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Project

A dead language resuscitated? Ancient Greek in early modern culture and scholarship

Holding degrees in classics, linguistics, and early modern history, I am developing a multifaceted line of research focusing on the appropriation of the Ancient Greek heritage in early modern Europe and its impact on modern society. (1) I study the appropriation of Greek linguistic concepts such as ‘dialect’, which evolved from a philological idea in antiquity to a highly politicized notion in modern times. (2) I investigate the 16th-century teaching of Greek, focusing on recently retrieved student notes and pathways for their digital representation. (3) I analyze how Greek was used as a literary language in the early modern era, thus rehabilitating a forgotten literature. In sum, I aim to show, by means of up-to-date technology, the constitutive importance of the classical heritage for modern ideas and traditions, as well as to foster awareness of the fact that the ways in which we try to give meaning to the world bear the burden of a long and biased history.
Date:1 Jun 2021 →  31 May 2023
Keywords:History of linguistics, Geschiedenis van de taalkunde, Classical reception studies, Klassieke receptiegeschiedenis, Early modern Hellenism, Vroegmodern hellenisme, Conceptual history, Begrippengeschiedenis, Greek linguistics, Griekse taalkunde, Renaissance humanism, Humanisme van de Renaissance
Disciplines:History and historiography of linguistics, Early modern history, Greek language, History of ideas, Cultural history