Second International Summer School in Coptic Papyrology

An International Summer School in Coptic Papyrology, the second one of its kind after Vienna 2006, will be held in Leipzig from 27 July to 3 August 2008. It will be organised by the Papyrus Collection of the University Library and the Egyptological Institute of the University of Leipzig. Students and graduates from fields such as Coptology, Egyptology, papyrology, religious studies, ancient history, Arabic studies, or Byzantine studies are invited to participate, provided they have aquired a solid knowledge of Coptic. There will be two classes to apply for, one on literary (biblical and hagiographical) and and one on documentary (legal, epistolary, etc.) Coptic papyri. Students will have the opportunity to work on unpublished original papyri. A fee of € 250,- will include accommodation in a nearby residence hall (Villa Tillmanns), daily breakfast and lunch. The number of places is restricted to 20.

Applications should contain:
1. The applicant’s curriculum vitae.
2. Letters of reference from two teachers, who should also comment on the applicant’s language skills in Coptic.
Please send applications to:
PD Dr. Sebastian Richter (email)
Ägyptologisches Institut der Universität Leipzig
Burgstr. 21, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
tel.: + 49 341 9739019
fax: + 49 341 9737029

This summer school will provide an introduction to Coptic papyrology within its setting in the fields of Egyptology, classics, ancient history, early Christianity and archaeology.
Classes will be taught on palaeography and decipherment of literary as well as documentary hands, on the Sitz im Leben of both kinds of manuscripts, and on their relationship to other textual or archaeological evidence. For practical exercise, each student will be given an unpublished papyrus to work on. The intention is to offer a mixture of taught classes and workshops in which students can learn to appreciate the manifold information which the different kinds of papyri provide, as well as get acquainted with the wide range of questions raised by the papyrological material. The programme will offer insights into the late antique and early Christian culture of Egypt. Main instructors of the summer school will be: Anne Boud’hor (Paris), Jenny Cromwell (Oxford), Stephen Emmel (Münster), Tonio Sebastian Richter (Leipzig), Georg Schmelz (Heidelberg), and Reinhold Scholl (Leipzig). Speakers will include Sebastian Colditz (Leipzig, Byzantine studies), Hans-W. Fischer- Elfert (Leipzig, Egyptological Institute), Jörg Graf (Leipzig, Papyrus Collection), Verona Klemm (Leipzig, Oriental Institute), Nadine Quenouille (Leipzig, Papyrus Collection), and Uwe-Karsten Plisch (Berlin, Nag Hammadi and New Testament Studies). Classes will be taught in English.