Showing 1 - 17 results of 17 for search 'some structures cultural forms', query time: 0.42s Refine Results
Published 2023
The Shape of Stories : Narrative Structures in Cuneiform Literature /

: How were narratives composed in the ancient Near East? What patterns and principles, constraints and considerations guided the shaping of cuneiform stories? The study of narrative structures has emerged as a promising approach to the textual heritage of the cuneiform world. Engaging with practically any ancient text - whether literary, historical, or religious - requires some understanding of the narrative forms that shaped their content. This volume gives researchers the tools to better understand those form, illustrating each approach to narrative analysis with a case study from the cultures of the ancient Near East: Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Hittite. .
: 1 online resource (368 pages) : illustrations. : Includes bibliographical references and index. : 9789004537149
9789004539761

Published 2009
Sacred tropes : Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur'an as literature and culture /

: Contemporary sacred text scholarship has been stimulated by a number of intersecting trends: a surging interest in religion, sacred texts, and inspirational issues; burgeoning developments in and applications of literary theories; intensifying academic focus on diverse cultures whether for education or scholarship. Although much has been written individually about Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur'an, no collection combines an examination of all three. Sacred Tropes interweaves Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur'an essays. Contributors collectively and also often individually use mixed literary approaches instead of the older single theory strategy. Appropriate for classroom or research, the essays utilize a variety of literary theoretical lenses including environmental, cultural studies, gender, psychoanalytic, ideological, economic, historicism, law, and rhetorical criticisms through which to examine these sacred works.
: 1 online resource. : Includes bibliographical references and indexes. : 9789047430964 : Available to subscribing member institutions only.

Published 2005
Indigenous peoples and religious change /

: This book explores a range of societies in and around the Pacific and southern Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that encountered religions introduced from elsewhere, or fashioned their own responses to already established religious traditions. These changes observed through the responses of the receiving societies indicate that religious change is a creative dynamic, rather than a passive acceptance of new ideas, beliefs and practices. While change is often triggered by the introduction of new understandings, it can only become entrenched within a community when it takes on meaning for individuals, and becomes embedded within the social and cultural life of the community.
: 1 online resource (x, 262 pages) : illustrations, maps. : Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-251) and index. : 9789047405559 : 0924-9389 ; : Available to subscribing member institutions only.

Published 2025
Divining Disaster. Signs of Catastrophe in Ancient Greek Culture /

: In a world riddled with earthquakes and plagued by epidemics, how did the ancient Greeks cope with, and make sense of, disaster? As our present-day environment is perceived to be increasingly perilous, this book includes the ancient Greek world in the longue durée of disaster discourse. Drawing on anthropological disaster studies, ecocriticism, and cognitive studies, this study considers disaster as a semiotic phenomenon marked by uncertainty. Divining disaster, then, functions as a hermeneutic form of disaster management that alleviates uncertainty and assigns agency, not only in religious practices such as oracle consultation but also in historical and mythological narratives.
: 1 online resource (408 pages) : illustrations. : Includes bibliographical references and index. : 9789004739581

Published 2026
The Congress of Carlowitz (1698/99) : Supra-cultural Diplomatic Norms and Practices of Peacemaking at the End of the Seventeenth Century /

: This book delivers the first comprehensive analysis of the Peace Congress of Carlowitz (1698/99), challenging traditional Eurocentric views on early modern diplomacy. It demonstrates that peacemaking norms and practices were largely 'supra-cultural'-transcending cultural and religious divides across Europe and the Ottoman Empire. Carlowitz emerges as a significant multi-religious congress that introduced pioneering practices, particularly in ceremonial regulations. By confronting cultural essentialism, provincialising the Westphalian congress-model paradigm, and demythologising Carlowitz as a decisive political turning point-notably marking the adoption of a Western European-style diplomacy by cultural 'outliers' such as the Ottoman Empire and Muscovy-this study offers fresh insights into the complexity and polycentric nature of early modern multilateral diplomacy.
: 1 online resource (508 pages) : illustrations. : Includes bibliographical references and index. : 9789004458499

Published 2009
Theios Sophistes : essays on Flavius Philostratus' Vita Apollonii /

: Flavius Philostratus' Life of Apollonius of Tyana (Vita Apollonii), written in the first half of the third century CE, is a key text in the cultural, literary and religious history of the Second Sophistic and of Late Antiquity. Its generic and formal diversity, its shifting cultural and historical background, as well as its protean hero, call for a multifaceted and interdisciplinary reading. Theios Sophistès is the first collection of interpretative essays on the Vita Apollonii . Leading scholars in the field and younger critics make for a combination of methodological continuity and innovation. The book is divided into two sections, one focusing on literary and philological discussions and relating the Vita to other ancient texts and genres, and one dealing with religious and philosophical aspects. The wide range of approaches and perspectives does justice to the high level of literary, historical and philosophical-religious sophistication of this text.
: 1 online resource. : Includes bibliographical references (p. [375]-392) and indexes. : 9789047424406 : Available to subscribing member institutions only.

Published 2003
Muslims in the Enlarged Europe : Religion and Society /

: This volume describes the main characteristics of contemporary European Islam. Following an outline of the historical background and some statistics related to the presence of Islam in Europe, the process of growth/ the development of Islam is analysed through religious instruction in educational systems, organisational structures and the forms of political participation by Muslims. In addition to a description of the relationship between European states and Islam in judicial terms, the different types of the inclusion/integration of Islam in European society is studied by looking at the media, the relations between religions, economic and international dimensions, and the manner in which views have changed following the events of September 11. Based on extensive bibliographal research, field studies and specific contributions of scholars, this book provides a rare and useful overall review for a wide public. Muslims in the Enlarged Europe has been selected by Choice as Outstanding Academic Title (2005).
: 1 online resource. : Includes bibliographical references and index. : 9789047402466
9789004132016

Published 2013
The language of the New Testament : context, history, and development /

: In The Language of the New Testament , Stanley E. Porter and Andrew W. Pitts assemble an international team of scholars whose work has focused on the Greek language of the earliest Christians. Each essay moves forward the current understanding of the context, history or development of the language of the New Testament. The first section of the volume focuses on the social contexts and registers that provide the environment for language use and selection. The second section deals with issues surrounding the history of the Greek language and how its development has impacted the Greek found within the New Testament.
: Includes index. : 1 online resource (ix, 525 pages) : 9789004236400 : 1877-7554 ; : Available to subscribing member institutions only.

Published 2018
Philosophy of language, Chinese language, Chinese philosophy : constructive engagement /

: From the constructive-engagement vantage point of doing philosophy of language comparatively, this anthology explores (1) how reflective elaboration of some distinct features of the Chinese language and of philosophically interesting resources concerning language in Chinese philosophy can contribute to our treatment of a range of issues in philosophy of language and (2) how relevant resources in contemporary philosophy of language can contribute to philosophical interpretations of reflectively interesting resources concerning the Chinese language and Chinese texts. The foregoing contributing fronts constitute two complementary sides of this project. This volume includes 12 contributing essays and 2 engagement-background essays which are organized into six parts on distinct issues. The anthology also includes the volume editor's theme introduction on comparative philosophy of language and his engaging remarks for three parts.
: 1 online resource. : Includes bibliographical references and index. : 9789004368446 : 0922-6001 ; : Available to subscribing member institutions only.

Dakhleh Oasis and the western desert of egypt under the ptolemies /

: This book is a modified version of a PhD thesis completed in 2014 in the centre for Archaeology and Ancient History (now the Centre for Ancient Cultures) at Monash University. : 483 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 31 cm. : 9781785701351

Published 2026
Sing and Rejoice, O daughter of Zion (Zechariah 2:14) : Studies in Pesiqta Rabbati /

: Pesiqta Rabbati is a midrashic collection of homilies derived from the Hebrew bible related to Jewish observance of festivals, fast days, and special Sabbaths. The book underscores the importance and purpose of Pesiqta Rabbati: to explain the centrality of midrash in the life, culture, and ethnicity of Jewish belief and practice, as well as the importance of practice sustaining the continuity of Jews and their identity. Textual details are drawn from contemporary events (5th- 11th century) and Jewish ethics. Topics include apocalyptic thought, the suffering Messiah ben Ephraim, the Jerusalem Temple, and reactions to Christianity and Islam. Methods applied are text linguistics, borderland theories, halachic discourse analysis, semiotics, and literary criticism.
: 1 online resource (557 pages) : illustrations. : Includes bibliographical references and index. : 9789004748309

Published 1997
Interart Poetics : Essays on the Interrelations of the Arts and Media /

: In this anthology are gathered 28 essays, devoted to the interrelations of the arts and media. They present together the current state of the emerging field of Interart Studies. The contributors - Stephen Greenblatt, Claus Clüver, Erika Fischer-Lichte, John Neubauer, Steven Paul Scher, Walter Bernhart, Ulrich Weisstein, Eric T. Haskell, Eric Vos, Thomas Elsaesser, among others - are leading international scholars in the fields of Art History, Literary Criticism, Musicology, Film, Theatre and Media Studies. In challenging ways they promote interdisciplinary strategies in the study of the traditional arts: dance, literature, music, painting, sculpture, theatre etc, as well as of the modern media: film, TV, video, computer-generated arts, etc. The essays collected engage in a broad perspective of topics, approached from varying theoretical, methodological or ideological viewpoints. No single thread runs through the diversely conceived essays, yet it is evident that what all contributors appear to envision is the importance today of investigations into the problems of what might be called the interart - or intermedia - discourse. Aimed at university teachers, scholars, students and even artists, this book will meet the demands from those interested in modern modes of interart and intermedia analysis.
: 1 online resource (356 pages) : illustrations. : Includes bibliographical references and index. : 9789004650947

Published 1999
Word and Music Studies: Defining the Field : Proceedings of the First International Conference on Word and Music Studies at Graz, 1997 /

: The nineteen interdisciplinary essays assembled in WORD AND MUSIC STUDIES I were first presented in 1997 at the founding conference of the International Association for Word and Music Studies (WMA) in Graz, Austria. Diverse in subject matter, theoretical orientation, critical approach, and interpretive strategy, they share a keen scholarly interest in contemporary word-music reflection. Registering the impact of cultural studies on word-music relations, as manifested in the 'new musicology' and other 'historicist' approaches, the volume aims to assess the entire field of word and music studies, to define its subject, objectives, and methodology and to describe the field's state of the art. Within the broader context of generic, structural, performative, and ideological considerations concerning the manifold interrelations between literature and music, contributors explore wide-ranging topics, such as the vexing question of terminology (e.g. 'word and music', 'melopoetics', 'interart', 'intermedial', 'transmedial'); inquiry into the meaning, narrative potential, and verbalization of music; analysis of texted music (the Lied and opera) and instrumental music; and discussion of individual issues (e.g. 'ekphrasis', 'musicalization of fiction', 'word music', and 'verbal music') and interart loanwords (e.g. 'narrativity', 'counterpoint', and 'leitmotif'). See Less
: 1 online resource (352 pages) : illustrations. : Includes bibliographical references and index. : 9789004649217

Published 2021
Nonnus of Panopolis in Context III : Old Questions and New Perspectives /

: Nonnus of Panopolis (5th c. AD), the most important Greek poet of Late Antiquity, is best known for his Dionysiaca , a grand epic that gathers together all myths associated with Dionysus, god of wine and mysteries. The poet also authored the Paraphrase of St. John's Gospel which renders the Fourth Gospel into sophisticated hexameter verse. This volume, edited by Filip Doroszewski and Katarzyna Jażdżewska, brings together twenty-six essays by eminent scholars that discuss Nonnus' cultural and literary background, the literary techniques and motifs used by the poet, as well as the composition of the Dionysiaca and the exegetical principles applied in the Paraphrase . As such, the book will significantly deepen our understanding of literary culture and religion in Late Antiquity.
: 1 online resource. : Includes bibliographical references and index. : 9789004443259
9789004443235

Published 2020
Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham : Introduction, Translation, and Commentary /

: On the Life of Abraham displays Philo's philosophical, exegetical, and literary genius at its best. Philo begins by introducing the biblical figures Enos, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as unwritten laws. Then, interweaving literal, ethical, and allegorical interpretations, Philo presents the life and achievements of Abraham, founder of the Jewish nation, in the form of a Greco-Roman bios, or biography. Ellen Birnbaum and John Dillon explain why and how this work is important within the context of Philo's own oeuvre, early Jewish and Christian exegesis, and ancient philosophy. They also offer a new English translation and detailed analyses, in which they elucidate the meaning of Philo's thought, including his perplexing notion that Israel's ancestors were laws in themselves.
: 1 online resource. : 9789004423640
9789004423633

Published 1994
Modern critical theory and classical literature /

: In recent decades the study of literature in Europe and the Americas has been profoundly influenced by modern critical theory in its various forms, whether Structuralism or Deconstructionism, Hermeneutics, Reader-Response Theory or Rezeptionsästhetik , Semiotics or Narratology, Marxist, feminist, neo-historical, psychoanalytical or other perspectives. Whilst the value and validity of such approaches to literature is still a matter of some dispute, not least among classical scholars, they have had a substantial impact on the study both of classical literatures and of the mentalité of Greece and Rome. In an attempt to clarify issues in the debate, the eleven contributors to this volume were asked to produce a representative collection of essays to illustrate the applicability of some of the new approaches to Greek and Latin authors or literary forms and problems. The scope of the volume was deliberately limited to literary investigation, broadly construed, of Greek and Roman authors. Broader areas of the history and culture of the ancient world impinge in the essays, but are not their central focus. The volume also contains a separate bibliography, offering for the first time a complete bibliography of classical studies which incorporate modern critical theory.
: 1 online resource (vi, 292 pages) : illustrations. : Includes bibliographical references (p. 281-288) and index. : 9789004329263 : 0169-8958 ; : Available to subscribing member institutions only.

Published 2024
Sacred Landscapes in Asia : Shared Traditions, Multiple Histories /

: Throughout history the peoples of Asia have been known for their mobility and interactions. The notion of territorially defined nations is historically recent. There was a continuing dialogue between Asian cultures which functioned at both the spatial and the temporal level, propelled by the movement of the great religions of Asia across continents via trading communities, clergies, Buddhist and Sufi scholars and communities of artisans. The present volume explores the aesthetic theories underlying many genres of the Asian arts. These characterize the dialogue between and amongst different Asian regions. The same Asian notions of space and time are mani­fested in architectural form as also in a wide variety of visual arts. The contributors in this volume identify the multi-layered discourse comprising the nature of monuments, as also the movement of motifs and symbols through sculptured and picturised representation. Some essays focus on fundamental notions such as Śūnyata as common to the Indian, Korean and other Asian countries. Also, the papers bear testimony to the phenomena of dialogue and distinctiveness, continuity and change. This is evident in architectural structures, sculptural forms, particularly in iconography, and of course in the performing arts. The IIC-Asia Project in its second phase has, with purpose, traced the trajectory of transmission systems in Asian civilization in different domains and at different levels, be it the vertical transmission from generation to generation in education, or the artistic transmission and diffusion through the arts. It is hoped that this volume will add to the meager literature that exists on the subject and will stimulate further research and study.
: 1 online resource (408 pages) : illustrations. : Includes bibliographical references and index. : 9789004753228