A celebrated classical historian from the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton will visit UT on Monday, October 13, to talk about two third-century mosaics that provide compelling archaeological evidence for the earliest Christian church.
Glen Bowersock, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, will give the next UT Humanities Center Distinguished Lecture. He will speak at 3:30 p.m. in the Lindsay Young Auditorium in Hodges Library.
His lecture, which is free and open to the public, is entitled “The Lod and Kfar ‘Othnay Mosaics: Religion in Third-Century Roman Palestine.”
From 2003-2005 archaeologists excavating on the grounds of a modern Israeili prison near Megiddo, inside the ancient Jewish village of Kefar ‘Othnay, found what has been described as an ancient Christian prayer hall—a room containing art work and inscriptions, dedicated to “the God Jesus Christ.” Experts say it dates back to before Christianity was recognized as an official religion and therefore is one of the most important early Christian archaeological sites ever discovered.
Bowersock was a professor at his alma mater, Harvard University, until he began teaching at IAS in 1980. He obtained his master’s and doctoral degrees in ancient history from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Bowersock has written more than a dozen books and 300 articles on Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern history. He was awarded the American Historical Association’s James Henry Breasted Prize for his book Hellenism in Late Antiquity.
Other guest speakers in the lecture series include:
November 10—Nicola Di Cosmo, Luce Foundation Professor in East Asian Studies, Institute for Advanced Study School of Historical Studies, will speak on “Climate Change Research and the History of Nomads: New Answers to old Questions?”
November 21 —Karl Ameriks, McMahon-Hank Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, will deliver a lecture entitled “On Kant and Autonomy.”
February 6—Stewart Shapiro, O’Donnell Professor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, will present “Conceptions of the Continuous.”
March 13—David Sedley, Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy, University of Cambridge. Topic to be announced.
March 25—Gail Hershatter, distinguished professor of history, University of California, Santa Cruz. Topic to be announced.
April 2—Robert Darnton, Carl Pforzheimer University Professor and university librarian, Harvard University. Topic to be announced.
For more about the UT Humanities Center, visit the website.
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C O N T A C T :
Joan Murray (865-974-4222, jmurra10@utk.edu)