Beyond Influence: The Connected Histories of Ethiopic and Syriac Christianity

The BeInf project explores the interconnected histories of Ethiopic and Syriac Christianity through innovative, multi-disciplinary case studies, aiming to redefine scholarly approaches in the humanities.

Subsidie
€ 1.968.500
2022

Projectdetails

Introduction

The innovative BeInf project interrogates the connected histories of Ethiopic and Syriac Christianity in their various complexities and nuances.

Case Studies

It accomplishes this task through a series of five discrete, but complementary case studies addressing:

  1. Aramaic loanwords in Ethiopic
  2. The so-called Nagran Episode, in which the sixth-century Aksumite ruler Kaleb intervened on behalf of Syriac Christians who were being persecuted in the Arabian peninsula
  3. The Ethiopic Abba Grima Gospels, including especially their illumination programs
  4. The hagiography of the Nine Saints, who are alleged to have brought about a second Christianisation of Ethiopia in the late fifth and early sixth centuries
  5. The Ethiopic reception of Syriac literature

Methodological Innovations

BeInf's innovation is multifaceted. It adopts a multi-disciplinary approach that brings together methods that are traditionally categorized as distinct and disconnected, including especially:

  • Art history
  • Linguistics
  • Manuscript studies
  • Philology
  • Textual studies
  • History

In addition, it rejects area studies and unites fields that have traditionally been isolated and siloed off in problematic ways.

Analytical Framework

Finally, it proposes to move beyond influence as an analytical category for analysing connections, contacts, exchanges, and the actors and cultural brokers responsible for them. Instead, it adopts a methodological and theoretical stance inspired by connected history, especially in the sense of histoire croisée.

Contributions to the Field

With these innovations, BeInf is positioned to make significant, long-lasting contributions to the field of Ethiopic Studies, both in content and in concept. It also serves as a paradigm-shifting model for other projects in the humanities addressing areas of inquiry that have traditionally been dominated by ill-framed questions of influence.

This project is primed to move beyond influence to explore connected histories with all their nuance, complexity, and texture through a multi-disciplinary approach.

Financiële details & Tijdlijn

Financiële details

Subsidiebedrag€ 1.968.500
Totale projectbegroting€ 1.968.500

Tijdlijn

Startdatum1-9-2022
Einddatum31-8-2027
Subsidiejaar2022

Partners & Locaties

Projectpartners

  • UNIVERSITY OF HAMBURGpenvoerder

Land(en)

Germany

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