Math Forum Discussions

Milo Gardner

Posts: 1,105
Registered: 12/3/04

Egyptian Math Conference scheduled for July 27-29, 2009
Posted: Apr 4, 2009 2:15 PM

Plain Text

As announced on EEF, the Egyptian Electronic Forum, the following may be of interest to math forum members:

From: "Pommerening, Dr. Tanja" <tpommere@uni-mainz.de>
>
> Details of a conference to be held at Mainz university >July 2009:
>
> "Writings of Early Scholars in the Ancient Near East,
> Egyptand Greece: Zur Übersetzbarkeit von
> Wissenschaftssprachen des Altertums " Interdisciplinary > and international conference. Johannes Gutenberg
> University, 27-29 July 2009
>
> The historiography of the sciences in antiquity >(including Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures) has
> changed fundamentally during the past 40 years.
> Changing >methodologies and aims have led to a
> focus on recognition and reconstruction of ancient
> scientific concepts, which can differ significantly
> from ?similar? modern concepts. As a way of bringing
> these changes to light in a useful way, the conference > will focus on the problem of translations.
>
> Translations are directly affected by respective
> cultural beliefs of the translator. How then can
> ancient concepts that differ from our modern ones be
> expressed in modern languages? And how can these
> differences be understood by a modern reader?
> Currently, some translations which are likely to
> mislead a historian of science, a scientist or a
> mathematician may still be accepted as correct by the
> philologists of the individual cultures.
>
> The conference aims to explore problems involved in
> translating ancient scientific texts and to create a
> methodological framework to improve the quality of
> future translations. To achieve this goal,
> we aim to bring together leading representatives and
> junior researchers with a philological background or a > background in history of science (Egyptology,
> Assyriology, Classics, editors of ancient scientific
> texts and scholars using them).
>
> After an attempt to determine characteristic features of
> individual sciences in antiquity, and how they can be
> distinguished from non-scientific texts, specific
> examples will be used to enable interdisciplinary and
> intercultural discussion.
>
> The preliminary programme can be found at\
> http://www.aegyptologie-altorientalistik.uni-mainz.de/443.php
>
> We invite interested participants to join the conference
> and contribute to the discussions. Please register by > 31 May 2009 at wissenschaftssprache@mathematik.uni-
> mainz.de.
> The conference fee of 15 ? to compensate for expenses is
> to be paid in advance (registration).
>
> Organized by:
> Prof. Dr. Annette Imhausen (am Historischen Seminar der
> Universität Frankfurt)
> Dr. Tanja Pommerening (am Institut für Ägyptologie und
> Altorientalistik der Universität Mainz)
>
> Conference webpages:
> http://www.aegyptologie-altorientalistik.uni-mainz.de/460.php
>
> Funded by the Thyssen Foundation and the ZIS (Center for
> Intercultural Studies) of Mainz university.