Yuliya Minets | University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa (original) (raw)
Articles by Yuliya Minets
Journal of Early Christian Studies, 2017
The present article analyzes the narrative strategies and discursive conventions that Palladius o... more The present article analyzes the narrative strategies and discursive conventions that Palladius of Hellenopolis employed in his works, the Dialogue and the Lausiac History, and proposes the reasons why one author could produce two such disparate works. I use the concepts and approaches offered by reader-response criticism in order to differentiate between an implied audience of the historical narrative as the narrative itself mediates it, and the historical audience, i.e., real people of flesh and blood who read the book in the past. The ways in which Palladius chose to present certain topics (the attitude to wisdom and foolishness, eschatological expectations, the appearance of righteous men, male and female ascetics living together, and the attitude to pride) are important indicators of how he envisioned the audiences of the Dialogue and the Lausiac History, and that, to a larger extent, accounts for the impression of the remarkable difference between the two works. An attempt is made to correlate these implied audiences with the diverse groups in Palladius’s immediate milieu and to hypothesize about the real first-hand readers of his works, who were ready and willing to internalize his assumptions and expectations.
Studia Patristica: Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015, 2017
The following essay focuses on Greek patristic authors of the second to the fifth century. I expl... more The following essay focuses on Greek patristic authors of the second to the fifth century. I explore their views on the role of language in the spread of Christianity and on the possibility of transmitting Christian ideas to foreigners in their native tongues. This analysis allows me to highlight and to contextualize the main points of the cultural dialogue between representatives of two different trends in Christianity of the time: the so-called 'Christian universalists' and those who could be labeled as 'cultural isolationists'. That debate then produced a distinct rhetoric of differentiation in the Christian discourse on the speakers of foreign languages as attested in the hagiographic texts of the sixth century.
Language and Culture in Early Christianity: A Companion, ed. T. Denecker, M. Lamberigts, G. Partoens, P. Swiggers, T. Van Hal (Peeters)
Проблеми слов’янознавства, 2010
The article explores the Slavic translations of the "Lausiac History," a Greek hagiographical wor... more The article explores the Slavic translations of the "Lausiac History," a Greek hagiographical work written c. 420 CE by Palladius of Helenopolis. In particular, I focus on three main issues: first, the problem of Slavic translation of the "Lausiac history" as a single integrated composition; second, translations and adaptions of individual chapters and stories, and their incorporation in larger compilations; third, the popularity of the text, and how the title ‘Lausiak’ was understood.
Key words: Hagiography, Palladius of Helenopolis, “Lausiac History”, "Egyptian paterikon”, “Alphabetical Paterikon”, “Historia Monachorum Aegyptorum”, “De Gentibus Indiae et Bragmanibus”, “Apophthegmata Patrum”.
Сторінки історії, 2008
The history of medieval literature knows the examples when a narrative, which originally appeared... more The history of medieval literature knows the examples when a narrative, which originally appeared as a primarily orally transmitted story, got fixed in writing. Occasionally, this written story started to be widely read and listened to in public, and thus entered the sphere of a predominantly oral transmission once again, upon which a secondary written fixation sometimes followed.
This study analyses the principles of interaction of oral and written texts in the Middle Ages, and focuses on the Lausiac History, written c. 420 C.E. by Palladius of Helenopolis (c. 363/364 – c. 431).
Материалы XV Международной конференции “Ломоносов”. Секция “Филология”, 2008
Наукові записки: Історичні науки. Національний університет “Києво-Могилянська академія”, 2005
The article explores the methodological problems related to the use of Byzantine hagiographical t... more The article explores the methodological problems related to the use of Byzantine hagiographical texts as primary sources for the historical research, and a variety of scholars' opinions is discussed.
Наукові записки: Історичні науки. Національний університет “Києво-Могилянська академія”, 2007
The article traces the origins and development of the early Christian monasticism according to th... more The article traces the origins and development of the early Christian monasticism according to the acts of the early Church Councils. I examine the changes in the status of the monastic communities in the structure of the Christian Church, from the 4th to the 9th centuries C.E.
Ph.D. Dissertation, CUA by Yuliya Minets
Dear colleagues, here I post the initial pages and the introduction for my dissertation entitle... more Dear colleagues,
here I post the initial pages and the introduction for my dissertation entitled "The Slow Fall of Babel: Conceptualization of Languages, Linguistic Diversity and History in Late Ancient Christianity". I am reluctant to post the entire text on-line since I am currently working on a book proposal based on my dissertation research. Should you be interested to have a closer look, you still are able to access it through ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database http://www.proquest.com/products-services/pqdtglobal.html
Please, contact me if you have further questions or interests.
This dissertation explores ideas attested in late ancient Christianity on language as such, on th... more This dissertation explores ideas attested in late ancient Christianity on language as such, on the history of language, and on linguistic diversity. It traces how the role of language as a factor of group identity changed in the late ancient Mediterranean under the growing influence of Christianity, examines to what extent the Christian elite groups objectified the language as a part of their distinctly Christian identity, and how different those processes were in the Greek, Latin, and Syriac milieus. The dissertation examines the changes in linguistic awareness among Christian intellectuals through an analysis of metalinguistic comments in their narratives. The Christian ideas on languages developed in interaction with those attested in the Classical and
The proposed study does not belong exclusively to the field of historical socio-linguistics, patr... more The proposed study does not belong exclusively to the field of historical socio-linguistics, patristic exegesis or rhetorical studies, but focuses rather on the interdisciplinary area at the crossroads of these fields. Any text, as a representation of reality, is founded to some extent on the historical facts; therefore historical socio-linguistics provides an important background for this research. However, the understanding of reality is affected, first, by the individuality of an author, his character and worldview; second, by set of experiences, system of thoughts, beliefs and values that are most widely held in society at a given time; and third, by the dynamics of the changes of a dominant paradigm that is Christianity in this case: different emphases it obtained in the course of time and theological discussions, in different locations and among different social and intellectual groups. Taking into account the transformations Christianity underwent in the 4th -6th centuries, and its growing influence as a point of reference for the explanation of the historical reality, the interpretation of those Scriptural passages which dealt with linguistic phenomena had an important impact on the perception and understanding of cross-linguistic interaction in Late Antiquity. Moreover, the representation of reality in a text was organized according to literary techniques, conventions of genre, and narrative strategies that an author chose to use, given his specific intentions and purposes.
Courses by Yuliya Minets
This course provides an introduction to reading Latin prose texts, with a focus on applying the r... more This course provides an introduction to reading Latin prose texts, with a focus on applying the rules of Latin grammar that you have learned (in Latin 101-102 or high school Latin) to the reading of original, unadapted Latin texts. Our readings for this semester will focus on three authors: Eutropius, who compiled a brief account (“Abridgement” or “Breviarium”) of Roman History in the 4th century CE; the Roman general, author, and politician Julius Caesar (100 BCE – 44 BCE); and his contemporary, Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BCE – 43 BCE), also a famous politician, orator, and intellectual. This is a classical traditional selection of primary texts for beginner Latin readers used all over the world.
We first read the passages from Eutropius’s “Breviarium” that provide the summary of the so-called Catiline conspiracy, a plot devised by the Roman senator Catiline to overthrow the consul Cicero, as well as the highlights of Caesar’s career, including his campaigns in Gaul, civil wars fought against Pompey, and assassination. This will be combined with grammar review and introduction to new grammar concepts. We will then spend the remainder of the semester on the selected chapters from Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico in which he describes the customs of the people of Gaul and his campaigns against the Helvetii; and the fragments of Cicero’s First and Second Orations Against Catiline. Understanding of grammar and syntax will be emphasized throughout.
Course learning objectives:
Students who complete Latin 201 will
• memorize and recognize Latin vocabulary beyond the basic words acquired in Latin 101-102.
• read 10-15 pages of Latin prose written by 1st-century BC authors (Caesar and Cicero).
• be able to translate prepared passages from Latin into English with considerable accuracy.
• be able to recognize and explain Latin syntactical constructions.
• be able to compose short Latin sentences using these constructions.
• identify issues of literary and historical context for the authors and works read.
This course covers the key events, processes, figures, and texts in the history of Christianity i... more This course covers the key events, processes, figures, and texts in the history of Christianity in Antiquity and in the early Middle Ages (prior to the year 1000). The course begins with the introduction in which we will discuss the historical, social, and intellectual factors, which influenced the development of early Christianity, its cultural connections with Judaism and Hellenism, and the appearance of the formative texts of Christianity. The subsequent lectures will be organized chronologically; group discussions will focus on the key historical narratives which help to acquire a better understanding of the developments of early Christianity from within and without (documents on the historical Jesus, martyrs narratives, early biblical canons, Christian apocrypha, apologists narratives, Gnostic texts, Christian hagiography). In the second part of the course, we will trace the developments of the Christian Church in the West after the fall of the Roman empire and discuss the Trinitarian and Christological controversies in the East. The course also addresses the formation of the Byzantine Church and Eastern Christian traditions (Syriac, Coptic, Georgian, Armenian, Slavic, Arabic), as well as to the adaptations of the elements of Greco-Roman polytheistic religions, and relationship between Christianity and Judaism, and later Islam.
The required primary and secondary literature will be available on the Blackboard, through the UA library E-Resources, and freely on the Internet. The course will require the occasional visits to the library, but the students will not have to purchase their own books or materials. The primary sources will be provided in English translation.
Learning objectives
Students will:
• broadly recount the history of Christianity prior to the year 1000.
• explore the fundamentals of Christian theology within their historical context.
• analyze primary sources for the ancient and medieval Church history.
• be able to discuss the historical, social, and intellectual factors that influenced the rise of Christianity.
Course description: The course is designed as an upper-level Latin reading seminar. We will focus... more Course description: The course is designed as an upper-level Latin reading seminar. We will focus on reading Christian Latin texts of the fourth to the sixth centuries CE, including such authors as Augustine, Jerome, John Cassian, Cassiodorus, Gregory the Great. The reading of the original texts will be combined with the analysis of the literary and historical contexts out of which those texts emerged. The suggested topics for the discussions and the bibliography are provided below. The course invites the students to think about the challenges of working with the religious narratives as historical sources, on the importance of proper contextualization of these texts, and on their subsequent reception. We will start the course with the discussion of the term "Christian Latin, " and at our final meeting we will summarize the stylistic, morphological, syntactic, and lexical features of the texts we read.
Course Objectives
In this course, students will be introduced to:
• extensive readings of Latin prose
• the term “Christian Latin,” and the stylistic, morphological, syntactic, and lexical features associated with it
• the challenges of working with the religious narratives as historical sources
It is an introductory course in the history of the Byzantine Empire (330 – 1453). It will be divi... more It is an introductory course in the history of the Byzantine Empire (330 – 1453). It will be divided into two parts. The first part consists of 15 lectures and 6 group discussions. We will follow the main events and the milestones of the Byzantine history structured chronologically, and will discuss the specific topics such as Byzantine political organization, international relations, society, economy, and culture. We will start with an overview of the main types of primary sources that scholars use studying Byzantium. Students will explore the different areas of the Byzantine history by reading a selection of the narrative sources, by examination of Byzantine coins, seals, manuscripts and art objects (available on-line). We will immerse ourselves in the legends and realities of the social, political, and cultural life of the majestic capital of the Byzantine empire, the city of Constantinople. Together with the Byzantine historians Eusebius of Caesarea, Procopius, Leo the Deacon, Michael Psellos, and Anna Komnene, we will have a chance to peep in the couloirs and chambers of the Imperial Palace, to eavesdrop on the flattering and defamatory stories about emperors and empresses, generals and bureaucrats, and to learn about intrigues, ambitions, love and hatred of the Byzantine beau monde. We will try to understand why (according to Averil Cameron) Byzantium is virtually " absent " from the public and even academic memory of the Western World, and will discuss the modern examples of the use (and abuse) of the Byzantine aesthetics (see the " Byzantine " collections from Dolce & Gabbana (2013), Valentino (2013), and Chanel).
The second part of the course consists of students' presentations. Each student is invited to prepare a talk on the one of the " unorthodox " subjects that often are left behind in the standard expositions on the history of Byzantium (such as Byzantine magic, the Byzantine garden culture, cuisine and fashion, the Byzantine sense of humor and emotions, the Byzantine ideas about death, dreams, beauty, holiness, gender, women, and eroticism; please, find the list of the topics and the suggested bibliography at the end of this syllabus). Students will learn and practice the basic academic skills of preparing and delivering the oral presentations, and giving feedback on their colleagues' talks. This approach will make the fascinating and mysterious civilization of Byzantium more tangible and, in fact, unforgettable.
The required primary and secondary literature will be available on the Blackboard, through the UA library E-Resources, and freely on the Internet. The course will require the occasional visits to the library, but the students will not have to purchase their own books or materials. The primary sources will be provided in English translation.
Student learning outcomes:
1. Broadly recount the history of the Byzantine empire in the context of world civilization
2. Be able to discuss current issues and debates in Byzantine studies
3. Understand how various types of primary sources and methods of historical inquiry contribute to Byzantine studies.
Book Reviews by Yuliya Minets
Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, 2016
Український гуманітарний огляд, 2009
Український гуманітарний огляд, 2006
Journal of Early Christian Studies, 2017
The present article analyzes the narrative strategies and discursive conventions that Palladius o... more The present article analyzes the narrative strategies and discursive conventions that Palladius of Hellenopolis employed in his works, the Dialogue and the Lausiac History, and proposes the reasons why one author could produce two such disparate works. I use the concepts and approaches offered by reader-response criticism in order to differentiate between an implied audience of the historical narrative as the narrative itself mediates it, and the historical audience, i.e., real people of flesh and blood who read the book in the past. The ways in which Palladius chose to present certain topics (the attitude to wisdom and foolishness, eschatological expectations, the appearance of righteous men, male and female ascetics living together, and the attitude to pride) are important indicators of how he envisioned the audiences of the Dialogue and the Lausiac History, and that, to a larger extent, accounts for the impression of the remarkable difference between the two works. An attempt is made to correlate these implied audiences with the diverse groups in Palladius’s immediate milieu and to hypothesize about the real first-hand readers of his works, who were ready and willing to internalize his assumptions and expectations.
Studia Patristica: Papers presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2015, 2017
The following essay focuses on Greek patristic authors of the second to the fifth century. I expl... more The following essay focuses on Greek patristic authors of the second to the fifth century. I explore their views on the role of language in the spread of Christianity and on the possibility of transmitting Christian ideas to foreigners in their native tongues. This analysis allows me to highlight and to contextualize the main points of the cultural dialogue between representatives of two different trends in Christianity of the time: the so-called 'Christian universalists' and those who could be labeled as 'cultural isolationists'. That debate then produced a distinct rhetoric of differentiation in the Christian discourse on the speakers of foreign languages as attested in the hagiographic texts of the sixth century.
Language and Culture in Early Christianity: A Companion, ed. T. Denecker, M. Lamberigts, G. Partoens, P. Swiggers, T. Van Hal (Peeters)
Проблеми слов’янознавства, 2010
The article explores the Slavic translations of the "Lausiac History," a Greek hagiographical wor... more The article explores the Slavic translations of the "Lausiac History," a Greek hagiographical work written c. 420 CE by Palladius of Helenopolis. In particular, I focus on three main issues: first, the problem of Slavic translation of the "Lausiac history" as a single integrated composition; second, translations and adaptions of individual chapters and stories, and their incorporation in larger compilations; third, the popularity of the text, and how the title ‘Lausiak’ was understood.
Key words: Hagiography, Palladius of Helenopolis, “Lausiac History”, "Egyptian paterikon”, “Alphabetical Paterikon”, “Historia Monachorum Aegyptorum”, “De Gentibus Indiae et Bragmanibus”, “Apophthegmata Patrum”.
Сторінки історії, 2008
The history of medieval literature knows the examples when a narrative, which originally appeared... more The history of medieval literature knows the examples when a narrative, which originally appeared as a primarily orally transmitted story, got fixed in writing. Occasionally, this written story started to be widely read and listened to in public, and thus entered the sphere of a predominantly oral transmission once again, upon which a secondary written fixation sometimes followed.
This study analyses the principles of interaction of oral and written texts in the Middle Ages, and focuses on the Lausiac History, written c. 420 C.E. by Palladius of Helenopolis (c. 363/364 – c. 431).
Материалы XV Международной конференции “Ломоносов”. Секция “Филология”, 2008
Наукові записки: Історичні науки. Національний університет “Києво-Могилянська академія”, 2005
The article explores the methodological problems related to the use of Byzantine hagiographical t... more The article explores the methodological problems related to the use of Byzantine hagiographical texts as primary sources for the historical research, and a variety of scholars' opinions is discussed.
Наукові записки: Історичні науки. Національний університет “Києво-Могилянська академія”, 2007
The article traces the origins and development of the early Christian monasticism according to th... more The article traces the origins and development of the early Christian monasticism according to the acts of the early Church Councils. I examine the changes in the status of the monastic communities in the structure of the Christian Church, from the 4th to the 9th centuries C.E.
Dear colleagues, here I post the initial pages and the introduction for my dissertation entitle... more Dear colleagues,
here I post the initial pages and the introduction for my dissertation entitled "The Slow Fall of Babel: Conceptualization of Languages, Linguistic Diversity and History in Late Ancient Christianity". I am reluctant to post the entire text on-line since I am currently working on a book proposal based on my dissertation research. Should you be interested to have a closer look, you still are able to access it through ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database http://www.proquest.com/products-services/pqdtglobal.html
Please, contact me if you have further questions or interests.
This dissertation explores ideas attested in late ancient Christianity on language as such, on th... more This dissertation explores ideas attested in late ancient Christianity on language as such, on the history of language, and on linguistic diversity. It traces how the role of language as a factor of group identity changed in the late ancient Mediterranean under the growing influence of Christianity, examines to what extent the Christian elite groups objectified the language as a part of their distinctly Christian identity, and how different those processes were in the Greek, Latin, and Syriac milieus. The dissertation examines the changes in linguistic awareness among Christian intellectuals through an analysis of metalinguistic comments in their narratives. The Christian ideas on languages developed in interaction with those attested in the Classical and
The proposed study does not belong exclusively to the field of historical socio-linguistics, patr... more The proposed study does not belong exclusively to the field of historical socio-linguistics, patristic exegesis or rhetorical studies, but focuses rather on the interdisciplinary area at the crossroads of these fields. Any text, as a representation of reality, is founded to some extent on the historical facts; therefore historical socio-linguistics provides an important background for this research. However, the understanding of reality is affected, first, by the individuality of an author, his character and worldview; second, by set of experiences, system of thoughts, beliefs and values that are most widely held in society at a given time; and third, by the dynamics of the changes of a dominant paradigm that is Christianity in this case: different emphases it obtained in the course of time and theological discussions, in different locations and among different social and intellectual groups. Taking into account the transformations Christianity underwent in the 4th -6th centuries, and its growing influence as a point of reference for the explanation of the historical reality, the interpretation of those Scriptural passages which dealt with linguistic phenomena had an important impact on the perception and understanding of cross-linguistic interaction in Late Antiquity. Moreover, the representation of reality in a text was organized according to literary techniques, conventions of genre, and narrative strategies that an author chose to use, given his specific intentions and purposes.
This course provides an introduction to reading Latin prose texts, with a focus on applying the r... more This course provides an introduction to reading Latin prose texts, with a focus on applying the rules of Latin grammar that you have learned (in Latin 101-102 or high school Latin) to the reading of original, unadapted Latin texts. Our readings for this semester will focus on three authors: Eutropius, who compiled a brief account (“Abridgement” or “Breviarium”) of Roman History in the 4th century CE; the Roman general, author, and politician Julius Caesar (100 BCE – 44 BCE); and his contemporary, Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BCE – 43 BCE), also a famous politician, orator, and intellectual. This is a classical traditional selection of primary texts for beginner Latin readers used all over the world.
We first read the passages from Eutropius’s “Breviarium” that provide the summary of the so-called Catiline conspiracy, a plot devised by the Roman senator Catiline to overthrow the consul Cicero, as well as the highlights of Caesar’s career, including his campaigns in Gaul, civil wars fought against Pompey, and assassination. This will be combined with grammar review and introduction to new grammar concepts. We will then spend the remainder of the semester on the selected chapters from Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico in which he describes the customs of the people of Gaul and his campaigns against the Helvetii; and the fragments of Cicero’s First and Second Orations Against Catiline. Understanding of grammar and syntax will be emphasized throughout.
Course learning objectives:
Students who complete Latin 201 will
• memorize and recognize Latin vocabulary beyond the basic words acquired in Latin 101-102.
• read 10-15 pages of Latin prose written by 1st-century BC authors (Caesar and Cicero).
• be able to translate prepared passages from Latin into English with considerable accuracy.
• be able to recognize and explain Latin syntactical constructions.
• be able to compose short Latin sentences using these constructions.
• identify issues of literary and historical context for the authors and works read.
This course covers the key events, processes, figures, and texts in the history of Christianity i... more This course covers the key events, processes, figures, and texts in the history of Christianity in Antiquity and in the early Middle Ages (prior to the year 1000). The course begins with the introduction in which we will discuss the historical, social, and intellectual factors, which influenced the development of early Christianity, its cultural connections with Judaism and Hellenism, and the appearance of the formative texts of Christianity. The subsequent lectures will be organized chronologically; group discussions will focus on the key historical narratives which help to acquire a better understanding of the developments of early Christianity from within and without (documents on the historical Jesus, martyrs narratives, early biblical canons, Christian apocrypha, apologists narratives, Gnostic texts, Christian hagiography). In the second part of the course, we will trace the developments of the Christian Church in the West after the fall of the Roman empire and discuss the Trinitarian and Christological controversies in the East. The course also addresses the formation of the Byzantine Church and Eastern Christian traditions (Syriac, Coptic, Georgian, Armenian, Slavic, Arabic), as well as to the adaptations of the elements of Greco-Roman polytheistic religions, and relationship between Christianity and Judaism, and later Islam.
The required primary and secondary literature will be available on the Blackboard, through the UA library E-Resources, and freely on the Internet. The course will require the occasional visits to the library, but the students will not have to purchase their own books or materials. The primary sources will be provided in English translation.
Learning objectives
Students will:
• broadly recount the history of Christianity prior to the year 1000.
• explore the fundamentals of Christian theology within their historical context.
• analyze primary sources for the ancient and medieval Church history.
• be able to discuss the historical, social, and intellectual factors that influenced the rise of Christianity.
Course description: The course is designed as an upper-level Latin reading seminar. We will focus... more Course description: The course is designed as an upper-level Latin reading seminar. We will focus on reading Christian Latin texts of the fourth to the sixth centuries CE, including such authors as Augustine, Jerome, John Cassian, Cassiodorus, Gregory the Great. The reading of the original texts will be combined with the analysis of the literary and historical contexts out of which those texts emerged. The suggested topics for the discussions and the bibliography are provided below. The course invites the students to think about the challenges of working with the religious narratives as historical sources, on the importance of proper contextualization of these texts, and on their subsequent reception. We will start the course with the discussion of the term "Christian Latin, " and at our final meeting we will summarize the stylistic, morphological, syntactic, and lexical features of the texts we read.
Course Objectives
In this course, students will be introduced to:
• extensive readings of Latin prose
• the term “Christian Latin,” and the stylistic, morphological, syntactic, and lexical features associated with it
• the challenges of working with the religious narratives as historical sources
It is an introductory course in the history of the Byzantine Empire (330 – 1453). It will be divi... more It is an introductory course in the history of the Byzantine Empire (330 – 1453). It will be divided into two parts. The first part consists of 15 lectures and 6 group discussions. We will follow the main events and the milestones of the Byzantine history structured chronologically, and will discuss the specific topics such as Byzantine political organization, international relations, society, economy, and culture. We will start with an overview of the main types of primary sources that scholars use studying Byzantium. Students will explore the different areas of the Byzantine history by reading a selection of the narrative sources, by examination of Byzantine coins, seals, manuscripts and art objects (available on-line). We will immerse ourselves in the legends and realities of the social, political, and cultural life of the majestic capital of the Byzantine empire, the city of Constantinople. Together with the Byzantine historians Eusebius of Caesarea, Procopius, Leo the Deacon, Michael Psellos, and Anna Komnene, we will have a chance to peep in the couloirs and chambers of the Imperial Palace, to eavesdrop on the flattering and defamatory stories about emperors and empresses, generals and bureaucrats, and to learn about intrigues, ambitions, love and hatred of the Byzantine beau monde. We will try to understand why (according to Averil Cameron) Byzantium is virtually " absent " from the public and even academic memory of the Western World, and will discuss the modern examples of the use (and abuse) of the Byzantine aesthetics (see the " Byzantine " collections from Dolce & Gabbana (2013), Valentino (2013), and Chanel).
The second part of the course consists of students' presentations. Each student is invited to prepare a talk on the one of the " unorthodox " subjects that often are left behind in the standard expositions on the history of Byzantium (such as Byzantine magic, the Byzantine garden culture, cuisine and fashion, the Byzantine sense of humor and emotions, the Byzantine ideas about death, dreams, beauty, holiness, gender, women, and eroticism; please, find the list of the topics and the suggested bibliography at the end of this syllabus). Students will learn and practice the basic academic skills of preparing and delivering the oral presentations, and giving feedback on their colleagues' talks. This approach will make the fascinating and mysterious civilization of Byzantium more tangible and, in fact, unforgettable.
The required primary and secondary literature will be available on the Blackboard, through the UA library E-Resources, and freely on the Internet. The course will require the occasional visits to the library, but the students will not have to purchase their own books or materials. The primary sources will be provided in English translation.
Student learning outcomes:
1. Broadly recount the history of the Byzantine empire in the context of world civilization
2. Be able to discuss current issues and debates in Byzantine studies
3. Understand how various types of primary sources and methods of historical inquiry contribute to Byzantine studies.
Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, 2016
Український гуманітарний огляд, 2009
Український гуманітарний огляд, 2006
This work does not belong to Syriac studies but rather explores an interdisciplinary area between... more This work does not belong to Syriac studies but rather explores an interdisciplinary area between linguistic speculations and the linguistic reality of the past. This study analyses the Greek hagiographical narratives from the 4th to 10th c. with particular attention to the remarks on the use of Syriac by the characters of these texts. The main focus is, first, on those remarks that seem to be abundant and unnecessary because the fact that the characters should speak Syriac is obvious from the context. Second, the references to utterances in Syriac, which are strange and completely unexpected from the context, are also of great interest to us. Both types of remarks on Syriac language use functioned not only as descriptions of a real socio-linguistic situation, but as references that carry a symbolic meaning.
Choice of language is one of the most important aspects of oral performance that is closely relat... more Choice of language is one of the most important aspects of oral performance that is closely related to the issues of social differentiation, power and control in the society. Language was an instrument that created the special relationship between the speaker, the audience, and the message in the multilingual culture of Late Antiquity. The goal of this study is to investigate the meaning and purpose of the remarks that a particular language was used by characters of the early Christian narratives, and the correspondence of these remarks to the context of the performance.
We examine a selection of the Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Coptic texts from the 4th to the 6th century which belong to different genres: hagiography, homiletics, travelogues, epistles, and missionary narratives.
We are able to define several strategies beyond the references to a particular spoken language in these narratives. When the author emphasized the difference between the language of the text characters and that of its readers, or indicated the need for interpreters, he created the alienation effect that helped to construct a mental distance between the events narrated, the text as a medium, and the audience (Athanasius's Life of Antony 16.1; Palladius's Lausiac History 21.15, Theodoret, Religious History 13.7). On contrary, the instances when the obvious linguistic barriers were ignored in the text underplayed the presence of the ‘other’ and highlighted the integrity of the Christian universe (Egeria's Travelling, where she almost never mentioned the language she communicated with local people, with the only exception of ch.47). The command of foreign languages was represented as a sign of God's grace (The History of the Egyptian monks 6.3, 8.61-62); even unsuccessful attempts of a monastic leader to learn a foreign language could be considered praiseworthy since they had been undertaken to comfort a disciple, who was a speaker of another tongue (The Bohairic Life of Pachomius 89). Moreover, the deficient knowledge of a foreign language (Theodoret, Religious History 8.2), or the lack of such knowledge (John Chrysostom, On the Statues 19, Baptismal instructions 8) were effective characteristics in the descriptions of the genuine Christians, since the pious way of life was considered more important than eloquence and rhetorical skills. The gift of xenoglossia, or the miraculous ability to speak in foreign languages, helped to construct the image of a holy man (Ephrem the Syrian and Basil the Great in the Syriac Life of Ephrem); however, in the different context, unexpected ability to speak in a foreign language was reported as a sign of possession by the demonic powers (Jerome, Life of Hilarion 22). The linguistic barriers were important to protect one’s privacy, particularly, to keep in secret something discovered by God's revelation (The History of the Egyptian monks 10.25).
The analysis of the narratives which describe real or imaginary situations of interactions of people speaking in different languages contributes to the better understanding of the symbolic and contextual meaning of languages in Late Antiquity, and the performative strategies beyond these situations.
Καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ τῇ Σύρᾳ διαλέκτῳ: Syriac Utterances in the Mouth of Characters of the Greek Hagio... more Καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ τῇ Σύρᾳ διαλέκτῳ:
Syriac Utterances in the Mouth of Characters of the Greek Hagiographical Texts
Yuliya Minets (Catholic University of America)
This work does not belong to Syriac studies but rather explores an interdisciplinary area between linguistic speculations and the linguistic reality of the past. This study analyses the Greek hagiographical narratives from the 4th to 10th c. with particular attention to the remarks on the use of Syriac by the characters of these texts. The main focus is, first, on those remarks that seem to be abundant and unnecessary because the fact that the characters should speak Syriac is obvious from the context. Second, the references to utterances in Syriac, which are strange and completely unexpected from the context, are also of great interest to us. Both types of remarks on Syriac language use functioned not only as descriptions of a real socio-linguistic situation, but as references that carry a symbolic meaning.
The selection of sources includes but is not limited to Religious History by Theodoret of Cyrus, Life of Porphyry of Gaza by Mark the Deacon, Life of Alexander, different versions of Life of Daniel the Stylite, Lives of the Monks of Palestine by Cyril of Scythopolis, Greek Life of Ephrem the Syrian, Spiritual Meadow by John Moschus, the Greek versions of Jerome's Life of Hilarion (Samos translation and the free translation, Version 2), Life of Simeon the Holy Fool by Leontios of Neapolis, Life of Andrew the Holy Fool by Nikephoros.
Since language is an instrument that created the special relationship between the speaker/author, the audience, and the message in a multilingual culture, a particular situation is constructed in these texts with the tension between the Greek language of a hagiographical text itself and Syriac of its characters; between the Greek audience of a text and the Syriac audience of a character; between the references to Syriac utterances and the fact that these utterances are rendered in Greek.
Within the hagiographical narratives, "Syriac" served as a blanket term covering various Aramaic dialects. Along with the changes of the historical situation in the 4th - 10th c., the meanings and purposes of such remarks were also changing. Sometimes they could designate "heresies" such miaphysitism and Nestorianism. In other contexts they revealed intimate relationships between the interlocutors. The linguistic barriers were important to protect one’s privacy, particularly, to keep in secret something discovered by God's revelation. The miraculous ability to speak in Syriac was represented as a sign of God's grace that helped to construct the image of a holy man. Unexpected ability to speak in Syriac was also reported as a sign of possession by the demonic powers. When the differences in languages are emphasized, they produced an effect of alienation that built up a mental distance between the events narrated, the text as a medium, and the audience. Therefore, speaking in Syriac functioned as a reference to "other" time and space (especially after the loss of the Syriac provinces), or as a designation of the exotic forms of ascetic devotion (stylite, holy fool). Both the positive or negative implications of Syriac in hagiographical accounts are related to the Jewish and Christian polemics on Syriac as the language of Paradise in which the conversations between God, Adam, Eve, and Serpent were carried out.
16.) 1. Μηᾷ γνῦλ ἡκέξᾳ πξνειζώλ, θαὶ πάλησλ ηῶλ κνλαρῶλ ἐιζόλησλ πξὸο αὐηὸλ ἀμηνύλησλ ηε ἀθνῦζαη ... more 16.) 1. Μηᾷ γνῦλ ἡκέξᾳ πξνειζώλ, θαὶ πάλησλ ηῶλ κνλαρῶλ ἐιζόλησλ πξὸο αὐηὸλ ἀμηνύλησλ ηε ἀθνῦζαη παξ' αὐηνῦ ιόγνλ, ἔιεγελ αὐηνῖο ηῇ Αἰγππηηαθῇ θσλῇ ηαῦηα· ηὰο κὲλ γξαθὰο ἱθαλὰο εἶλαη πξὸο δηδαζθαιίαλ, κο δὲ θαιὸλ παξαθαιεῖλ ἀιιήινπο ἐλ ηῇ πίζηεη, θαὶ ἀιείθεηλ ἐλ ηνῖο ιόγνηο.
Choice of language is one of the most important aspects of oral performance that is closely relat... more Choice of language is one of the most important aspects of oral performance that is closely related to the issues of social differentiation, power and control in the society. Language was an instrument that created the special relationship between the speaker, the audience, and the message in the multilingual culture of Late Antiquity. The goal of this study is to investigate the meaning and purpose of the remarks that a particular language was used by characters of the early Christian narratives, and the correspondence of these remarks to the context of the performance.
We examine a selection of the Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Coptic texts from the 4th to the 6th century which belong to different genres: hagiography, homiletics, travelogues, epistles, and missionary narratives.
We are able to define several strategies beyond the references to a particular spoken language in these narratives. When the author emphasized the difference between the language of the text characters and that of its readers, or indicated the need for interpreters, he created the alienation effect that helped to construct a mental distance between the events narrated, the text as a medium, and the audience (Athanasius's Life of Antony 16.1; Palladius's Lausiac History 21.15, Theodoret, Religious History 13.7). On contrary, the instances when the obvious linguistic barriers were ignored in the text underplayed the presence of the ‘other’ and highlighted the integrity of the Christian universe (Egeria's Travelling, where she almost never mentioned the language she communicated with local people, with the only exception of ch.47). The command of foreign languages was represented as a sign of God's grace (The History of the Egyptian monks 6.3, 8.61-62); even unsuccessful attempts of a monastic leader to learn a foreign language could be considered praiseworthy since they had been undertaken to comfort a disciple, who was a speaker of another tongue (The Bohairic Life of Pachomius 89). Moreover, the deficient knowledge of a foreign language (Theodoret, Religious History 8.2), or the lack of such knowledge (John Chrysostom, On the Statues 19, Baptismal instructions 8) were effective characteristics in the descriptions of the genuine Christians, since the pious way of life was considered more important than eloquence and rhetorical skills. The gift of xenoglossia, or the miraculous ability to speak in foreign languages, helped to construct the image of a holy man (Ephrem the Syrian and Basil the Great in the Syriac Life of Ephrem); however, in the different context, unexpected ability to speak in a foreign language was reported as a sign of possession by the demonic powers (Jerome, Life of Hilarion 22). The linguistic barriers were important to protect one’s privacy, particularly, to keep in secret something discovered by God's revelation (The History of the Egyptian monks 10.25).
The analysis of the narratives which describe real or imaginary situations of interactions of people speaking in different languages contributes to the better understanding of the symbolic and contextual meaning of languages in Late Antiquity, and the performative strategies beyond these situations.
Καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ τῇ Σύρᾳ διαλέκτῳ: Syriac Utterances in the Mouth of Characters of the Greek Hagio... more Καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ τῇ Σύρᾳ διαλέκτῳ:
Syriac Utterances in the Mouth of Characters of the Greek Hagiographical Texts
Yuliya Minets (Catholic University of America)
This work does not belong to Syriac studies but rather explores an interdisciplinary area between linguistic speculations and the linguistic reality of the past. This study analyses the Greek hagiographical narratives from the 4th to 10th c. with particular attention to the remarks on the use of Syriac by the characters of these texts. The main focus is, first, on those remarks that seem to be abundant and unnecessary because the fact that the characters should speak Syriac is obvious from the context. Second, the references to utterances in Syriac, which are strange and completely unexpected from the context, are also of great interest to us. Both types of remarks on Syriac language use functioned not only as descriptions of a real socio-linguistic situation, but as references that carry a symbolic meaning.
The selection of sources includes but is not limited to Religious History by Theodoret of Cyrus, Life of Porphyry of Gaza by Mark the Deacon, Life of Alexander, different versions of Life of Daniel the Stylite, Lives of the Monks of Palestine by Cyril of Scythopolis, Greek Life of Ephrem the Syrian, Spiritual Meadow by John Moschus, the Greek versions of Jerome's Life of Hilarion (Samos translation and the free translation, Version 2), Life of Simeon the Holy Fool by Leontios of Neapolis, Life of Andrew the Holy Fool by Nikephoros.
Since language is an instrument that created the special relationship between the speaker/author, the audience, and the message in a multilingual culture, a particular situation is constructed in these texts with the tension between the Greek language of a hagiographical text itself and Syriac of its characters; between the Greek audience of a text and the Syriac audience of a character; between the references to Syriac utterances and the fact that these utterances are rendered in Greek.
Within the hagiographical narratives, "Syriac" served as a blanket term covering various Aramaic dialects. Along with the changes of the historical situation in the 4th - 10th c., the meanings and purposes of such remarks were also changing. Sometimes they could designate "heresies" such miaphysitism and Nestorianism. In other contexts they revealed intimate relationships between the interlocutors. The linguistic barriers were important to protect one’s privacy, particularly, to keep in secret something discovered by God's revelation. The miraculous ability to speak in Syriac was represented as a sign of God's grace that helped to construct the image of a holy man. Unexpected ability to speak in Syriac was also reported as a sign of possession by the demonic powers. When the differences in languages are emphasized, they produced an effect of alienation that built up a mental distance between the events narrated, the text as a medium, and the audience. Therefore, speaking in Syriac functioned as a reference to "other" time and space (especially after the loss of the Syriac provinces), or as a designation of the exotic forms of ascetic devotion (stylite, holy fool). Both the positive or negative implications of Syriac in hagiographical accounts are related to the Jewish and Christian polemics on Syriac as the language of Paradise in which the conversations between God, Adam, Eve, and Serpent were carried out.
The goal of this study is to investigate the origins and development of different interpretations... more The goal of this study is to investigate the origins and development of different interpretations of γλώσσαις λαλεῖν, otherwise known as the gift of tongues, that the apostles received on the day of Pentecost. Contrary to those modern scholars who try to understand the nature of this gift (γλώσσαις λαλεῖν) from the text of the New Testament, modern analogies, or psychological approaches, this work is looking for early Christian interpretations. After the introductory analysis of the related New Testament passages (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:1-12, Acts 10:44-46; Acts 19:1-7; 1 Cor. 12:7-11, 1 Cor. 12:28-31, 1 Cor. 13:1, 1 Cor. 14:1-40), the study focuses on the Greek patristic sources from the 2nd to the 4th century (Irenaeus, Origen, Eusebius, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus, Epiphanius of Salamis, and John Chrysostom). The analysis comes to the conclusions that according to the available Greek sources the interpretation of γλώσσαις λαλεῖν as xenolalia (the miraculous ability to speak in foreign languages) had not been widespread before the 4th century. Instead, it was often understood as an ecstatic speech of various kinds. Almost always, there was no clear indication of intelligibility or unintelligibility of such speech. However, there is also no reason to equate it to the modern phenomenon of glossolalia in Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. Eusebius of Caesarea might be the earliest author who suggested in his works that apostles might need the knowledge of foreign languages in order to preach all over the world. Gregory of Nazianzus was much more explicit in his statement that Apostles spoke in the real human languages not learned before, and communicated with foreigners in their native tongues. By the end of the 4th c. this idea was probably so well accepted that John Chrysostom in his interpretation, for example in Homily 35 on 1 Corinthians, put in juxtaposition Acts 2:1-12 (positive implications of γλώσσαις λαλεῖν, since everybody from all over the world could understand the apostles' preaching) and 1 Cor. 14:1-40 (uselessness of γλώσσαις λαλεῖν, since nobody understood this speech and could be edified) with the quite confusing and contradictory results. The change in the interpretation of γλώσσαις λαλεῖν appears to be one of the less known aspects of the transformations that Christianity underwent in the 4th c. in the multilingual milieu of the late Roman Empire.
Manuscript of the dissertation, Jan 14, 2011
Yuliya Minets. Works of Palladius of Helenopolis in the context of creation of ideals of Christia... more Yuliya Minets. Works of Palladius of Helenopolis in the context of creation of ideals of Christian life: Historical and social aspect. – Manuscript.
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Candidate of Science in History with major 07.00.02 – World History. – National university of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. – Kyiv, 2010.
The main research question of my dissertation is the use of biblical texts to construct ideals of exemplary Christian lives in Late Antique writings; I pay particular attention to the different purposes and the target audiences of the texts analyzed. I investigate the narrative structures where the biblical quotations, references, and allusions to the Scripture were used as well as their understanding and interpretation by Late Antique Christian authors, that is, the meanings which were read into the sacred texts and used for developing ideas and ideal images of Christianity in the fourth and fifth centuries. The main sources for the study are two texts of Palladius, bishop of Helenopolis – the Lausiac History and the Dialogue on the Life of John Chrysostom.
Key words: Palladius of Helenopolis, Lausiac History, Dialogue on the Life of John Chrysostom, Late Antiquity, the Bible, Christian ideals, narrative strategies, interpretation, target audience.
Минец Ю. О. Творчество Палладия Еленопольского в контексте формирования идеалов христианской жизни: Историко-социальный аспект. – Рукопись.
Диссертация на соискание ученой степени кандидата исторических наук по специальности 07.00.02 – Всемирная история. – Национальный университет «Киево-Могилянская Академия». – Киев, 2010.
В диссертации исследовано творчество Палладия Еленопольского, его роль и значение в формировании идеалов христианской жизни, а именно - рассмотрены стратегии использования, модификации и интерпретации текстов Библии в его произведениях, с учетом разной направленности и целевой аудитории текстов, чем и обуславливается историко-социальный аспект работы. Проанализирована биография и интеллектуальная среда Палладия Еленопольского в контексте церковно-политических событий и теологических дебатов на рубеже IV-V ст.; исследована история текста и проведён источниковедческий анализ произведений Палладия. Прослежены особенности библейских текстов, привлечённых Палладием в свои произведения, проанализированы нарративные конструкции, в которых использованы библейские цитаты, ссылки и аллюзии, а также контекстуальные изменения, ими обусловленные.
Рассмотрено соотношение использования и модификации библейских текстов с целевой аудиторией произведений Палладия, целью и исторической ситуацией их написания. Такие понятия, как мудрость, внешность праведника, гордыня, эсхатологические вопросы, оценка смешанных женско-мужских аскетических сообществ получили различные характеристики от автора в двух произведениях, что может объясняться принадлежностью их к разным сферам христианского дискурса Поздней Античности. В Лавсаике Палладий склонен подавать идеи и ожидания близкие мировоззрению аскетических сообществ и, вероятно, значительной части светских людей, что отображает популярный уровень понимания библейских слов и идей. Напротив, идеи Диалога отвечают ожиданиям и взглядам церковной и светской элиты. Разной целевой аудиторией и, возможно, разным временем написания отдельных фрагментов Лавсаика, а также тенденцией к примирению автора с официальными кругами Константинополя могут объясняться расхождения в использовании библейского материала, изложении взглядов на подвижничество и различные образы святости, имеющиеся в Прологе и в основной части Лавсаика. В основной части Палладий нередко следует аскетическим идеям Евагрия Понтийского; в то время как в Прологе он придерживается более ортодоксальных взглядов, близких к идеям Василия Кесарийского. Основные библейские образы и сюжеты в Диалоге позволяют допустить, что потенциальной аудиторией, которая была заинтересована в такой трактовке, были сторонники Иоанна. Будучи священниками и епископами, которые после изгнания их патрона подверглись преследованиям, в 400-410-х гг. они нуждались в соответствующем нарративе для того, чтобы создать своего героя, засвидетельствовать собственный героизм в его поддержке и оправдать свои страдания за правое дело.
Соотнесены стратегии использования Библии в Лавсаике и Диалоге с теми, что встречаются у авторов, близких Палладию и интеллектуально повлиявших на него. Произведения Иоанна Хризостома были известны Палладию, но в то же время он является достаточно оригинальным автором как с точки зрения изложенных идей, так и относительно использования примеров Писания. В Лавсаике Палладий в целом наследует использование библейской топики и образности Vita Antonii Афанасия Александрийского, характерную для агиографического жанра. Характер привлечения библейских образов в Лавсаике и Apophthegmata Partum свидетельствует, что тексты передают характер понимания Библии, близкий группам подвижников египетской пустыни. Нельзя сказать, что Палладий систематически следует Евагрию в изложении идей подвижничества, но в интерпретации определённых библейских пассажей заметно влияние его аскетической теологии.
Ключевые слова: Палладий Еленопольский, Лавсаик, Диалог про жизнь Иоанна Хризостома, Поздняя Античность, Библия, христианские идеалы, нарративные стратегии, интерпретация, целевая аудитория.
Constructing Ideals of Christian Life: Strategies of Interpretation of the Bible in the Lausiac H... more Constructing Ideals of Christian Life: Strategies of Interpretation of the Bible in the Lausiac History of Palladius of Hellenopolis
Yuliya Minets (Ukraine)
Thesis Supervisors: Cristian Gaspar, Niels Gaul.
External Reader: Sergey A. Ivanov (Russian Academy of Science).
In the Lausiac History, Palladius, the bishop of Hellenopolis (363/364 – 431) used and interpreted different biblical texts for presentation ideals and concepts of exemplary Christian lives, sometimes involving scriptural quotations and references in new rhetorical constructions and introducing new meanings by changes of the text and context where they were used. The previous studies on of the ways and methods in which biblical texts were interpreted by some Eastern Christian writers focused mostly on the Western part of the Christian world and on Latin writings; similar research on the Greek texts produced by Christian authors in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity are, to the best of my knowledge, not too well represented in the existing scholarship. This study traces how biblical quotations and allusions were used; what ideals and concepts were constructed; how it depends on the purpose and the target audience of the text; how it corresponds with the previous Christian authors and works, especially those which could influenced on Palladius’ views. The analysis allows to identify the place of the Lausiac History in its contemporary Christian discourse and understand the intellectual discussions in which different levels of this discourse were elaborated.
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