Project description
Searching the Old Testament to understand our bodies
Posture and movement are more meaningful than simple physicality. Linguistically, the verbs describing them are often used abstractly to indicate urgency or even psychological state. They are also integral to body language, projecting such things as hierarchical status and mood. Consequently, they can serve as a tool in linguistic, social and anthropological research. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the POSTURE project will carry out a novel, interpretive investigation into the rich source of verbs, metaphors and idioms in the Old Testament to determine the Biblical concept of ‘the body.’ The study will also be extended to ancient translations and early Jewish and Christian interpretations. The result will shed further light on the evolution of the concept of ‘the body’ and the attitudes we have shown towards it.
Objective
Postures and movements are relevant for both a linguistic and a socio-anthropological investigation. From a cross-linguistic perspective, verbs of posture and motion show several interesting idiomatic and metaphorical usages, and can be employed to express abstract concepts (e.g. psychological states) and grammatical aspects (e.g. urgency or gradual progression of an action). From a socio-anthropological perspective, posture and body language can express real or assumed power relationships and hierarchies, and serve as “externalizers” of status, gender, age, and physical weakness. They establish, express, and maintain group identity; and they indicate friendship and respect or, on the contrary, hostility and self-protection.
POSTURE investigates the theme of bodily attitudes, postures and movements within one of the most important pieces of cultural heritage, the Old Testament (OT). Furthermore, it also investigates the reception of Biblical postures and motions within cultural and intellectual products that depend on the OT, either directly or indirectly, i.e. ancient translations (Aramaic, Syriac, Greek and Latin) and Late Antique Jewish and Christian exegesis (1st-3rd c. CE).
Descriptions of bodily postures and motions are very recurrent in the OT, both literally and metaphorically. However, as of today, not enough attention has been paid to this topic. Combining the semantic analysis of posture and motion verbs with their anthropological and social implications will allow to gain new knowledge about the idea of body in the OT. Moreover, the analysis of reception in early exegetical Jewish and Christian contexts will shed some light on the development of the meaning of body and bodily attitudes, through centuries of translations and theological interpretations, from ancient times to present days.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- humanities languages and literature linguistics
- humanities philosophy, ethics and religion religions
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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00185 Roma
Italy
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