”We are pleased to announce the first session of the spring 2025 schedule ‘Embodied Emotion in the Ancient World’! The session will be organized as a hybrid event, Thursday 30. January (16:15-18.00 EET).
The session consists of two papers, by Juha Lahnakoski and Tuomo Nuorluoto, followed by a round of questions and discussion on the theme of the session. The topics are:
Embodied emotions in ancient Neo-Assyrian texts revealed by bodily mapping of emotional semantics (Dr. Juha Lahnakoski)
Emotions are associated with subjective emotion-specific bodily sensations. Here, we utilized this relationship and computational linguistic methods to map a representation of emotions in ancient texts. We analyzed Neo-Assyrian texts from 934–612 BCE to discern consistent relationships between linguistic expressions related to both emotions and bodily sensations. We then computed statistical regularities between emotion terms and words referring to body parts and back-projected the resulting emotion-body part relationships on a body template, yielding bodily sensation maps for the emotions. We found consistent embodied patterns for 18 distinct emotions. Hierarchical clustering revealed four main clusters of bodily emotion categories, two clusters of mainly positive emotions, one large cluster of mainly negative emotions, and one of empathy and schadenfreude. These results reveal the historical use of embodied language pertaining to human emotions. Our data-driven tool could enable future comparisons of textual embodiment patterns across different languages and cultures across time.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111365
Inscribing emotions in the ancient Roman world (Dr. Tuomo Nuorluoto)
Emotions in ancient Greece and Rome have been under scrutiny in the recent decades. Most of the studies have focused on literary texts, particularly philosophical and rhetorical works in which emotions are described, discussed, and analyzed in detail. Studies on emotions in inscriptions are scarce in comparison. After all, inscriptions are often short and fragmentary and without much context to start with. Epigraphic material, however, has some clear advantages, not only in terms of quantity but especially in terms of the social and geographical distribution of the inscriptions. In contrast to literary texts which were almost exclusively produced by elite men for other elite men large urban centres, inscribed monuments and objects were commissioned and produced in many layers of the society and throughout the Roman Empire. Importantly, also, inscriptions are not only texts but parts of monuments and objects which were meant to be viewed, read, and heard in a specific context and which were made with a certain audience in mind.
Furthermore, by studying Roman inscriptions from an emotion history perspective we can come closer to understanding not only ancient emotions but also the epigraphic culture of the Romans. In my talk, I will first present some of the views and ideas that ancient authors had of emotions. After this, I will present and discuss a number of Latin funerary inscriptions expressing and invoking emotions connected with grief and mourning, such as sadness, anger, and pity, but also hope, joy, and gratitude.
Everyone is welcome to join, so please share and join us in person or online!
– Joanna Töyräänvuori, Lena Tambs, Repekka Uotila & Samuel Reinikainen
Time: Thursday 30 January at 16:15-18:00 EET (UTC+2h).
Live venue: Faculty hall of Theology, Fabianinkatu 33, room 4038
Virtual venue: Zoom (Meeting ID: 678 8979 2118 / https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/67889792118).
Wonder what else we have in store for the spring semester? Check out the spring 2025 program!
For a look back at the past, check out the fall 2024 program.”
Source: link.
