Asuka Tsuji
Kawamura Gakuen Women's University, Department of literature, Faculty Member
In the Islamic period, the social and religious landscape of Egypt, Christian under the rule of Byzantium, underwent great change. After the tax reform of the eighth century, Coptic churches and monasteries wielded less control over... more
In the Islamic period, the social and religious landscape of Egypt, Christian under the rule of Byzantium, underwent great change. After the tax reform of the eighth century, Coptic churches and monasteries wielded less control over their lands and congregants. Arabization gradually advanced, and the Coptic language died out. However, the Islamization of Egypt, which was slower than that of other Middle Eastern areas, was never completed.
Coptic contributions to formative theological debates of Christianity have long been recognized. Yet, less known are other, equally valuable, Coptic contributions to the transmission and preservation of technical and scientific knowledge,... more
Coptic contributions to formative theological debates of Christianity have long been recognized. Yet, less known are other, equally valuable, Coptic contributions to the transmission and preservation of technical and scientific knowledge, which continue to be ignored. Similarly unknown to the general public is how the Christian Coptic population of Egypt has survived and interacted with the majority population over the centuries. **Studies in Coptic Culture: Transmission and Interaction** is a collection of twelve essays that attempt to examine these issues from divergent perspectives.
Through the careful examination of select case-studies that range in date from the earliest phases of Coptic Culture to the present day, twelve international scholars draw on their current research to address issues of cultural transmission, cross-cultural perception, representation, and inter-faith interaction. Their approaches are as varied as their individual disciplines. Literary criticism, textual studies, comparative literature as well as art historical, archeobotanical, and historical research methods are used in this multi-disciplinary volume.
The essays presented in this volume are arranged into 5 thematic sections. Three sections are devoted to the transmission and preservation of religious texts, scientific and technical knowledge, music and artistic tradition, while two more sections focus on inter-faith and cross-cultural modes of perception and interaction. It is hoped that the divergent perspectives and methods presented in this volume will provide a fuller picture of what it meant to be Coptic in centuries past and that this present volume will prompt further research and scholarship into these issues.
Through the careful examination of select case-studies that range in date from the earliest phases of Coptic Culture to the present day, twelve international scholars draw on their current research to address issues of cultural transmission, cross-cultural perception, representation, and inter-faith interaction. Their approaches are as varied as their individual disciplines. Literary criticism, textual studies, comparative literature as well as art historical, archeobotanical, and historical research methods are used in this multi-disciplinary volume.
The essays presented in this volume are arranged into 5 thematic sections. Three sections are devoted to the transmission and preservation of religious texts, scientific and technical knowledge, music and artistic tradition, while two more sections focus on inter-faith and cross-cultural modes of perception and interaction. It is hoped that the divergent perspectives and methods presented in this volume will provide a fuller picture of what it meant to be Coptic in centuries past and that this present volume will prompt further research and scholarship into these issues.