Scientific Traditions in the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, September 19–20, 2019

We are pleased to announce that the call for papers is now open for the second annual conference hosted by the international research collaboration, Scientific Papyri from Ancient Egypt: New Medical and Astrological Texts (SPAE). While the collaboration is centered on Egyptian scientific texts, this year’s conference, titled Scientific Traditions in the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East, aims for a broader cross-cultural perspective and increased interdisciplinarity in the approach to the ancient sciences.

The conference will be held at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York, on 19-20 September 2019. We welcome abstracts related to medicine, astronomy, and astrology (and divination more broadly defined) in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East from scholars at the PhD level or higher (current PhD students welcome).

Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words. Successful applicants will have 20 minutes to present their work, followed by a 10-minute Q&A session. The language of the conference is English. A publication of the conference proceedings is planned and select papers will be invited for submission as part of this endeavor.

SPAE is a research collaboration formed in 2017 as an important link in the publication of heretofore unpublished scientific texts from Pharaonic to Late Antique Egypt. The collaboration consists of leading experts in the fields of medicine, astronomy, and astrology, from the University of Copenhagen, Johns Hopkins University, Freie Universität Berlin, New York University (ISAW), Universität Heidelberg, Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Universität Leipzig, Musée du Louvre, and the University of Oxford.