.

Co-Chairs:
TJ Wellman (University of Pennsylvania) twellman@sas.upenn.edu
Harry Tolley (University of Pennsylvania) tolleyhw@ccat.sas.upenn.edu

Secretary:
Douglas Finkbeiner (University of Pennsylvania)

Webmaster: Jay C. Treat (University of Pennsylvania) jtreat@ccat.sas.upenn.edu

THE FIRST MEETING OF THE 2005-06 YEAR will be held on Thursday, 20 October 2005, from 7:00-9:00 pm in the Second Floor Lounge, Logan Hall at the University of Pennsylvania.

Persons wishing to dine with other participants prior to the seminar should meet at 6:00 pm at Logan Hall, Second Floor Lounge (southeast of Locust Walk and 36th Street Walk) or go directly to the Food Court in the basement of Houston Hall (just east of Logan, along Spruce Street), where an international variety of food choices is available at reasonable prices and plenty of table space for us to appropriate.

PROGRAM:

David T. Frankfurter, University of New Hampshire
Topic: "From Holy Man to Ritual Experts"


Following the emerging tradition, THE SECOND MEETING OF THE 2005-06 YEAR WILL BE HELD on Friday 18 November, in Philadelphia at the AAR/SBL annual meeting. Further details and Program will be provided in the future.


Bob Kraft, coordinator
PSCO website = http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/psco/