Indo-European Religion and Poetics

A Comparative Approach: Myth, Ritual and Language



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Der blaue Dämon (1931) by Gabriele Münter
Gabriele Münter und Johannes Eichner-Stiftung, München

Photo: Laura Massetti, Louisiana Museum, Copenhagen, 2018.06.03

Religion and poetics, ritual and myth are central, fascinating dimensions of the ancient world, which somehow have never stopped talking to us. Indeed, as Aby Warburg wrote, “where the technical explanation of cause and effect replaces the mythical imagination, man loses his primitive fears. But we should be loth to decide whether this emancipation from the mythological view really helps mankind to find a fitting answer to the problems of existence” (A Lecture on Serpent Ritual, Journal of the Warburg Institute 2/4: 291). Through the study of ancient myths and rituals, we learn more about the ancient societies to which they belonged. At the same time, the in-depth analysis of ancient stories teaches us something about modern man's truest fears and desires.

 

This conference focuses on the Indo-European language family and spotlights Indo-European religion and poetics. The event brings together scholars who have an interest in Indo-European traditions, in order to encourage an interdisciplinary dialogue on diverse, yet interwoven aspects of Indo-European culture, such as ritual, myth and language. The conference especially endeavors to exploit the full potential of the linguistic reconstruction for the analysis of Indo-European literary and religious texts. It is undeniable that the genetic study of the origins of myths and rituals changes the way we look at single literary texts as well as at our archetypes. On the one hand, it sheds light on the dynamics of the style and storytelling of individual authors who, within their own geographical and temporal settings, juggle between uniqueness and tradition. On the other, the comparative perspective on ancient religions uncovers similarities among apparently distant traditions. In this way, it enables us to develop a balanced perception of our cultural identity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The conference is organized by Laura Massetti. She is head of the project 'Family Myths' which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 793479.

Programme and abstracts

Final programme (pdf) and Book of abstracts (pdf).

Handouts and Presentations

Handouts and PowerPoint presentations can be found here.

Talks

The conference will be live streamed from the conference's youtube account

Useful information for participants

Useful informations (pdf)

Registration

Please register here no later than 30 September 2019.

Organiser

The conference is organized by Laura Massetti. She is head of the project Family Myths which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 793479.