[1] In
February, 2006, Dorushe, an international group of students of
Syriac and affiliated with Beth Mardutho: Syriac Institute,
sponsored a meeting for graduate students of Syriac
Studies. The theme of the meeting was “Syriac
Pedagogy,” and it took place at Catholic University of
America. Graduate student Ann Seville organized the
event, and different students and professors from several
countries presented papers. The faculty guest key-note speaker,
Prof. Susan Ashbrook Harvey from Brown University, spoke to us
about practical skills for Syriacists pursuing an academic
career. She generously shared personal reflections and tips for
the next generation of Syriac enthusiasts. She encouraged
us to build strong networks amongst ourselves and to
collaborate on projects and research questions. Other
special guests included Profs. Sydney Griffith and Phillip
Rousseau, and they kindly welcomed us to their center for Early
Christian Studies and Semitics at Catholic
University. Prof. Shawqi Talia, also from Catholic
University, wrote for us a beautiful poem in Neo-Aramaic: a
blessing for our academic efforts. Prof. Joel Walker from the
University of Washington shared his comments and words of
wisdom for professional development. George Kiraz spoke to us
also about the latest in Computing Technology for our field and
gave us a workshop on Meltho Fonts. Prof. Michael Sokoloff from
Bar-Ilan University shared his recent work on the CAL and
Brockelmann Syriac Dictionary project. The conference
generated concrete plans for future development of our field
and produced thoughtful reflection on the changes that Syriac
Studies has seen in the last twenty-five years. Following
is a summary of the papers that students and professors
presented, with gratitude from the organizers for the
stimulating dialogue that was generated.
[2] David
Michaelson, from Princeton University, presented a paper on
“Developing a Syriac Database.” He proposed
that a Syriac database comparable to the Thesaurus Lingue
Grecae (TLG) could also be created for Syriac
texts. He also suggested that an Electronic Bibliography
of Syriac Studies could incorporate and compile current
bibliographies on Syriac topics into one, and in this way it
could easily be updated electronically. This electronic
bibliography could also include a section on dissertations on
Syriac topics. The group then discussed how to undertake such
projects. We proposed that the best idea would be to divide the
work amongst willing students who could then enter in the data
manually. George Kiraz told us that it would be easiest if we
commit to entering a little bit of information daily. Over
the course of a year and divided up amongst a dedicated group,
such a database could be achieved.
[3] Michael
Penn, professor of Religious Studies from Mount Holyoke College
in Massachusetts, was unable to attend the conference. His
paper, however, was read in absentia. The topic,
“Beyond Add and Stir: Teaching Syriac
Christianity,” was an analysis that made suggestions
concerning how one can integrate Syriac topics into
introductory courses on Early Christianity. He offered
some examples of syllabuses that he has used in his teaching to
bring Syriac into “mainstream” courses on
Christianity.
[4] Jonathan
Loopstra, a graduate student from Catholic University,
presented a paper on integrating Syriac into Seminary
Curricula. Jonathan focused particularly on the use of
Electronic Resources such as eBeth Arké, the
Syriac Digital Library Project, and the International Syriac
Language Project as a means of providing Syriacists with
resources needed for smaller seminary settings. He
suggested how digital media can facilitate the wider
distribution of important Syriac texts and translations to
colleagues and students.
[5] Young
Kim, a graduate student from the University of Michigan, shared
his own personal narrative of what had led him into Syriac
studies, and he explained how this incorporation of Syrian
Christian history had enhanced his training in Late Antique
Studies. This led to a discussion concerning the issue of
the lack of Syriac teachers at many institutions of higher
education. We discussed places were Syriac can be
learned, including Prof. Joseph Amar’s Summer Syriac
Institute at the University of Notre Dame.
[6] Linda
Wheatley-Irvine, a professor from the University of Illinois,
then ushered us into the field of Art History with her
presentation on “Teaching Early Syriac Christianity with
images and the Concept of Visuality.” We discussed the
concept of the Visual Culture and how this notion fits well
with the emphasis in Syrian Literature on sight. We saw
also her beautiful images from Tur Abdin, and discussed the
importance of better integration of art history and material
culture into courses treating Christianity in the Syrian
Orient.
[7] Dan King
from Cardiff University then spoke on the “Translation of
Greek into Syriac: Models for Cultural Networking.”
Dan has been focusing on Translation Studies for his
dissertation. He showed how the changing methods of
translation technique in the West Syrian church reflect the
ways they thought about theology and philosophy and interacted
with all other cultural and historical developments, especially
the relationship between the Greek and Syriac worlds. He argued
that the translator was the “power-broker” in this
situation, defining and regulating the attitudes of the
faithful towards an alien culture and thereby to their own as
well. He showed, moreover, how translation itself became
part of the christological battle-ground in the early Syrian
churches.
[8] Ophir
Münz-Manor, from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, spoke on
the relationships of Syrian Christian Hymnography to Rabbinic
Hymns: “From Ephrem to Yannai - The Rise of Late Antique
Hymnography.” He discussed Ephrem’s hymnal
structure and content, madrashe and memre, and he
related them to Jewish counterparts by Yannai. This paper
posed interesting questions on the mutual influence and
dependency of these hymnographers.
[9] Scott
Girdner, a graduate student from Boston University, spoke on
Christian-Muslim interaction in his paper: “The Potential
for Syrian Orthodox Apologetic Literature in Presenting the
Development of Mu‘tazilite Kalām: The Debate
of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdī and Timothy I in its
context.” This talk raised methodological questions
concerning the representation of Muslims in Syrian Christian
Literature.
[10]
Conference attendants were also treated to a tour of a Syriac
Exhibit in the Mullen Library, led by Semitics librarian Monica
Blanchard. We also participated in a Syrian Orthodox prayer
service on Sunday morning.
[11] The
success of the first Dorushe conference has encouraged us to
make this an annual meeting. David Michaelson of
Princeton University has agreed to organize our next meeting
the weekend of April 14, 2007. This will be held at Princeton
University in New Jersey. Further information and an
official announcement is forthcoming.