Why Are Skeletons like Texts - Combatting Bias and Methodological Demons in the Study of Ancient Jewish Medicine and Magic Seminar
- Time:
- 18:00 - 21:00
- Date:
- 24 November 2020
- Venue:
- Online Event
For more information regarding this seminar, please email Parkes Institute at parkes@soton.ac.uk .
Event details
Part of the Parkes Seminar Series 2020/21
Why Are Skeletons like Texts - Combatting Bias and Methodological Demons in the Study of Ancient Jewish Medicine and Magic
The traditional study of ancient Jewish medicine emphasises divine sources of healing, and religious distinctiveness in contrast to Hippocratic medicine. Research in ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern medicine and magic has since evolved to incorporate material culture (tools, artefacts, art) and in some cases osteoarchaeology (human remains) rather than relying on just textual studies alone. But how to avoid being overwhelmed by the data and sources available in such a naturally interdisciplinary area? How might we conduct intentionally-systematic studies of ancient medicine, in an open and organised way, so that others may achieve similar results? Using examples from current research combining historical philology and osteoarchaeology, it is shown that a more systematic and scientific approach to the study of ancient Jewish medicine and magic is both achievable and necessary for advancement in the field.
by Dr Lindsey Askin, University of Bristol. Lecturer in Jewish Studies, Department of Religion and Theology
Please register by clicking on the ' Book This Event ' button above and we will send you joining instructions prior to the Seminar
(Image Source: Crump, J.A. 1901. ‘Trephining in the South Seas’. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 31: 167–72.)
This event will be chaired by Dr Helen Spurling
Speaker information
Dr Lindsey Askin, University of Bristol. Lecturer in Jewish Studies, Department of Religion and Theology, Editorial assistant for the Journal of Theological Studies (2016-18), an honorary research associate at the University of Exeter (2017-18), and a visiting postdoctoral Polonsky fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies, University of Oxford (spring 2016). Lindsey completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge (Queens' College, 2012-16) under the supervision of Dr James K. Aitken. At Cambridge I also supervised/taught Hebrew and Old Testament. She completed an MA in Biblical Studies, working with Professor Robert (C.T.R.) Hayward, at Durham University (Hild-Bede, 2011-12). She did a postgraduate certificate in theory of education (Durham, 2010-11) in Religious Education at secondary level. For undergraduate, where she studied Divinity at the University of Edinburgh (MA Honours, 2006-10).